Players That Impressed: ECNL Girls Regional League 2024 National Finals

The 2023-2024 ECNL Girls Regional League season finished up play over the weekend with the ECNL National Finals in Richmond, VA. (Recap)

Forty teams competed across the league’s U13-U17 age groups for top honors at Striker Park in Richmond, Virginia (College Coaches | Results)

Below are some of the top players from the weekend’s event sorted by graduation year. You can also nominate a player who stood out during the event through the following link.

2028

Graduation: 2028

Booked consecutive shutouts in the Quarterfinals against Legends FC (2-0) and SLAMMERS FC (3-0) to seal Sting’s spot in the finals. Her glove work and strong rapport with her backline helped keep their defense organized early in matches and set the tone for each victory.

2027

Ivy Ruberg | Defender
Beach FC 09 (CA)

Provided a high level of consistency along the defensive line for Beach en route to Beach winning the 2009 National Championship. Her lockdown defensive work and quick passing helped Beach maintain control in their defensive third and quickly transition into the midfield. She is also a free kick specialist and can hit her teammates with a high level of precision inside the eighteen yard box.

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Keilani Ordonez | Goalkeeper
Beach FC 09 (CA)

Worked seamlessly alongside Ruberg and the Beach backline to earn three consecutive clean sheets in the National Finals (4-0 over Colorado EDGE, 2-0 over Legends FC, and 1-0 over West Side Alliance) Ordonez has excellent footwork and positions herself so that she can make quick kick saves or parries in one-on-one situations.

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Kalani Brundage | Forward-Midfielder
Solar SC 09 (TX)

Hit a thunderbolt from distance in Solar’s 6-0 Quarterfinal victory over Internationals SC. Brundage has excellent field vision and can use it to find teammates in space or when to strike from distance. Her footwork and dribbling is also tidy and she doesn’t waste any motions or movements giving defenders little time to prepare.

Celebrating our quarterfinals win today!! I had one goal! Semifinals 🔜 🙌🏽@SolarSoccerClub @grtorres @mattsmithsoccer @JREskilson @PrepSoccer @Coach_NNelson @rex_carrell @ECNLgirls pic.twitter.com/A2LILTHSrD

— Kalani Brundage (@KalaniB_10) July 11, 2024

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Gianna Incremona | Forward
West Side Alliance 09 (TX)

Scored in back-to-back penalty kick situations to knock off SUSA FC (1-1 regulation, 5-4 in penalties) and Solar SC (0-0 in regulation, 3-1 in penalties). She also showed what she could do in the field of play, knocking in West Side’s goal in the SUSA match. Incremona has blazing speed and in counter-attack situations is highly difficult to break down.

2026

Liya Nartey | Forward
Beach FC 09 (CA)

Knocked home the game-winning goal from the penalty kick spot to lift Beach past West Side Alliance 1-0. Throughout Beach’s playoff run, Nartey has dominated in the attacking third scoring seven goals and tallying three assists. She is lightning quick both on and off of the ball, a testament to her work in track and field. Even though she often draws the attention of defenders she can still locate teammates with a crisp pass or hammer a shot on target.

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Litsy Alcocer | Midfielder-Forward
Legends FC 07 (CA)

Buried the game-winner for Legends in the final against Albion, a second half-strike that led to two additional goals. Alcocer can take even the smallest of spaces and exploit them for Legends advantage, using her strength and speed to create goal-scoring opportunities. For her efforts, she earned Player of the Match honors.

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Olivia Gayhart | Defender
GTFC Impact 08 (OH)

Set the tone early alongside Lucy Ewing early in the final against Sting Dallas Black, with the duo scoring two quick goals to put the Impact ahead 2-0 (Lauren McConnachie added a third before the half). Although Sting got one back in the second half, Gayhart kept her backline organized and composed, retaining possession for long portions of the match and forcing Sting to chase. The Player of the Match capped an incredible run for the Impact in the National Finals in which their defense allowed just two goals in three games.

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Neerali Kapadia | Forward
Sting Dallas Black 08 (TX)

Captained Sting to victories over Legends FC and SLAMMERS FC, using her strong right-foot to force defenders to back pedal and make errors. She also showed that when her team needs a big goal that she can provide, scoring in their victories over Legends FC and Slammers FC.

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Ryan Fox | Forward- Wing Back
Albion Hurricanes 07 (TX)

Secured the Hurricanes spot in the semifinals with two superb strikes against HEX FC, finishing off pinpoint passes delivered by Atiana Lara and Addyson Cosolo. Fix can slip between defenders and immediately make them pay using her clever first touch and speed to drive directly at goal. In the Hurricanes first National Championship appearance they more than held their own against a difficult Legends FC team and will undoubtedly use the experience to prepare for next season.

2025

Natalia Minissian | Midfielder-Forward
Legends FC 07 (CA)

Consistently applied pressures to backlines all throughout the National Finals run earning three consecutive victories over FC Wichita (4-0), FC Copa Academy (5-1), and the Albion Hurricanes (3-0). Minissian ball control is always smooth and she is more than willing to take on multiple defenders in order to open up play.