The best of Dallas Cup 2022: Team Awards

Last year Dallas Cup added a girls tournament to the historic U.S. youth club soccer event held Easter week in Texas annually. This year's girls event expanded age groups and added some international clubs to the mix. Next year, the event will be even bigger as more teams realize the best clubs in Texas will be there, which is starting to attract the top colleges across the country to attend and scout the talent. Dallas Cup 2022 had some standout individual performances, and some remarkable team performances. PrepSoccer was on hand for the semifinals and <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2022/04/solar-fc-dallas-win-dallas-cup-championships/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">finals of the event.</a> These were the best team performances from the event. 🤩 Squad Goals: FC Dallas 07 Any team that wins the hardware at Dallas Cup deserves this award, but FC Dallas U15 ECNL deserves a special shoutout for the performances on the way to the trophy in the 07 age group. FC Dallas went through group play without conceding a goal. The team was tested in the semifinal with a 1-1 result against DKSC, but then prevailed in a penalty kick shootout thanks to a memorable performance from goalkeeper [player_tooltip player_id="27237" first="Shelby" last="Coleman"]. In the championship game, FC Dallas went up against the stacked Solar SC 07 group. Forward [player_tooltip player_id="26783" first="Holly" last="Storer"] scored all three goals in the championship game (and also scored the goal in the semifinal). It was a banner weekend for Storer, who proved she should be in the picture for the U.S. U15 Girls National Team this summer at the Concacaf Girls U15 Championship. Storer is excellent at creating little pockets for space for herself in the attacking third. When she has that glimpse of the goal, she is a lethal finisher with her right foot. [player_tooltip player_id="26617" first="Charli" last="Harris"] was a key contributor in the attack for FC Dallas too. [player_tooltip player_id="26927" first="Kiara" last="Gilmore"], the center back, had an outstanding tournament. She was one of the pieces of the FC Dallas defense that only let in one goal in five games. Goalkeeper [player_tooltip player_id="26532" first="Aviana" last="Gutierrez"] recorded the shutout in goal in the championship game. FC Dallas U15 gained a lot of confidence from the past week. The wins over the Solar SC U14 and U15 teams solidified the group's mindset as one of the teams to beat in this age group in the ECNL this season. With only seven games left in the ECNL campaign, FC Dallas' target for the rest of the season is firmly on the Champions League playoffs. 🔒Locked Down: DKSC 05 DKSC came up short in the championship game with a 1-2 loss to Solar. However, those goals in the final were the only goals DKSC conceded during the week. Defense is more than just the players listed as defenders, it's a whole group effort. DKSC exemplified that with everyone on the team working together. [player_tooltip player_id="27235" first="Shanti" last="Weddington"] was a standout in the midfield for the squad. The Arizona commit covered ground and made an impact through the center channel. 💯 Best Depth: Solar SC 06 Plenty has been said on social media about Solar's triumph in the Dallas Cup championship on Friday. The quick version is the squad was missing a lot of starters for the tournament and had even more unavailable for the championship game with the high school state semifinals the same day. Side note: the Solar SC 06 players on Southlake Carroll ended up winning the Texas 6A Championship with freshman [player_tooltip player_id="26916" first="Kennedy" last="Fuller"] scoring three goals in the title game and being named the MVP of the game. Fuller, a key player on the U.S. Youth National Team, plays up an age group with this Solar team. For the club team, Solar needed everyone on the team to contribute meaningful minutes in order to secure the back-to-back championship. From the captain to the last player off the bench, the Solar team showed incredible depth during the five-game tournament and defended the crown against a very good FC Dallas side. [player_tooltip player_id="26573" first="Brooklyn" last="Miller"] scored the game-winner and showed she could play the center forward spot at an elite level. [player_tooltip player_id="26480" first="Aria" last="Craig"] had a great performance in the championship game at center midfield. She covered ground, cut out passes, and worked tirelessly to be a key piece for the result. [player_tooltip player_id="27111" first="Morgan" last="Paley"] was clutch in goal throughout the tournament. [player_tooltip player_id="26302" first="Aly" last="Guthrie"], [player_tooltip player_id="26502" first="Audrey" last="Bryant"], [player_tooltip player_id="26999" first="Lola" last="Foley"], [player_tooltip player_id="33384" first="Ana" last="Sofia Cedeno"], [player_tooltip player_id="27093" first="Micayla" last="Decker"], [player_tooltip player_id="26793" first="Isabella" last="Pasion"], [player_tooltip player_id="26583" first="Cameron" last="Byrd"], [player_tooltip player_id="26405" first="Alexa" last="Barker"], [player_tooltip player_id="26669" first="Emerson" last="Andrews"], and the rest all made contributions that led Solar to the championship. 🎓 College Ready: Solar SC 05 Solar SC is a factory for producing college-ready talent. Pretty much any program in the country will scout and recruit players from the Dallas club with the intention that they will be four-year contributors. [player_tooltip player_id="26773" first="Hattie" last="Patterson"]'s assist on the game-winning goal showcased her potential at left back for the division I level. The Ole Miss commit hit a perfect cross to [player_tooltip player_id="26339" first="Lauren" last="Omholt"], the Purdue commit, for the decisive goal. Expect to hear much more from both of them at the college level in the near future. While the 2023s on this team are the ones to make a splash at the college level first, [player_tooltip player_id="26700" first="Emma" last="Yolinsky"], a 2024, could be the one poised to make the biggest splash. Yolinsky is arguably the best uncommitted talent in the 2024 class right now. Her level at Dallas Cup was eye-opening and a solid argument that she is on the short list of best attacking midfielders in club soccer. 😎 Bright Future : Solar SC 08 Solar SC U14 ECNL played up an age group at Dallas Cup and advanced to the semifinals of the competition. Solar U14 lost to Solar U15 in the semifinal round, but it was a good learning experience for the younger group as they prepare for a postseason run in the ECNL this summer. There are a number of players with youth national team ambition on the team. The potential is there, but the semifinal loss was a good learning experience for the individuals and the group. They will be a team to watch in the future as they play with a chip on their shoulders after this tournament.