ECNL Boys National Finals: 09 Midfielders and Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All roads lead to Richmond, Virginia for each of these players as the ECNL Boys National Finals kick off Monday. This group of young men will be aiming to hold their own and steel their nerve in attack to help their team lift the trophy and become ECNL National Champions in 2024.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":193798,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/guge-crop-364x239-1720985928.png?w=363" alt="" class="wp-image-193798" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Prep Soccer</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockford Raptors B09: Rockford continued to rise to the occasion over and over again in San Diego during the National Playoffs, with players like Mauricio Ruiz and Aiden Werner pacing the midfield and helping to transition the game up and down the pitch. By the time they reached their Round of 16 match, it was their forwards pushing the pace, with [player_tooltip player_id='262046' first='Kage' last='Guge'], [player_tooltip player_id='153732' first='Diego' last='Palacios'], and Nathan Gray making a meal of their opponents to advance them to Richmond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pipeline SC B09: ECNL San Diego might as well have been a block party for this Pipeline squad as they produced 20 goals and conceded only once en route to an incredibly convincing run to Richmond. Alex Whitt and Austin Roberts have been crucial in securing the middle of the pitch, protecting the defense from nearly every opposition chance while Valentino Quaranta, Javier Brown, and Colin Kelley have run rampant against opposing defenses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":193800,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/kelley-crop-377x248-1720986620.png?w=376" alt="" class="wp-image-193800" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Prep Soccer</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>XF Academy B09: While their first two matches went by with relative ease, two draws and a tense penalty shootout leaves XF Academy looking for a quality performance going into the Elite 8. Midfielders Parker Johnson and Jacob Issac will look to return to more shutout performances while forwards London Ayala and Matteo Badawy aim to continue their strong scoring performaces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":193803,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/07/tejada.png?w=633" alt="" class="wp-image-193803" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Prep Soccer</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>San Diego Surf B09: Surf comes into Richmond averaging three goals a game, and a good portion of that positive trend has been the result of Brayden Rojas and Saulo Tejada. They will look to their midfielders [player_tooltip player_id='290110' first='Marcos' last='Montoya'] and Elias Nunez to control the transition and help push for more clean sheets in the Elite 8.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->