Players That Impressed: November 16-22, 2015

The following players were submitted by coaches or club technical personnel so they could be recognized for impressive performances in competitive soccer games during the week of Monday, November 16 through the end of Sunday, November 22, 2015.

We post players in the order the submissions are received, so the sooner you post following impressive game performances, the higher up the list they will appear for that week.

+ You can submit players each week here

Stefanie Hoerner – Midfield
FCSC Fever U-18 Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Stefanie is a right sided central midfielder who plays with poise, vision, and passing more often seen in a team’s primary playmaker role. Her priority is to keep possession of the ball for her team first, which she does with a good first touch away from pressure, keeping her head up, and shielding well without forcing things when she does come under pressure.

Sydney Kim – Forward
VYS Thunder Gold U-17 Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Sydney is a real soccer player in every sense of the word. She has the technique, awareness, IQ, and decision making that is far too often missing in youth players in the United State. Though deployed mostly at center forward in a 4-3-3, in 4-2-3-1, she’s also very comfortable in the central mid / withdrawn forward role, where she can get more touches on the ball. She’s just as calm and aware inside the box with the ball as she is inside the center circle and is a legitimate scoring threat as mush as she is a provider to others.

Molly Cripe – Midfielder
VYS Thunder Gold U-17 Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Molly is a dangerous holding midfielder who plays with an awareness and game vision beyond her years. She’s tenacious in the tackle, but athletic and nimble with the ball at her feet. She does her job of shielding the back four and is always near the ball when it’s in her half of the field. She wins balls, relieving pressure, and finding players making attacking moves, then joins the attack herself at the right time without risking a counter attack getting behind her. Her 1-time goal from 20 yards on Saturday afternoon used balance, skill, and aim that Thierry Henry would be proud of.

Matt Morris – Midfielder
Maryland United 97 Red U-19 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup
Matt scored four goals and had three assists over the weekend. He was an attacking threat in all of the games and had some real moments of quality.

Alexandra Angell – Forward
VSA Heat 97 Blue U-18 Girls
Capital Fall Classic
The danger player for VSA every time she has the ball. Plays all over the attacking half of the field, wherever the action is hunting for the ball. When she gets it – either from a teammate winning it off the opponent after high pressure, she knows the path to goal and will take it immediately either on her own when called for, or combining with teammates to get behind the defense.

Kyle Frye – Goalkeeper
Maryland United U-16 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup
Kyle had two clean sheets over the weekend and had some huge saves at crucial moments of games. His performance helped the group to an overall record of 3-0-0.

Elmer Ochoa – Midfielder
SYC Strikers Red U-17 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup vs. HFC Ready 98
Elmer displayed incredible dribbling skills and helped his team keep ball possession in the middle of the park. His good understanding with Enrique Ramos Chavez reminds one of the young Barcelona pairs in Iniesta and Xavi.

Jack Giddens – Defender
SYC Strikers Red U-17 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup vs. Oceanside United FC
Jack was a rock and helped stopped the avalanche of NY attacks. His tactical positioning in defensive transitioning was key to team compactness. He showed maturity and was cool under pressure.

Joseph Hatcher – Forward
SYC Strikers Red U-17 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup vs. PDA South Union
Joe inspired the team with his ability to hold on to the ball upfront and engaged his midfielders. Even though he did not score, he was instrumental in delivering the assist. His nonchalant runs helped fake defenders with his ability to use both of his feet.

Jose Machado – Goalkeeper
SYC Strikers Red U-17 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup
He was the team’s savior with two decisive saves that won a key game. He was sharp in reading and anticipating on the opposition shots. He guided his defense as a master and led as a man.

Mahogany Willis – Forward
Vincent United FC Crush Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Mahogany was the dominant player of the entire tournament, terrorizing defenses all weekend and essentially impossible to defend. She scored six goals in Sunday morning’s semifinal against a quality opponent and then after struggling to get service in the U17 final for the first 30 minutes, she exploded for three goals in a five minute span… then added fourth less than five minutes into the second half.

Caylin Meikrantz – Forward/Midfielder
Vincent United FC Crush Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Caylin was instrumental in the teams championship effort this weekend despite teammate Mahogany Willis catching most of the attention with her goals. She plays side to side, joins the attack, or drops into midfield to help defend and collect balls as the game calls for it. She puts covers more miles of work than anyone, essentially giving her team the appearance of having an extra player on the field that must be very frustrating for opponents. She’s very clean on the ball, and a physical force to deal with, and scores her own goals a plenty.

Samantha Riccardi – Midfielder
New York Rush Rowdies U-16 Girls
NYCSL NPL vs. New York SC
Sam controlled the midfield throughout the game, and her industry on both sides of the ball was influential in the teams success in winning the game.

Danielle McManus – Forward
New York Rush Rowdies U-16 Girls
NYCSL NPL vs. NJ Crush NPL
Danielle scored the first goal and assisted on the second in the 2-0 win. Her ability in 1v1 situations afforded her a few opportunities in and around the box, and it was a 1v1 with the keeper that saw her slide the ball easily into the bottom corner for her goal, and another 1v1 out wide that helped create space for a teammate in front of goal, and Danielle found her with a cross that resulted in the second goal of the game.

