Despite a lurking thunderstorm, TDS Combine Series put on another quality event at the University of Texas at Dallas in November. The weather stayed in the favor of attendees and spectators throughout, allowing the players to bring forth their best game. 

With a number of college coaches in attendance, the elite recruiting event served as the perfect platform for players to showcase their merit in front of scouts from every level of college athletics.

After reviewing feedback from the event, the college coaches and TSD staff picked the following Girls Best XI, sponsored by National Guard.

 

Kelsey Brann – Goalkeeper – 2017

Brann is a well-rounded keeper with great hands and quick reaction. She is great on low shots and distributes well – both on goal kicks and punts, but can also transition quickly with throws. Brann had several important saves throughout the day, including a close range reaction save.

 

Astrid Souto – Defender – 2017

Souto is a prominent leader and a smart defender with good composure on the ball. During the combine, she displayed great presence and maturity in the back line, constantly communicating with her fellow defenders and teammates, and also showed good movement to cover space. With her physical strength, size and quickness, she was able keep up with attackers on through balls, and also won all battles in the air.

 

Julia Laskaris – Defender – 2017

Laskaris is the kind of defender many coaches are looking for – quick, comfortable under pressure, and confident in her passing and dribbling game. She especially impressed with her tactical abilities on and off the ball. Laskaris is not afraid of going forward to attack – she can both challenge by herself, or combine her eminent speed and good passing skills to move up the line.

 

Summerlyn Heller – Defender - 2017

Heller adds great size and good speed in a backline. She is calm and composed with the ball and not afraid of getting chalk on her cleats as she moves forward down the sideline. During the full-field games, she had many good one-two combinations with her midfielders and did a great job moving the ball by give-and-go and delivering crosses.

 

Renny Moore – Midfielder – 2017  

Moore is a workhorse and true attacking midfielder. Always running and looking for openings, she posed a significant danger to the opposing defense and created several scoring opportunities throughout the games. She was highly engaged in the plays and persistently wanted the ball, not afraid of leaving her position in the mid field to check back to receive the ball or assist in ball winning.

 

Autumn Morris – Midfielder - 2018

Morris’ experience playing with boys was evident in her play at the Combine. In play, she was creative with her touches and movement on the ball. She frequently used fakes and turns to pass her opponents. She also has good looks for open passes to initiate attacks. She topped her performance for the day with a beautiful goal applauded by the spectators.

 

Katy Johnson – Midfielder - 2016

Johnson was true pleasure to watch – smart, strong, fast and aggressive. She is an athlete by size, structure and heart, and possesses all the facets of a well-rounded soccer player. Johnson not only impressed the coaches and TDS crew with her talent and skills, but also made notice of herself with her stamina and speed as she maintained the intensity throughout the entire day. 

 

Alexis Castillo – Midfielder – 2016

Although Castillo was not one of the biggest players on the fields in Dallas, she proved that size does not always matter. With a technical finesse that stood out among the best on the day, Castillo was able to receive almost any ball – high, low, hard, soft, and control the ball to escape pressure and seize an open opportunity. Some of her greatest strengths are dribbling and movement off the ball, which complement her position in the center midfield.

 

Mariah Ramon – Midfield – 2017

Ramon is an innovative center mid who is consistent in her passing and works hard, but smart, to put her teammates in excellent scoring positions. At the combine, she had a strikingly high pass completions ratio and was the clockwork of many offensive plays. She controlled the center midfield in a 4-4-2 and was, despite high pressure from the opposing teams, able to maneuver out of situations with quick touches, acceleration and sharp changes of direction. With her vision and composure in the center, paired with her athletic abilities, she created a lot of amazing scoring opportunities and had a couple of assists.

 

Alexandria Griffin – Forward – 2017

Griffin exhibits great speed and good energy in the offence. She has a nose for the back of net and scored some very nice goals throughout the combine games. Griffin showed she is strong dribbler that can take on the defense – she beat many of her opponents in 1 v 1 situations which set her free in a break-away, leaving her alone with keeper to settle the finishing challenge.  Her hustle and fighting spirit rubbed off on her teammates, and her ability to penetrate the defense helped push the team’s attacking line higher.

 

Jessika Coronado – Forward – 2016

Coronado is an excellent striker with fantastic knowledge in the position and an eagerness to learn. She has a great vision and makes smart and efficient decisions in the attack.  What stood out especially in her performance were her wide and varied movement, as well as her ability to hold on to the ball. She made a lot runs that put her self in front of the goal, but also quite often illustrated her tactical understanding and awareness when checking back to receive the ball and spot the next pass. With a few goals at the combine, she will definitely be one to watch.

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

Kenady Carlile – Midfielder - 2018

Hannah Warner – Goalkeeper - 2017

Katie Leach – Midfielder - 2018