Illinois Girls Who Impressed at ECNL FL

In the first ECNL event of the year, several Illinois squads took their talents down to Florida to compete against some of the nations most elite ECNL clubs. While I didn't see every game from every team, there's a handful of prospects from Illinois who I watched that made their own statement. Here's a look at a few prospects that impressed me.   Sawyer Klein - Raptors FC 07   Left back for the Raptors was fun to watch in a 1-0 win Sunday morning. Really good positioning while defending 1v1's. Terrific speed up and down the field and good control with the ball. Her ability to get up the field also stands out as she became an extra option in the attacking third. Super decisive.   [player_tooltip player_id='145501' first='Cortlyn' last='Hefty'] - Raptors FC 05-06   A big time showing Monday morning as she scored three goals to down FC Prime 4-2. Excellent ability to get herself in dangerous spaces. Already knows where to place the ball when shooting. Capitalizes on it. Can also find success playing with her back towards goal. Promising prospect headed to Cleveland St.   [player_tooltip player_id='22172' first='Mekenzie' last='Rogers'] - Eclipse SC 08   Box-to-vox midifelder who displays so much creativity with the ball. Quick touch and can blow by you with ease. Love her ability to change direction with the ball too. Big assist against SUSA to secure a 2-1 win. Also played the full 80 that game.   Clara Roche - Chicago Inter 05/06   2025 GK faced heavy pressure against PDA white Monday. But she stayed calm, communicated well, and was great off her line. Made very solid plays with her feet even though she sometimes held on to the ball for too long. But even then, she's pin perfect balls 20-30 yards downfield.   Lily Petrie - Chicago Inter 07   Left back really impressed me with her ability to improvise. Terrific on-ball work and can make a quick move 1v1 to break off an opponent. Also reads the game really well. It seemed like she always knew what was coming her way and continuously frustrated opponents both offensively and defensively. Inter had a dominating 4-0 win when I watched her.   [player_tooltip player_id='105048' first='Kayla' last='Washington'] - Eclipse SC 07   Washington finished the week strong with a goal and an assist to draw La Roca FC. Makes great runs into open space and showed she can be a playmaker both on the wing or in the center of the field. Beautiful low-driven cross for the assist.   Emily Crotty - Evolution SC 08   Big time playmaker up top who scored four goals over the weekend. This includes a three-goal performance in Evolutions second matchup. Can score from anywhere on the field. Even from far out.

In the first ECNL event of the year, several Illinois squads took their talents down to Florida to compete against some of the nations most elite ECNL clubs. While I didn't see every game from every team, there's a handful of prospects from Illinois who I watched that made their own statement. Here's a look at a few prospects that impressed me.