Podcast: What we learned from the ECNL Girls Florida showcase

In the latest episode of 'The Goal' we discussed the ECNL Florida national showcase. (Matt Doherty/NESJ)

On the latest episode of “The Goal” podcast, we recapped the ECNL Girls Florida showcase and previewed the upcoming season.

Our own Matt Doherty attended the national event at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., earlier this month. The three-day event saw hundreds of scouts in attendance to watch 230 of the top teams from the ECNL, including numerous teams from New England clubs.

Doherty joined host Matt Langone to discuss his thoughts from the showcase, which New England teams and players stood out, and what to expect this spring from the region’s ECNL Girls teams.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On his biggest takeaway from the showcase:

Doherty: “I felt like the quality of teams from New England was really strong. I think last year we focused a lot on the Class of 2027 — that was kind of our main group. Those were the uncommitted players with the recruiting period opening, so this year going to Florida, I really wanted to see the Class of 2028 and 2029, which is the 2010 group. So, I focused most of my attention on that age group, and I felt like there’s a lot of good New England teams in that age group.”

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On a team that stood out:

Doherty: “I think Connecticut FC. I think they have a lot of talent. They beat World Class to start the year in December, which is an annual power in the New England Conference. So that result right there already turns heads. And then in Florida, I just liked the way they played. They’re a very possession-based team. They are always looking to attack.”

On what he’s looking forward to see play-out this spring:

Doherty: “I think the playoff spots, because there’s only two this year. Last year, there were four and now there’s only two. So what does that do? It’s also a 16-game regular season, so the league play is just more emphasized and more important.”

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