ECNL CL Playoffs – 09 Standouts from Monday

<!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} --> <p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>USE PROMO CODE JR30 for a discount on your first subscription</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>REDMOND, Washington </strong>- The ECNL Champions League playoffs in the 2009 age group continued on Monday with the second game of group play. There were some teams that cemented their spots as group favorites from the games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out the players who stood out from the games below. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='143321' first='Lizzie' last='Rubin'], PDA 09 - I thought she was the best player on the field against Sporting Blue Valley, which is pretty lofty praise considering her teammates and competition. Love the way she approached the game and found the spots to influence the result. Rubin is an excellent passer from the No. 6 role.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='158344' first='Lulu' last='Wenger'], PDA 09 - Wenger had a strong game at defense for PDA. She won every battle and offered a bit of a punch getting forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='143834' first='Sandra' last='O'Neill'], PDA 09 - O'Neill was another star on the PDA side on the day. She was consistently making the right decisions and kept Sporting Blue Valley away. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='150088' first='Morgan' last='Robinson'], Sporting Blue Valley 09 - Robinson was everywhere for her side and and nearly scored for her team. She was part of the strong midfield crew for Sporting. [player_tooltip player_id='143773' first='Aniston' last='Crabtree'],and [player_tooltip player_id='110516' first='Katarina' last='Stalin'] were also standouts for Sporting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Piper Garvin, Arizona Arsenal 09 - Garvin is a mesmerizing player. There is a magnetism to her game. Even when you aren't on her field, her play still draws eyeballs from the nearby vicinity. The forward hits the ball with such authority that it sounds like a firework going off at the pitch. She had one of those rockets on Monday that crashed off the crossbar. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='112216' first='Charlotte' last='Kamansky'], Slammers FC HB Koge 09 - Kamansky did so much work for her side in the win over Charlotte SA. She was a force that created numerous chances and helped her side claim the win. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='112213' first='Makena' last='Cook'], Slammers FC HB Koge 09 - Cook scored all four goals in the 4-0 win over Charlotte SA. It was an all-time performance from the center forward of Slammers FC HB Koge, who has looked close to unstoppable so far. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='111708' first='Poppy' last='Wakefield'], Ohio Elite SA 09 - Wakefield showed off her good footwork and finishing instincts with a goal late in the clash against Concorde Fire. She created other chances in the second half as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maci Tucker, Concorde Fire Platinum 09 - Tucker nabbed the game-winner as she got on the end of a long clearance and then put a touch past the goalkeeper before finishing into the open goal. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Avellina Saunders, Utah Royals FC AZ - Saunders had a terrific game in the 2-1 win over Seattle United. She showed her good hands with saves and no rebounds on quite a few hard shots. She did well in handling the game in the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gianna Sabato, Utah Royals AZ 09 - Sabato was a stalwart of the Royals defense. The center back deserves a ton of credit for the victory as she had a stellar day. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Victoria Fallarme, Seattle United 09 - The left back for Seattle United had a strong game against Utah Royals AZ. She was a nifty playmaker from that role. Adeline Streur and Lucille Buckholtz were also standouts for Seattle. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Layla Tucakovic, Bay Area Surf 09 - With both teams playing at such a high level, the goalkeeping needed to be there to match. Tucakovic had a standout performance in goal for Bay Area. She did well on the high shots with strong hands to secure the save. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='112139' first='Allie' last='Chang'], Beach FC 09 - Chang was pulling the strings in the midfield for Beach. She created a number of chances with key passes. She also had the assist late on the goal from Liya Nartey. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cassandra Travers, FC Bay Area Surf 09 - Travers had a great game against Beach. She broke the pressure with her passing and her dribbling. She is a weapon coming from the backline for her skillset. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='110760' first='Renna' last='Rubenstein'], World Class 09 - Rubenstein provided an incredible finish for the opening goal for her side in the win over SLSG on Monday. She buried her shot into the top corner. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='110754' first='Isabella' last='Di Muccio'], World Class 09 - Di Muccio really impressed me against SLSG. She is a skillful attacking player who looked really challenging to stop. She had some creative passes and moves to open things up for her side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='149754' first='Kate' last='Pohl'], SLSG 09 - The defensive midfielder was impressive in the midfield for SLSG. She is a strong two-way player. She progresses the ball from box-to-box on the dribble or through the pass. She also puts in the work defensively with tackles and interceptions. Sophia Aherns, [player_tooltip player_id='150134' first='Ayrissa' last='Robinson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='145222' first='Ella' last='McNeal'] were also standouts for SLSG.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mary Mac Brown, Atlanta Fire 09 - Brown scored the lone goal for Fire. She was terrific in the game. The skillful midfielder has great footwork and a sharp soccer mind. The passes she was trying and the movement she made off the ball show a high level prospect. She is a young 2028, but one to watch for the future. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jillian Hutchinson, AHFC 09 - It's tough to pick a favorite from the AHFC side. They were all great on the day. They bossed the game with a direct approach and a clear identity to their playing style. Hutchinson covered a ton of ground. It seemed like there were two players wearing her jersey at times. She was everywhere. Zoe Lawless, Audrey Brendel, and Zoie Trevino were also outstanding for AHFC. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emily Krichbaum, NVA 09 - I thought Krichbaum was excellent in goal for NVA in the first half of the scoreless draw against Hawks on Monday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morgan Blelloch, NVA 09 - Blelloch is a talented dribbler. I thought she had some moments of brilliance on Monday. It created chances for her side and made the defense nervous whenever she touched the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison Russo, Michigan Hawks 09 - Russo was one of the best players of the day. She was excellent at shutting down the opposition and leading her side to a scoreless draw. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->