Congratulations to our previous OrthoCarolina Players of the Month!

July 2025

Sasha Blackwell, 2012 Charlotte SA National ECNL G: Sasha was instrumental (as were several of her teammates) in our U13 Girls ECNL team qualifying for the ECNL Finals in Richmond, VA on July 18-19 where they ended up losing 1-2 in the Semifinals vs. San Diego Surf. The team won their group at the ECNL Playoffs in San Diego in late June where they advanced and won their Round of 16 game to advance to Richmond. Sasha was very impactful as a 2-way player and leader for her team. – Brian Moore, Director

Sydney Sullivan, 2014 CSA Matthews Liga G: Over the past year, she has shown remarkable growth as a player and consistently demonstrates a genuine love for the game, her teammates, and the spirit of having fun. Sydney has been a true force on the field, bringing both energy and focus to every practice and game. Her dedication, consistency, and drive to improve make her a valuable team player and asset! – Andy Guevara, Director

Giacomo Patria, 2015 CSA Charlotte Pre-ECNL: Giacomo is a skillful and hard working young man who is entering his 3^RD year in the CSA Charlotte Pre-ECNL program and will be playing on our U11’s next season. He was recently invited to Michigan for the US Youth Futsal National Tryout and made it to the National Team. Giacomo will travel to Argentina in early August for a tournament to represent the US. He is always working hard on his game, doing extra to improve and is very coachable and receptive to feedback. He has also attend the Pre-ECNL summer training program as well as the CSA Futsal program during the summer months. – Ben Cook, Director

Aiden ‘AJ’ Watkins, 2011 Charlotte SA National Academy ECNL: AJ has developed throughout the season to become a very influential player within the team. His performances at the ECNL National Playoffs were a credit to all of the hard work he has completed during the season. This is related to him studying a new game model and focusing on his role and how it benefits the team from a tactical standpoint. His ability to store information and deliver specific actions during our games has been great. His natural ability was for all to see in our playoff games where he was a major impact both in and out of possession his ability to adapt and perform were a credit to his growth as a player. AJ is humble and a great team mate and is always looking to improve every time he enters the field. As a young man he is polite and well majored and is valued both with his teammates and staff. – Steve Gummer, Director

June 2025

Aliyah Jordan, 2013 CSA Charlotte King G: Aliyah never came off the field for her team. She anchored a strong defense all season and her hard work paid off with a promotion to the ECNL RL Blue program for 2025-2026. Aliyah is continuing her training in the summer to enter the preseason fit and ready to continue her development at the next level. – Joe Distaffen, Director of Coaching

Daniel Rejman, 2011 Charlotte SA ECNL RL White: Daniel has shown excellent awareness and commands his box. He gives confidence to the players in front of him and has improved his distribution tremendously as well as his ability to make 1 on 1 saves. He deserves this award due to how hard he pushes himself, how much improvement he has made, and the leadership he has shown in the team in guiding them to their highest finish in the league table ever. – Stephen Chaconas, Director of Coaching 

Juliana Tapia, 2009 Charlotte SA ECNL RL White G: Juliana “Jules” has developed to become a force in the attack. She recently played up with the 08 RL group in our NL event. The team did well posting a 1-1-1 record against NL opponents. Jules was instrumental in the second game scoring the team’s lone goal to secure the tie and help the team earn the result. – Tammy DeCesare, Coach

Henry Wisniewski, 2010 Charlotte SA Elitę 64: Henry is the definition of selflessness!! He was asked to play multiple roles as a player and never thought twice how it would impact him. He has love for the game and his team each time he steps on the field. That selfless attitude is why Wizz is a valuable member for ’10 Uptown E64. – Johnathan Brabson, Coach

May 2025

James Major, 2014 CSA Matthews King – James has worked so hard to be a leader on the field and at training sessions. He is an excellent midfielder who is able to create and finish chances. 

Olivia Phillips, 2012 Charlotte SA ECNL RL Blue G – Olivia has had an exceptional spring.  In the fall she was a player playing half of the game to the spring where she never comes out of the game.  Her work rate is one of the highest on the team with her defensive recovery making her one of the top players on the team.  One of her greatest attributes is that she is a great teammate.  

Kiki Thompson, 2014 CSA North King G – There’s so much to say about Kiki! She is an intelligent and technical young athlete who can control the pace of the game at such a young age. Additionally, she is formidable presence on defense, rarely making mistakes and serving as a leader who helps her teammates improve. Kiki is also the hardest worker on the team, embodying a no-lose mentality in everything she pursues. We’re proud to have her as our captain!

