The ECNL Continental Tire National Selection Game series for the 2023-24 season kicked off on Friday night, as the top athletes from around the ECNL Girls converged on Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix.

The East opened up the scoring in the 11th minute, when Elle Ervin (Liverpool FC IA Michigan) found herself in the box and on the end of a great cross which she was able to head home for the 1-0 lead.

The East came close to doubling their lead right before the halftime break, when a shot rattled off the post, but Ervin’s goal remained the only difference as the two sides went into the break.

The fireworks began even faster in the second half as the East quickly doubled their lead on a rocket fired from outside the box by Bella Devey (Utah Avalanche) that found the top right corner of the net.

The West immediately had the response though, as just seconds later, Ryder Ajeto (Pateadores) blasted in a shot to instantly cut the East lead in half.

Moments later, the East nearly responded immediately to Ajeto’s goal. In a frantic sequence, West goalkeeper Gray Willson made a diving save, before the ball then hit off the post, and a subsequent third attempt was cleared off the line by the West defense, keeping the deficit at just a goal.

In the 62nd minute, Ervin found her name on the scoresheet yet again, firing home a left footed shot past Willson’s diving attempt, and extending the East lead to 3-1.

The West did not go away though. With just about 10 minutes to play, Miri O'Donnell (Bay Area Surf) ripped in a shot to cut the lead back down to one and set up an exciting finish between the two sides.

Despite some late chances though, the East managed to preserve their 3-2 lead and come away with the first ECNL Continental Tire National Selection Game victory of the season.

Following her brace, Ervin was named the Player of the Match, but credited her goals to her teammates setting her up with some outstanding chances.

“They were really just team efforts and I was just in the right place to finish them,” Ervin said. “It was a beautiful cross on the first one and I love getting on those headers so that felt pretty natural. The second one, my teammate, Riley, just saw me in an open space and I turned, let my mind be free, and just let it rip.”

Ervin emphasized that just being selected to play in the game was a major honor for her, while having her teammates and players from other clubs coming out to support everyone meant a great deal to her.

“It means so much. It’s such an honor to be selected for this game and to have the support of my teammates cheering for me,” Ervin said. “It was just awesome to know they supported me. It was a surreal experience.”

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