Centerstage ’28s: Under-the-Radar Specialists

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centerstage was a smaller, boutique-style event with four '28 teams and six '29 squads. However, multiple D1 coaches attended to watch both age groups.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the '28 division, we're focusing on players who haven't announced their commitment yet or aren't as well known, rather than the top players who went off the board early in the window. <a href="https://preplacrosse.com/2026/11/centerstage-28s-top-uncommitted-offensive-performers/">Having covered five offensive standouts </a>and five '28 defensemen at the event, here are five more specialists <br>— SSDMs, face-off guys, and goalies — who were at their best at the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["141656"],"_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-6ae7c591c9fbf"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">For my money, he had the best campaign among the event's goalies, consistently making impressive saves for his Express squad. He's remarkably lithe and quick to get down on the ball without just dropping his entire body to cover low shots. It's wild that we're constantly talking about how often goalies go to ground, but we're also in a world where high-to-low overhand shooting has been the meta for 30 years. Regardless, Rodriguez kept his sprawling in between acrobatic and balletic, while other keepers were more on the spasmodic side of the spectrum. In one game, he made five straight saves, each more impressive than the last, and held the opposing team to one goal before the halftime switch. He did commit to Quinnipiac earlier in the fall, but he was still too good not to write up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218039"],"_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-6ae7c591ca089"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">One of the more revelatory players at Centerstage, DeJesus was everything you want from an SSDM and more. I had seen DeJesus play for Andover last spring, but he had a different gear that he shifted into from the second he took the field at this event. The most memorable play he made was holding off two decidedly larger poles who were trying to push him out by the sideline. DeJesus just flexed and pushed back on both players who were draped on his back, and they slid off of him as he ran down the alley to move it through the wing attackman, who swung it through X, and then the righty attackman on the left wing buried an easy goal. DeJesus wins the point of contact on ground balls, and when he meets a dodger, two checkpoints every college coach has on their SSDM list.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["179137"],"_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-6ae7c591ca11e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I've been a Cooper admirer for some time now, and it's really because he can bulldoze anyone at the X. I mean, anyone. You could line up a water buffalo across from him, and he would still get low enough to mash the groundball out. Teams started trotting poles out to stop him, and he would just roll over them and kick the ball out to a wing. However, Cooper's most marketable trait is that he never gives up on the ball. If there is a battle to be won, he is in the thick of it right alongside his wingmen. Do not be surprised when Cooper is in the top 3 of the ISL for face-off win percentage this spring. He's that good, and it's just a matter of time before he gets scooped up by a program that needs a workhorse draw man who plays like a caffeinated fullback. From what I gather, that announcement is imminent. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["218040"],"_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-6ae7c591ca1ac"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another SSDM with serious purchase on his checks, Gilliam was all over the field at Centerstage. As far as on-ball defense went, Gilliam was the most successful shortie in that category. He stood up at least one overconfident dodger per game, and out-hustled numerous o-mids to loose 50/50 balls. On the clear, he was a one-man army, dropping back to beat the press with explosive speed through the middle and down the alleys. Off the ball, he was adept at sniffing out a rollback and subsequently snuffing it out like a canary in a gas-filled coal mine. Too harsh? Not if you saw the midfielder stop to pick up his stick after it was knocked to the turf with the ball. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["177747"],"_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-6ae7c591ca236"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another tall and commanding goalie from Darien. In other news, the ocean is dangerous, and your taxes will be due next quarter. Wilson matches stick very well and got the better of most of the attempts that were made from attackmen driving from X. He made those saves with the same casual indifference as he exuded from long-distance shots that never had a chance of going in. That calm and cool attitude set him apart from most of the goalies at Centerstage. That is in stark contrast to his crease presence, which echoed across the complex every time he called out the location of the ball. That's the kind of goalie that can turn into a game changer at the next level. Wilson's mastery of those baseline instincts is well and truly established. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->