Van Utesch, 2010 Charlotte SA Blue ECNL RL – Van has had an incredible season scoring important goals and tallying assists for the team. He played a variety of positions, never questioned why and just got on with it, showing that his attitude towards the game is fantastic. He is a player that loves a challenge and likes to be pushed. His energy and work rate have helped catapult the team to new levels. Van is a leader by example and his overall performance at practice and games helped the team top the ECNL RL Carolinas League for the first time ever. Great job. 

April 2025

Kaelynn Douglas, 2014 CSA Palisades Liga G: Kaelynn is a true example of hard work and dedication, from the first minute to the last, she gives 100% effort every time she steps on the field. She has shown an immense amount of progress this year and consistently leads the team from the front line. – Kyle Kenney, Director

Cooper Poore, 2012 Charlotte SA National ECNL: Cooper has been working very hard around his decision making in the build up to scoring opportunities, picking out the correct option and knowing when to finish. As a result in the past month he has been able to assist and score multiple goals in key moments of games to help the team win quite a few games in the last stretch of the season! – Josh Gregory, Coach

Hudson Rourk, 2011 CSA North/Hville King: Hudson has been consistently performing at a high level this season as one of the leaders of this team. His continued growth has given him the opportunity to train and play with the ECNL Regional League team this spring. Extremely proud of his hard work and excited for his continued growth within the club. – Josh Denton, Coach

Alexis Utyuzh, 2011 Charlotte SA National ECNL G: Alexis has been very strong in goal for her team’s recent run of good form along with the other defenders and goalkeeper. The team has a 10-0-0 record in this spring season thus far and has qualified for the ECNL Playoffs in San Diego in late June from this recent run of great form. Alexis has recently been to the U.S. Soccer East Talent ID Camp and will be attending another ID Center on April 23rd. – Brian Moore, Director

March 2025

Brooklynn Benfield, 2011 Charlotte SA White RL G: Brooklynn has the work ethic and mindset of what it takes to thrive in a competitive environment. She has been putting in the work to continue to build up her skills and confidence on and off the field. This month she has taken on more players 1v1 to create scoring opportunities for her teammates and herself. In addition, she does a great job supporting her teammates in practice and in games with positive energy and encouragement. – Leo Sanchez, Coach

Beckett Harman, 2014 CSA Charlotte King: Beckett deserves to be named CSA player of the month because of the amount of saves he’s produced for the team since the fall season! This spring, we’re playing a year up and as we’re adjusting to the quicker pace of the game, Beckett provides the team a sense of calmness knowing that he’s protecting our goal. – Rahul Mathur, Coach

Rasa Markauskas, 2014 Pre-Elite 64 G: Rasa is a player that works incredibly hard not only in training, but she also spends a lot of time outside of practice working hard to get better. We are very proud of her progress this spring!! – Catey Stewart, Director

Reid Nangle, 2012 Charlotte SA National Academy ECNL: Reid has been a key player for our U13 Academy team all season and consistently plays and trains at a high level. Playing in either the front line or in midfield, Reid is a constant threat to the opposition in both his 1v1 attacking ability and his creativity to see gaps in the back line. He is a great teammate and exemplifies CSA values in his character as well. We, as a staff, look forward to seeing him continue to grow within the club. – Steve Gummer, Director

February 2025

Andres Garcia – 2012 CSA Palisades King: Andres is a model to his teammates on hard work and perseverance. He consistently shows his ability to make his teammates better and gives 100% effort every time he steps onto the field for training and games. – Kyle Kenney, Director

Chandler Krusinski – 2011 Charlotte SA Blue ECNL RL G: Chandler has become one of the most important players on the team.  She can play anywhere up the spine of the team.  On top of being a very good player she is also one of the best teammates anyone could have. Her workmate, intensity and selfless sacrifice is beyond measure. – Scott Ginn, Director

Olivia Moore – 2013 CSA Charlotte Roma Elite 2 G: Olivia Moore is the player of the month because of the tireless work she has poured into her game to start the Spring Season. Due to her performances over the Fall and her recent guest player performances with the U11 Pre ECNL 2 team she was chosen to move up from team 3. The staff and I look forward to seeing her rise to the challenge of being on team 2. – Stephano Williams, Director

Josh Singleton – 2008 Charlotte SA White ECNL RL: Josh is a great example for all CSA players, he has had a meteoric rise in the last 12 months. From KING player to starting ECNL RL player, key player for his team, and the best left back in the league arguably. His dedication to development is a lesson for all. – Stephen Chaconas, Director

