East Team secures 2-0 victory in first ECNL Girls National Selection Game of 2025

LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL – On Saturday night, the East and West squared off at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Florida for the Continental Tire ECNL National Selection Game. (ROSTERS)

Harper Chapman (Concorde Fire Platinum) opened the scoring 15 minutes in with a left-footed strike from outside the box to make it 1-0 East.

Despite a number of chances from both sides, the East went into halftime with the 1-0 lead, thanks in part to a number of key saves by the East’s Riley Pickels (Charlotte Independence SC) and the West’s Clare Nichols (Oklahoma Energy FC).

In the second half, the East doubled their lead when Madison Recupero (FC Stars Blue) played a great ball into Blane McElroy (Charlotte SA) who fired it in to make it 2-0 East.

With her assist and her outstanding play in the midfield throughout the night, Recupero was named the Player of the Match, and said it was encouraging to have so many of her teammates come out to support her.

“It was fun to have a bunch of friends and family here. It’s definitely encouraging and it was super fun to be in this environment,” Recupero said. “It means a lot to have some of my closest friends here to support me. They made posters and cheered me on, so they were super encouraging and it made the whole experience better.”

Recupero said the team was able to build chemistry together quickly and it was a great experience getting to know so many other great players from around the country.

“Getting to meet different people from all over and getting to play with them was a great experience.”