ECNL AZ: New stars emerge on Sunday

<p class="p1"><strong>PHOENIX, Arizona -</strong> The Sunday scaries had a different meaning at the ECNL National Event in Phoenix as teams looked to leave the second day with a positive showing under the desert sun. With the clock counting down on the national event, some players were hoping to catch an eye of one of the many college coaches and scouts sitting on the sidelines.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Along with the scouts from the college game, there were scouts from the U.S. youth national team and the Mexico youth national team throughout the complex. The best of the best were on display at the Reach 11 Complex in northern Phoenix.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">PrepSoccer was on hand for the event. Below are the players who stood out from the games that PRepSoccer saw on Sunday.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="24063" first="Juliana" last="Osterman"], Match Fit Academy 06 - Osterman was a standout from the Match Fit Academy attack in the win over LA Breakers. She scored a goal in the first half. She showed good technical skill on the ball as she was able to get around a couple of players with the ball at her feet.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="27433" first="Isabelle" last="Devey"], La Roca 06 - Devey scored directly on a corner kick in the win over Heat. She added another goal in the 4-1 win over Heat FC on Sunday. She also scored on a break away as the attacking midfielder had a very productive outing. She is a dangerous player in the center as she can score from within 30 yards of goal with only a few feet of space.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="27479" first="Lucy" last="Kesler"], La Roca 06 - Kesler is the defensive midfielder for La Roca and captain of the side. She does an excellent job in shutting down the opposition with her positioning and defensive acumen. She did well on Sunday shutting down any move through the center by either being in the right spot or putting in a tackle. [player_tooltip player_id="27415" first="Erin" last="Cate"] had a great assist on a goal by [player_tooltip player_id="27515" first="Rhea" last="Canas Pearson"] late in the game.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="20060" first="Piper" last="Bertani"], MVLA 06 - The left center back for MVLA won a few duels and hung tough against a talented PDA side. Bertani also has a secret weapon with a big throw-in that will be a point of interest for college coaches as well. [player_tooltip player_id="33303" first="Murphy" last="Walsh"] scored the MVLA goal in the game.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="24047" first="Jordana" last="DeNegri"], PDA 06 - DeNegri scored a goal in the first half in the win over the Northern California side. The center forward was a active participant for PDA in the attack and was a good outlet early in the second half as PDA looked to close out with a big win.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="23805" first="Addison" last="Halpern"] and [player_tooltip player_id="23811" first="Ainsley" last="Moy"], PDA 06 - Moy and Halpern are two very good midfielders and they showed that quality on Sunday. Halpern opened up the field with accurate passing over distance. Moy did well connecting on short passes and being an option in the build-up for her team.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="25297" first="Victoria" last="Safradin"], Internationals 05 - Safradin did not have a ton to do on Sunday, but she came up clutch in the key moment in the first half when she made a sprawling save on a close-range effort.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="25220" first="Kayla" last="Perfect"], Internationals 05 - Perfect was super active in the first half. She was always around the ball or willing to chase down long passes into the channel. She is the type of that coaches can’t help but notice given how much she is on the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="25262" first="Olivia" last="Sipsock"], the center forward, was a key contributor in the win too. She did well with her chances and had a great finish on a breakaway. [player_tooltip player_id="25221" first="Kellyn" last="Fausel"], [player_tooltip player_id="25179" first="Emme" last="Butera"], and [player_tooltip player_id="25101" first="Addysen" last="Cusick"] were also standouts for Internationals.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="18900" first="Elizabeth" last="Fineberg"], Pleasanton Rage 05 - It was not a great day for the Rage goalkeeper, but there wasn’t much she could do in the first half as Itnernationals picked out the corners with a few of the goals. Fineberg did make an outstanding initial block on a penalty kick in the first half.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Ashley Seigel, Eastside 05 - Seigel made a handful of saves in the first half to keep it scoreless at the break between Eastside and Bethesda. She did not make many big saves, but she did well moving before the shot to get in the right spot to make the comfortable save.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="22735" first="Talia" last="Feigin"], Bethesda SC 05 - Feigin was a bright spot in the midfield for Bethesda. She did well in moving off the ball to get into areas where the opposition would lose track of her. She had good field awareness and made some incisive passes. [player_tooltip player_id="22601" first="Giavana" last="Liberto"] and [player_tooltip player_id="22523" first="Alyssa" last="Heard"] were also standouts for Bethesda.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Skye Lawhun, Richmond 06 - Lawhun was a standout at center back for Richmond in the win over Phoenix Rising. The best attribute for Lawhun is that she doesn’t need to defend much. She is one of the key pieces for Richmond in their possession-dominant style. She hits the ball with pace and accuracy. The whole squad does well in cherishing possession of the ball. Iisa Elovaara was a standout at left back. Katelin Dowd had the assist on Eleanor Martin’s goal.