January 2025

Aiden Gross – 14 CSA Charlotte Pre-ECNL: Aiden is an absolute rock at the back, a very strong, quick and powerful defender who is very difficult to get past. He is the ultimate competitor, times his tackles well and has really improved his technical skills on the ball as well as his ability to play out the back effectively under pressure. – Director, Ben Cook

Ryder Kahn – 10 Charlotte SA Blue ECNL RL: Ryder is new to the ECNL RL program. Ryder has been instrumental in the first 3 games of the season with the team conceding one goal and scoring 4 to start the season with 2 wins and a tie. He is a positive leader and strong in the tackle and good in the air in both boxes. He is demanding of his team mates and has helped set standards within the team both on and off the pitch. His desire and determination on the field has helped his team start strong. Seasoned in possession he plays balls over distance with ease and has been outstanding for the team. A quiet young man until he crosses the line to play, he is self assured and plays with a high respect for the game and shows good sportsmanship. We look forward to seeing continued progress. – Director, Steve Magee

Sophia Leonard – 10 CSA North/Hville King G: Sophia is a perfect example of a leader on the team with her hard work and continued dedication to becoming a better player and person. Exemplifies what a hard worker and great teammate should be about. She always wants to improve and better the people around her.  – Coach, Shinya Turley

Olivia Newcome – 10 Charlotte SA National ECNL G: Olivia is a solid GK that has helped her U15 Charlotte SA Girls 10 ECNL team to finishing the season in the Top teams in the Mid-Atlantic Conference (with a league game to play).  Olivia has been in the last 2 US YNT camps for her 2010 age group and performed well at those camps. – Director Brian Moore

December 2024

Drew Moulton, 12 Charlotte SA National ECNL: Drew has been a very big reason we are able to compete in games. He does a great job protecting the goal as a center back and leading by example to those around him. He holds people accountable in a nice way and is very humble himself, always giving his best effort and looking to improve! – Josh Gregory, Director

London Stafford, 09 Charlotte SA White ECNL RL G: London is a fierce competitor and anchor in the 09 backline. She has helped the team secure 4 straight shut outs in November. London embodies the characteristics of a great teammate and leader always  working to make improvements in her game and lift her teammates up. – Tammy DeCesare, Coach

Josie Paridy, 2013 CSA Matthews King G: Josie plays primarily as a central defender. Josie is dedicated and hard-working. She has good instincts, she reads the game well, and she is a hard-nosed tackler. She is very sound technically and she makes great decisions both with and without the ball.  Josie is an impactful player both in training and in matches and she displays great desire to grow, improve, and learn. – Andy Guevara, Director

Warren Parker, 2013 CSA Uptown King: Warren has become a wall in goal for us, keeping us in every match and giving confidence to his back line.  He has been a shot stopping machine, especially in our tournament matches – using ninja like actions to make seemingly impossible saves.  Beyond his efforts in goal, he has really improved his foot skills by working hard in training – demonstrating athletic ability we didn’t know he had. – Prince Ojok, Director

November 2024

Braden Mathis, 09 National Academy ECNL: Braden is a quality player who always works hard and inspires others around him. His passing ability and providing options to advance the team are truly recognized by the coaching staff. His enthusiasm for the game is a credit to himself and his family. – Steve Gummer, Director

Kaelyn Severance, 08 Blue ECNL RL G: Kaelyn has done an incredible job at center back with her strong individual defending and her distribution going forward, sometimes risky, but happy to see she is not afraid of trying a thing or two and have the confidence to do it. – Alfredo Henriques Fernandez, Coach

Lily Cuevas, 09 Palisades/York King G: Lily has had a tremendous month on the field playing outside defender. She has continuously won her 1v1 duels and was a huge part of keeping a clean sheet in all three of our state playoff games. Her willingness to play and train hard with a passion for the game is why she is our player of the month. – DJ White, Coach

Logan Speights, 14 CSA Matthews King: Logan always has a great energy and work rate and is always working to get better. He is a leader on his team and plays several positions -always willing to help his team be successful. – Andy Guevara, Director

October 2024

Naveen Douglas, 2011 Charlotte SA White RL: Naveen has seen a meteoric rise to our ECNL RL program in the North/Huntersville section, having success in our USYS program and earning a spot at this past tryout after several appearances last season filling in. He has carried that success forward to become a key starter for his team while leading the backline and contributing goals from set pieces. – Coach Stephen Chaconas

Mary Martin Spinner, 2008 Charlotte SA National ECNL G: Mary Martin (called “May May”) was instrumental in her team’s comeback victory at NVA on Sat. Oct. 5 where she scored a hat trick in the team’s 5-1 victory that day. She’s been a big part of their team’s great start in the Girls ECNL season thus far – going 4-1-1 in their first half of the season. – Coach Brian Moore

