Players That Impressed: ECNL Girls South Carolina Spring 2024 National Event

The ECNL Girls held their eighth National Event of the 2023-24 season over the weekend in Greer, South Carolina. The event featured 166 teams from the league’s U12-U15 age groups. (View 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.

2029

Samantha Osman | Midfielder
NC Courage 10 (NC)

Provided the Courage’s go-ahead goal in their 2-0 victory over Atlanta Fire United, scoring off of a free kick. Osman can play multiple positions in the center of the pitch but has shown a real knack for building and retaining possession as a holding midfield. Her quick-thinking and smart decision-making has helped the Courage all season get out of jams and change the field of play.

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Emma Peterson | Midfielder
Colorado Rapids 10 (CO)

Controlled the tempo of the match through the midfield for the Rapids, playing an integral role in the team’s undefeated record. Her technical prowess helped create scintillating goal-scoring opportunities for her teammates, including the assist on their first goal in their 3-1 win against Jacksonville.

2028

Marissa Stark | Outside Back-Defensive Midfielder
Jacksonville FC 10 (FL)

Operating out of the defensive third, Stark helped JFC limit FSA FC (1-1) and Wilmington Hammerheads (3-1) to a goal apiece. Stark is equally comfortable with the ball at either foot and can thread passes into tight spaces for her teammates. In traffic, the 2024 ODP State Team member can lead possession out of the back and help start long possessions for Jacksonville.

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Desiree Reed | Midfielder
NC Courage 09 (NC)

Pulled the Courage ahead 2-1 in the first half of their victory over FC Alliance on Friday finishing off a brilliant corner from midfielder Olivia Schmidt. Whether playing on the outside or inside, Reed can use her breakneck speed to burst past defenders and force them to backtrack. Her finishing ability has also been on point all season. She will play a pivotal role in the midfield and in the attack as the Courage prepare for the ECNL National Playoffs.

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Riley Kapler | Forward
PDA Blue 10 (NJ)

Netted a brace in PDA’s seesaw battle with Virginia Union on Saturday, lifting her team to a 4-3 win. All season long, Kapler has provided an attacking spark for PDA taking whatever space she can find and immediately exploiting it. She has electric pace and is always two-three steps ahead of defenders. She just received a call-up to the USYNT U14 National ID Camp back in March, furthering an already standout season for PDA.

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Kyrah Lormil | Defender
PDA Blue 10 (NJ)

Provided consistent defensive coverage for PDA all weekend, playing a major role in the team’s one goal wins over FC Prime (1-0) and Virginia Union (4-3). She also showed what she can do on the attacking end when called upon, scoring the game-winning goal against FC Prime.

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Addison Staats | Defender
Dallas Texans 10 (TX)

Dominated the Texans defensive third and led her team to three consecutive wins over GSA (2-0), FL Premier FC (5-2), and Concorde Fire Platinum (3-2). As she has done all season, Staats saved her best work performance during the stretch run of each match cutting off attackers early and giving them little space to pass or dribble. She was just called up to the US Soccer Talent ID Camp at SMU last month and has provided a high level of leadership all season for the Texans.

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Kyla Tucker | Forward
Colorado Rapids 10 (CO)

Bagged a brace on Sunday to lift the Rapids past Jacksonville FC 3-1 and give them an undefeated record in 2009 play. Tucker has an excellent sense of when to take a shot and when to find an open teammate, giving her teammates plenty to work with. Her diagonal runs down the right flank have posed problems for defenses all season and played a role in opening up play down in South Carolina.

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Domenique Sexton | Defender-Midfielder
Richmond United 10 (VA)

Bookended the weekend with two impressive defensive performances down in South Carolina: a shout win over Ohio Elite Soccer Academy on Friday and a 6-1 win over FC Alliance to wrap up play on Monday. When playing in defense Sexton primarily plays at center-back where she uses her strong technical skills to box out attackers and limit their passing lanes. She has also shown a flair for building possession out of the back and uses her superior vision to stretch defenses.

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Briar Hinds | Goalkeeper
Western New York Flash 10 (NY)

Booked back-to-back victories over NC Fusion (4-1) and Richmond United (3-1) to start the Flash’s undefeated weekend (2-0-1, 7 points). A two-time National Ninja League finalist, Hinds is a pure athlete that can make the difficult saves look easy. She can also time her dives to give herself the maximum percentage chance at thwarting a goal-scoring opportunity.

2027

Graduation: 2027

Olivia Shaw

Forward

SUSA Academy

ECNL Girls

Led a SUSA attacking corps that scored five goals on Saturday and Sunday, earning victories over NC Courage (2-1) and Florida Elite (3-1). She showed off her long-distance accuracy against the Courage, burying a right-footed effort from just outside the eighteen yard box. In traffic, Shaw can make the small cuts and adjustments necessary to give herself space to create goal-scoring chances.

Graduation: 2027

Emily Inman

Forward Midfielder

Virginia Union FC

ECNL Girls

Sparked the Union’s attack with her shot selection and passing, playing a crucial for a Union attacking corps that scored nine goals and earned an undefeated record (2-0-1, 7 points). Inman can play up top, as a winger, and as an attacking midfielder giving her coaches options depending upon the opponent. The South Lakes High School Freshman has a killer right foot that she can use to hammer shots on target or deliver accurate service for her teammates.

Graduation: 2027

Leah Fernald

Midfielder

Virginia Development Academy (VDA)

ECNL Girls

Tallied two assists from the corner to Allie Wiemann and Mia Binkowski to kickstart VDA’s run down in South Carolina, a 3-0 victory over Concorde Fire Premier. The set piece specialist added an Olimpico in the match, a high curling effort that has been her calling card all season.

My #olimpico in our match against CESA at @ECNLgirls SC this weekend. #letsgovda #vda2009girls #ecnlsc pic.twitter.com/OsbhgWaQhS

— Leah Fernald (@leah_fernald) May 12, 2024

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Marley Vaughn | Defender
Concorde Fire Platinum 09 (GA)

After just wrapping up training with the Dominican Republic’s under-17 National Team, Vaughn was able to take her experience playing at an international level and apply it on the field with Concorde. Thanks to her tight, consistent marking and sound clearances Concorde went the entire weekend without giving up a single goal. With an undefeated weekend (2-0-1, 7 points) against three top 2009 teams (0-0 against SUSA FC and two 2-0 victories over VDA and NC Courage), Vaughn and the Fire are coming into the National Playoffs in top form and looking for trophies.

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Kendall Watson | Midfielder
NC Courage 09 (NC)

Scored the the game-tying goal after going down 1-0 early to FC Alliance. Watson controlled the Midfield with her pace and ability to make smart, timely decisions leading the team to a 4-1 win. Against SUSA, Watson dropped to a defensive midfield position to slow SUSA’s attack. She continued to show her defensive prowess against Concorde Fire, winning duels in the air and threading passes out to her wingers.