Wildcats Waiting in the Wings, Part III: Eclipse Select's Kayla Sharples

Before Kayla Sharples joined Eclipse Select Soccer Club, she had mostly been an offense-based player, but the club saw she had intangibles that worked well on the defensive side to utilize her full arsenal.

Those aspects of her game have now helped pave the way to a promising college path as the Naperville, Ill., native will join fellow 2013-14 Eclipse Select U-17 Elite Clubs National League teammates Hannah Davison and Aspyn Repp at Northwestern starting in the fall of 2015.

“The style of the defenders on Eclipse is more offensive, so when they put me in that different role, it was something that I knew I could be strong at,” Sharples said of her initial move to the defense. “They helped me on the defensive aspects of the game and what I have to do in certain situations – when to drop off, when to step up as a unit, and communicating.”

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.