Sutton Fahy, 2016 CSA North YA A.C. Milan:  Sutton has been nominated as Player of the Month for his outstanding work ethic and performance. He has an unquestionable love for the game and demonstrates his creativeness through his joyful play. He thrives in front of goal and never gives up! – Coach Chris Ryan

Piper McCoy, 2012 CSA Elite 64 G: Piper puts great effort into not only improving herself, but also improving others around her. She leads by example and through encouragement. – Coach Heather Frelin

September 2024

Nicholas Armand, 2014 CSA Charlotte Black: Nick is a hard working and talented young player. He is very skillful and excels in 1v1 situations. On top of all of this he is extremely coachable and loves the game. – Coach Adam Charlton

Charlie Niblock, 2012 CSA Charlotte King G: Charlie has been nominated as POM for her constant hard work both in practice and in games. She is consistent and is always willing to play out of position when needed, and does so at a very high standard. She is an example to all of her teammates. – Coach Callum Davidson

Kaiden Beck, 2011 Charlotte SA Blue RL: Kaiden has been a true leader on and off the field for his family and the team. When things get rough, he lifts everyone up, pushes us forward, and always gives 100%. He is what a captain should be, and I can’t be more proud to coach him again this year. – Coach George Margiotis

Mia Zulueta, 2007/06 Charlotte SA White RL G: Mia has opened the season with a strong presence up top for this team. She’s had a hand in nearly every goal scored (goal or assist). Her abilities to create scoring opportunities for herself and her teammates has transformed the team attack for this group. – Coach Tammy DeCesare

August 2024

Owen Andersen, 2014 CSA Charlotte Roma Elite 1: Owen’s focus and concentration in training sessions and games are excellent. He sees everything on the soccer field which allows him to find great passes and intercept passes.

Caroline Gillespie, 2009 CSA Matthews King G: Caroline is a leader on her 16UG team. She has scored multiple goals in her team run to the finals of the CSA DSG Invitational. 

Will Caicedo, 2011 Charlotte SA National ECNL: Will has continued the fall the way he finished the spring. Under the guidance of CSA GK Director, Ian Carry, Will has really developed in all areas of his game. He has grown into a leadership role within his team and has become one of the best goalkeepers in his age group in the club.

Addey McCarley, 2010 Charlotte SA Blue RL G: Addey is a key player for our team and has been instrumental in the team’s success. She has an incredibly high work ethic every time she steps on the field and is a great motivator for the rest of the team. She has a very high soccer IQ, and is extremely impactful for our team on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Addey is a great communicator and keeps the team organized and motivated throughout the entire game.

July 2024

Vivian Rupert, 13 CSA Charlotte Roma Elite 1 G:
Vivian was selected to the US Youth Fustal National Team several weeks ago. This is a tremendous achievement and we wish her the best of luck during the Costa Rica Trip.

Gus Segars, 09 Charlotte SA NPL:
Gus has been a captain on the team for 3 years now, and he embodies the character, competitive spirit and attitude to be competitive at the highest level. He quietly goes about his business of winning tackles, headers, playing out from the back and looks to make others around him better. He has been a consistent core member of the team for the last 3 years and a big component in progressing the team from a state level team, to a regionally and now national level team this summer (reached National final 4 this summer). Despite a heavy ankle sprain 3 weeks out from Nationals, he recovered in record time to play a key role in our final 4 run.

Grant Ellis, 07 Charlotte SA National Academy ECNL:
Grant is an unbelievable young man who is always “Team first before himself”. He cares for others and is always positive in any situation. He is a great motivator and always bring 100% effort to training and games. As a player he is very fast and explosive as a left back and can cover ground extremely well, he provides a great resource to our attacking philosophy and can overlap and create opportunities for himself and the front line, as a defender he excels in the 1v1 battle and his recovery speed strength in the tackle are things that make him an asset to the 07 team. Grant listens to instruction and has an attitude of self improvement every single day, his growth mindset mentality stands him in good stead for continued growth throughout his tenure at CSA.

Ally Stewart, 11 Charlotte SA ECNL G:
Ally was instrumental in our U13 Charlotte SA Girls 11 ECNL team winning their 3rd Round Robin game vs. FC Dallas at the ECNL Playoffs to advance to the Round of 16. Ally scored the 1st and 3rd (game-winning) goals to allow the team to win 3-2 in the all-important game to win the group and advance.

June 2024

Mateo Scavo, 2013 CSA Uptown King: Mateo is a very dedicated soccer player that rarely misses practices. He has a fantastic work rate and is very coachable. 

