Scout’s View: Class of 2027 Standouts from the 2025 ECNL Girls Finals

The ECNL Girls National Finals recently took place in Richmond, VA, featuring top teams in the U13-U17 age groups.

San Diego Surf teams won both the U13 and U14 National Championships. Michigan Hawks captured the U15 title, MVLA took home the U16 trophy and Real Colorado National emerged on top in the U17 division. (RECAP)

Longtime scout Jerry Penkala, owner and operator of JTF Academy, was on hand for the tournament, and compiled a list of some of the top players that he watched from the Class of 2027.

See below for Penkala’s top performers.

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Charlotte Perry – Outside Back
MVLA SC 2009 (CA)

I am always looking for the undersized yet incredibly tough and competitive players, and Charlotte is exactly that. She never got knocked off the ball, but instead used her toughness to win 100% of the tackles she went into during the National Championship game. She shut down her entire side of the field, and even got forward whenever possible to help overlap and give her team numbers in the final third. Perry has all the makings of a Power 4 contributor.

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Lauren Mercer – Forward
KC Athletics 2009 (KS)

Mercer is an impact player on the attacking side for KC Athletics 2009, and was a huge reason why they were able to advance all the way to the National Championship game. She’s a born-scorer with the ideal mindset and competitiveness that college coaches look for. She has great fundamentals and a phenomenal work rate, and she always seems to be in the right place at the right time, making great off-ball runs with consistency.

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Grace Murray – Midfielder
Beach Futbol Club 2009 (CA)

Murray is an exceptional talent who lived up to her billing as a 2024 ECNL All-American and Conference Player of the Year. While the Beach FC 2009 squad was unable to capture the National Championship, Murray and her teammates enjoyed another remarkable season in which they were among the last group of teams standing. Murray is technical, athletic, strong, fast, smart and creative. Her game checks all the boxes, and she was easily one of the best overall players at the event.

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Kayla Faulk – Forward / Midfielder
Royals FC Arizona 2009 (AZ)

Another dynamic offensive impact player, Faulk has top-end speed and she thrives at finding the right spacing based on where she can be most effective. She’s calm on the ball and has the ability to drive at defenders 1v1 or draw them close to her, then dish to a wide open teammate.

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Avery Edson – Outside Back
MVLA SC 2009 (CA)

Edson was one of the most impactful players on the entire pitch when she got into the National Championship game as a substitute. She brought the most immediate energy and intense mindset out of any sub I saw. Her toughness, intimidating 1v1 defensive technique and spacing/timing changed the entire flow of the game when KC started possessing more, and becoming more dangerous offensively. In addition, her speed and ability to connect after she made a ton of impressive clean tackles was a huge factor in the overall result.

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Felicity Nguyen – Forward
San Diego Surf 2009 (CA)

This well-known and highly-ranked forward showed exactly why she deserves that attention. She’s fast, strong, smart, and her toughness and competitiveness are off the charts. She was always willing to do the dirty work defensively and high press the back line at the right time. For as tough as Nguyen is for opponents to deal with when she has the ball at her feet on offense, that high press ability makes her equally as much of a nightmare to deal with as a defensive player.

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Lucy Gardiner – Goalkeeper
XF Academy 2009 (WA)

Gardiner is a goalkkeeper that immediately impresses with her athleticism and ability to make the incredible full-extension save or tip over the bar look easy. She’s also extremely well-trained and outstanding on tracking balls from the corner as well as an outstanding quickness off her line when needed.

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Olivia Cellini – Forward / Midfielder
Penn Fusion 2009 (PA)

One of the more accurate and selfless offensive impact players I have seen in the ECNL all season, Cellini sees the entire field better than most other players in her age group. She’s also so technically-sound in terms of distributing, she can slot a difficult pass to her attacking teammates or send a perfect cross into the 18 anytime.

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Emmy Salita – Outside Back
MVLA SC 2009 (CA)

Salita is a major reason why this MVLA team managed to hold off the high-flying offense of KC Athletics in the National Championship game. She was not only a completely intimidating defender when KC started to build some possession and winning space, she was constantly cleaning up her side of the field in terms of any genuine attack. She worked hard to get forward every single time she had the chance to make that happen, forcing opponents to keep a close eye on her impact in the final third.

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Payton Grex – Midfielder
Royals FC Arizona 2009 (AZ)

Playing a key role as a super-sub at the ECNL Finals, Grex changed the entire flow of the game and its outcome in the end. When Payton got in there, she had the game go through her in terms of her defensive shutdown ability, plush she was talented enough to be the link between the back line and their offensive threats.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• KAT STALIN – KC ATHLETICS 09
• KAIA CARRUTHERS – BEACH CA 09
• KENSINGTON BERNS – COLORADO NATIONAL 08
• ISABELLA BERTOLUCCI – MVLA 09
• CAITLYN WENDALL – ROYALS AZ 09
• JAYLYNN TRAVER – STING DALLAS BLACK 08
• MACKENZIE TUCKER – XF CROSSFIRE PREMIER 09