Girls Academy Event Preview: GA Texas

by J.R. Eskilson

February 10, 2021

The first Girls Academy League Showcase kicks off on Friday from Round Rock complex in Texas. The opening day of the event features the U17 age group with 32 teams in action. The Girls Academy League structured the event with teams broken down into six showcase brackets in the U17 age group. There are five showcase groups in the U19 age group, which kicks off on Saturday. The U15 and U16 age groups take the field the following weekend.

Tophat Gold, Sporting Blue Valley, SC Wave, and City SC were the four teams included in the Showcase I group. Tophat is 9-1-1 on the season and in first place in the Southeast Conference. Tophat’s only loss of the season came back in October in a 0-1 result against IMG Academy. Sarah Sirdah leads the team in scoring this season with 10 goals in 13 games, according to InStat. Ansley Elizalde has seven goals in 13 appearances.

SC Wave is 10-0-1 on the season and in first place in the Mid-America Conference. The Wisconsin club has scored 61 goals in the 11 games and only conceded eight times. Kayla Budish and Elena Zuchowski lead the way in the attack for the Wave.

Sporting Blue Valley is 14-0-1 on the season and sitting in first place in the Frontier Conference. Sporting scored 76 goals in the 15 games. Sydney Watts has been unstoppable for Sporting. InStat statistics attribute 45 goals to her already this season. She also has 12 assists. Watts, an 05, is playing up an age group. She is part of the U.S. U17 Women’s National Team Player Pool.

City SC is 4-1-2 on the season and in second place in the Southwest Conference. Lily O’Grady and Gabrielle Prych lead the team in scoring with six and five goals each. Casey Dehaan has five assists for the squad, according to InStat.

The Showcase I group should be a battle, but the other groups feature some top talent as well that will keep college coaches tuned in throughout the weekend. The aforementioned IMG squad is in Showcase II. They will take on Albion SC San Diego, Houston Dash, and Cincinnati United during the event.

Showcase III features Nationals, Lonestar SC, Colorado Rush, Sporting Saint Louis, Weston FC, and Clovis Crossfire. Showcase IV features NEFC, Oklahoma Energy, Michigan Jaguars, Baltimore Armour, Sockers FC, and West Coast FC. Showcase V has RISE Soccer Club, Lou Fusz Athletic, Eastern Washing Surf SC, Tophat Navy, Albion SC, and Salvo SC.

The U19 age group kicks off on Saturday with games also on Sunday and Monday. Tophat Gold, Sporting Blue Valley, SC del Sol, IMG Academy, Houston Dash, and City SC are the teams in the Showcase I group for that age bracket.

IMG Academy is 9-1 on the season and sits in first place in the Southeast Conference. Tophat Gold is 9-1-1 and in second place in that conference. SC del Sol is 7-0-2 on the season and in first place in the Southwest Conference. City SC is 5-1 and second place in that conference. Houston Dash is 9-2-1 on the season and first in the Frontier Conference. Sporting Blue Valley is 12-3-1 and second in that conference.

The Showcase II bracket features some interesting teams that had a bumpy start to the season. Weston FC, Midwest United, Clovis Crossfire, Nationals, Lonestar, and West Coast FC make up the Showcase II bracket. Weston FC could be the team to watch from the group, as it is a very young and talented team.

Legends FC, LA Surf, Sockers, Colorado Rush, Cincinnati United, and Oklahoma Energy make up Showcase III in the U19 age group. Legends FC was impressive as a guest team during the ECNL Event in Phoenix in November.

Check back on TopDrawerSoccer throughout the weekend for content from the event.