Sarah Brett, 2013 CSA Charlotte Liga G: Sarah has worked hard all season to not only develop her defensive ability, but her ability to consistently help her team build from their goalkeeper into the attacking half. Her effort and dedication to development allowed her to jump 3 teams during tryouts, moving up from the Charlotte Liga team to the Pre-ECNL 1 team. 

Mia Valencia, 2009 Charlotte SA White RL G: Mia has tremendous work rate which allows her to stand out. She plays every moment with a level of physicality and tenacity that creates unmatched energy for herself and her team. 

Rhys McGibbon, 2009 Charlotte SA White RL: Rhys helped lead his team to an exceptional year, finishing as conference runners up and qualifying for the ECNL Regional League Championships, where the team finished as a finalist, barely missing out on Nationals. Rhys’ goals, assists and leadership, helped the team have their best year to date.

May 2024

Addy Glover, 10 CSA North/Hville King G: Addy works really hard at every practice and she shows up ready to go every game. She puts in time away from the field to make herself better. The best part about her is that she is such a great teammate, she’s always encouraging her teammates no matter the situation.

Michael Gordon, 13 CSA Matthews King: Michael works hard at every session and match and is always looking for ways to improve. He is a great teammate and his positive impact on the field and at sessions is easily noticed.

Max Mayor, 10 Charlotte SA Blue RL: Max is strong, athletic, technical and extremely determined. Week in and week out he has gotten better and better.

Addey McCarley, 10 Charlotte SA Blue RL G: Addey is one of the best players on the U14G RL team. Her work rate is unmatched. She is extremely competitive and always looking to improve her game, but most of all, she is always trying to help her teammates and the team. She serves the team and is a great teammate!

Congratulations to the OrthoCarolina Players of the Month for August!

Benjamin Shine, 2013 CSA York King: Benjamin Shine brings positive energy to trainings and focus to games. Benjamin, otherwise known as “Benji” to his teammates, had a clean sheet throughout the 2024/25 season, up to our last game, where one slipped through. Benji takes command of the field, motivating and directing players during matches.  Benji’s protection of the goal is nothing short of making him one of the best in his age bracket, where he showcases skills of getting big in front of the net, having stellar reflexes with kick saves and dives, as well as having a ball played back, and distributing accordingly. Benji continues to perfect his art by attending the keeper trainings as well as working outside of team trainings on his own. In the past month, Benji has shown more growth playing 11V11 for his first season and protecting a bigger goal by cutting down angles and playing outside the box to help the team clear the ball. Benji was key in winning the CSA DSG Tournament in our age bracket, allowing only two goals in the four games played. This recognition is well deserved, as he has been able to give the teams he has been with an upper hand as their keeper.

Nadia Houdek, 2013 Charlotte SA Blue RL: Nadia is an exceptional player for her age. Her understanding of the game is extremely high as well as her technical skills. She has moved beyond just playing the game to understanding and knowing the game on a higher level. What really makes her such a good player is how great of teammate she is and the effort she puts into every training session and game. 

Sebastian Rendon, 2013 Charlotte SA National ECNL: Sebastian has helped the team start the season off very competitively. His creativity and drive has contributed to quite a few goals already! He is helping others in the team push the level of intensity in training to get more out of ourselves each day. 

Sydney Harper, 2014 CSA Charlotte Elite 1 G: Sydney and her teammates have gotten off to a fantastic start this season. They’re currently undefeated and just won the CSA Invitational. She currently leads the team in goals with 4 goals in 6 matches. We’ve got 3 games left this month and she’ll look to add to her tally.

Congratulations to the OrthoCarolina Players of the Month for August!

Owen Andersen, 2014 CSA Charlotte Roma Elite 1: Owen’s focus and concentration in training sessions and games are excellent. He sees everything on the soccer field which allows him to find great passes and intercept passes.

Caroline Gillespie, 2009 CSA Matthews King G: Caroline is a leader on her 16UG team. She has scored multiple goals in her team run to the finals of the CSA DSG Invitational. 

Will Caicedo, 2011 Charlotte SA National ECNL: Will has continued the fall the way he finished the spring. Under the guidance of CSA GK Director, Ian Carry, Will has really developed in all areas of his game. He has grown into a leadership role within his team and has become one of the best goalkeepers in his age group in the club.

Addey McCarley, 2010 Charlotte SA Blue RL G: Addey is a key player for our team and has been instrumental in the team’s success. She has an incredibly high work ethic every time she steps on the field and is a great motivator for the rest of the team. She has a very high soccer IQ, and is extremely impactful for our team on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Addey is a great communicator and keeps the team organized and motivated throughout the entire game.