Gabby Cook – Goalkeeper
Match Fit NPL U-15 Girls
NY NPL vs. STA Magic
Gabby made save after save to keep the team from conceding several goals. She was top class both in the air and on the floor making instinct saves throughout.

Strickland Schumacher – Forward
Severna Park Lasers U-15 Girls
SAC Columbia Fall Classic vs. Alexandria Fire
Strickland possesses a burst of speed that is a nightmare for opposing defenders. In the Lasers final game of the tournament to clinch the Premier Division title she netted a hat trick on the way to her team’s 5-0 victory. All 3 of her goals were scored based on speed, high work rate and constantly following the play.

Emily Knight – Defender
Severna Park Lasers U-15 Girls
SAC Columbia Fall Classic
During the Lasers run to the Championship of the Premier Division Emily played every minute at Center Back in all 4 games over 2 days. The Lasers only gave up 1 goal in the entire tournament with Emily anchoring the defense. She has true “make up” speed to recover and assist any of her teammates on occasions opposing attackers appeared to have broken through the defense. Emily’s combination of intensity, speed and toughness lead the Lasers to shutouts in 3 out of 4 tournament games.

Lauren Wilson – Goalkeeper
SYA Cardinals 00 Red U-15 Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Lauren conceded only 1 goal in 220 minutes of action this past weekend in the Premier Division of the Capital Fall Classic helping lead her SYA Cardinals Red ’00 team to the Final. In her 3 games, Lauren controlled her box and directed her back line to fend off the attacks of three quality opponents. She made numerous critical saves throughout the tournament and was instrumental in getting the team to penalty kicks in the final.

Raahi Patel – Defender
SYA Cardinals 00 Red U-15 Girls
Capital Fall Classic
Raahi had a solid weekend at the Capital Fall Classic held in Richmond, VA. She helped lead a defensive unit that held opponents to two goals throughout their 4 game slate including a shutout during the scorelessFinal of the Premier division that went on to penalty kicks. Raahi was a vocal and physical presence from her defensive midfield position and didn’t miss a beat when thrown into action as an outside back as well. Helping shut down opponents top midfielders and forwards all weekend long Raahi was instrumental in a successful weekend for her team.

Linsey Wenk – Defender
McLean 99 Green U-16 Girls
NEWSS
During the NEWSS tournament over Thanksgiving weekend, the co-captain led the team to two shut outs and only one goal conceded in three games. Playing as a left full back Linsey shut down opposing forwards in all three games. While maintaining her defensive duties, she consistently made overlapping runs forward to provide support and crosses to her attacking teammates. Linsey was also integral in connecting with the midfield and maintaining possession for McLean.

Alicia D’Aoust – Forward
East Meadow NPL Smithtown Hotspur U-16 Girls
NEWSS
Alicia scored three goals in just three games played to lead the East Meadow NPL Smithtown Hotspur to a finalist performance, including a brace against Western New York Flash Academy.

[player_box id=63691 leftright=right]Pierre Richard – Midfielder
BRYC Elite 99 U-16 Boys
CCL Showcase
Pierre stood out through physical and mental toughness in four extremely physical matches. He was the focal point of the team’s center midfield, winning possession and starting the build-up for multiple successful attacks over the course of four games on the weekend.

[player_box id=63694 leftright=right]Dylan Robey – Midfielder
BRYC Elite 99 U-17 Boys
CCL Showcase
Dylan’s aggressive and unrelenting play motivated his teammates. His positive attitude and encouragement promoted a healthy atmosphere even when down. His strength on the ball was key to a high percentage of ball possession in four games over two days. Dylan’s overall leadership guided his team to its first major tournament championship. His ball handling and decision making were superior at any level, never failing to create goal scoring opportunities or restarting play to build up and possess. His command of the game showed maturity and knowledge of the game.

Julia Jambor – Midfielder
Hainesport FORCE U-15 Girls
Howell United Cup
Center midfielder Julia Jambor calmly and confidently controlled her zone both offensively and defensively. She also had two assists, both from corner kicks, along with a goal in a highlight performance during a 4-0 win.

Mekenna Montgomery – Forward
Hainesport FORCE U-15 Girls
Howell United Cup
As a team-first center forward, Mekenna Montgomery was a force to be dealt with throughout the weekend. Aggressively intercepting numerous passes on the defensive side of the field and winning several tackles on both sides, Montgomery had two assists and a goal to lead her team. The next day, before getting knocked out with an injury in the first half, she scored the lone goal in a physical semifinal game.

Liam White – Midfielder
VSA NPL U-14 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup
Liam assisted three goals in four games en route to the final for VSA. His creativity and accuracy of passing proved a constant problem for the opposition, leading to regular goal-scoring chances for his team.

Will Wagner – Defender
VSA NPL U-14 Boys
Bethesda Premier Cup
Will performed admirably all weekend at the heart of VSA’s defense that earned two shutouts on their way to the Final. Not only were his contributions at the back vital, but Will scored both goals in a 2-1 overtime win in the semifinals, including a golden goal game-winner.