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="18834" first="Quinn" last="Sowders"] and [player_tooltip player_id="18742" first="Hennessy" last="Brown"], Phoenix Rising 06 - The two center back for Rising had a strong showing in the game against Richmond. They did well as complimentary pieces for the side. Sowders was more physical with her approach while Brown was the cerebral one. They make for a formidable pair. [player_tooltip player_id="18757" first="Jordan" last="Lavery"] and [player_tooltip player_id="18727" first="Emmie" last="Formanek"] were also standouts for Richmond.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="49602" first="Bianca" last="Howitt"], LA Breakers 06- Howitt was a standout for her play when in possession. She made good decisions on the ball and had a good first touch.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="23704" first="Angelina" last="Labrague"], Heat FC 06 - Labrague had a great header goal in the game against La Roca. She rose above a crowd of players and did well redirecting a service. She showed excellent technique in aerial duels on the goal.</p> <p class="p1">Daya King, Legends FC 07 - The left back for Legends is a bright and obvious talent. She has the athletic qualities to be a top level player. She defends well in 1v1 duels. She has the pace to get up and down the touchline. She is skillful on the ball and a smart player in making decisions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Emma Rodriguez, Legends FC 07 - Rodriguez set the tone with an early goal in the win over Washington Premier. She had a shot from over 25 yards out that sailed into the corner of the net. She is a tidy midfielder who is good in possession and worked hard defensively to win the ball back quickly for her team.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Alexis Coughlin, Legends FC 07 - The right center back had a noteworthy performance for Legends. She has a tendency to look for the vertical passing lanes to split the defense. She has excellent technique in ball striking so usually she can fit the pass in a narrow window. [player_tooltip player_id="19284" first="Claire" last="Roybal"] and [player_tooltip player_id="19074" first="Anahi" last="Hernandez"] were also outstanding for Legends.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="28068" first="Amira" last="Lyons"], Washington Premier 07 - Lyons earned her way onto the standout list for her determination in the game against Legends. She was active defensively and showed off incredible recovery speed. She has a lot of potential.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="19044" first="Alyssa" last="Gonzalez"], San Diego Surf 05 - The center back for Surf was excellent on Sunday. She did not put a foot wrong in the second half as Surf pulled off the come-from-behind 3-2 win over Crossfire.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="18903" first="Emmie" last="Ennis"], San Diego Surf 05 - Ennis gets the shoutout on the standouts list because she provided the incisive key pass on a couple of occasions in the second half. Her contribution on one goal came on the end of a great team sequence that showed off the quality on Surf from goalkeeper to center forward. [player_tooltip player_id="32900" first="Maryn" last="Wolf"] scored on an assist from Claire Curran for the winner.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="28122" first="Cameron" last="Bourne"], Crossfire Premier 05 - Bourne scored a spectacular goal in the second half to give her side a 2-1 lead. She struck the ball from the corner of the box and picked out the top corner for the goal. [player_tooltip player_id="28195" first="Hallie" last="Prinos-Grumbach"] was also a standout for Crossfire. She did well always scanning the field before she received possession of the ball.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="18811" first="Millie" last="Greer"], Phoenix Rising 05 - Greer scored a great header off an assist from [player_tooltip player_id="18817" first="Morgan" last="Fiedler"] in the game against Maryland United.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">Rae’Ayn Gilbert, PacNW 05 - It was a rough outing for PacNW against FC DELCO, but Gilbert had some standout moments. The winger was a handful for the defense. She did not quit on a play and created some chances from the left wing.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">KK Ream, Utah Royals AZ 07 - Ream delivered a great goal to open the scoring in the wild 3-3 draw against OK Energy. She received the ball with space on her defensive side of the half. She began her charging run forward that saw her glide past two before tucking home the opening tally. The 2009-born midfielder is one of the brightest talents in the youth game today. [player_tooltip player_id="41655" first="Caprice" last="Chiuchiolo"] had some standout moments for Royals too. She uses every part of her foot when controlling the ball. She has excellent technical, ball mastery for a young player.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="18947" first="Onyeka" last="Gamero"], Beach 05 - Gamero is a point of emphasis for every team playing against Beach and she still finds a way to make a difference in the game. Gamero being able to cut in or take her player to the end line makes her one of the hardest players to defend in the ECNL. Avery Stevens and Keira Wagner also had standout moments for Beach.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p> <p class="p1">[player_tooltip player_id="25591" first="Kennedy" last="Fletcher"], Portland Thorns 05 - Fletcher was a standout in the Thorns defense. She stepped up in key moments and did well in possession of the ball. Amelia Warta, [player_tooltip player_id="25552" first="Ella" last="Callanan"], and [player_tooltip player_id="25544" first="Claire" last="Lindsay"] were also good for Thorns.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>