Autumn Bowl: 2029 Mid-Atlantic Midfielders Making Their Mark

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>College coaches packed the sidelines at Kirkwood Sports Complex on Sunday, Nov. 1, for the first official day of fall in-person evaluations. The Autumn Bowl offered Division I coaches one of their first opportunities to get to know the 2029 class. In the first installment of our coverage of the event, we break down five Mid-Atlantic midfielders who made their mark.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["174911"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aea3ce600953"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Baldwin moves with a certain strut that exudes smoothness and confidence. He looks past his matchup, as if he already knows he can beat the defender in front of him. Approaching slowly with his head up and a couple of stick twirls, he processes how the defense plans to play him. His vision is on a different level <br>— he doesn't just see open teammates; he knows how to manipulate sliders to create what he wants, whether that's a feeding window or room to get his own. If slides are slow, he frees his hands in an instant up either hash or on his natural side, letting go lasers on the run. Even when he doesn't create separation, he'll shoot right through pressure. When defenders are quicker to show and slide, he knows how to slow down, change his posture, pop out, and shop for skip passes. He's productive without the ball, too, catching and turning quickly into his release without moving the ball far from where he received it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218475"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae909b134a1b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nicholas had the highlight of the day, and hopefully a camera caught it. He somehow pinballed through multiple Boston's Phinest defenders before finishing with a falling twister. A fluid lefty, he dodges with the feel of a basketball player. From the high left wing, he closes the distance on his defender, looking to get their feet to stop before hitting a wide-stanced jab that resembles a crossover. That combination consistently earns him a step and gets him into the middle of the field instantly. His hands are deceptively quick, and he shoots and feeds from a variety of release points. He raises and lowers his stick to vary his release point and timing, keeping goalies guessing about where and when the ball will come out. He's a slasher off the ball, too, knowing when to turn on the gas and hit seams for catches and finishes at full speed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218470"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6aea3ce600a92"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scoring 20 goals and logging a team-high 28 assists as a freshman in the IAC is no small feat. Watching him with Next Level on Sunday, it was easy to see how he did it. He looked comfortable operating from behind the cage, delivering pinpoint feeds to cutters and getting up the hashes when he could beat his matchup with speed. His release is different from the norm, pairing deceptive quickness with surprising velocity on both feeds and shots. The ball comes out with little tell, often beating goalies to spots. I loved what he did off-ball, too. I could probably count on one hand the number of re-picks I've seen in club ball, and he was responsible for one of them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["169371"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae909b1349dc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I love a box-style shooting windup and release, and Aton's first caught my eye during Lawrenceville's championship run at NHSLS over the summer. It stood out again on Sunday. He gets his hands far back and low, hiding the ball from the goalie before letting it go. It's especially effective on the run: that low setup gets goalies standing tall in anticipation of a high shot, but Aton loves to come overhand and pull it low. He's a pure shooter with his feet set, too, often turning to an underhand release. With one quick snap of his wrists and hips, he can pull it high or mix in a low-to-low finish. Add his overhand to low shots and bounce shots from that same low windup, and he has goalies seeing ghosts before the ball even leaves his stick.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218472"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6ae909b13499a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A smaller, shifty, and skilled mover, Turco was a constant positive for Next Level on Sunday. A good party starter on offense, he got downhill and down the alleys, connecting with attackmen on backside skip feeds and creating his own scoring chances. I loved the hesitations and rockers he mixed into his dodges, preserving his shooting angle while putting sliders in tough spots. His IQ showed up off the ball, too, as he found soft spots in the defense and knew when to settle in or cut through for stepdowns and easy finishes. In the open field, he showed a feel for escaping sticky situations, using jukes and swim moves to work through traffic despite his smaller stature.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->