2026-08-19, 12:02 PM - Word count:
One of the SSL's newest academy players is Alyssa Barnes, a flashy wing back hailing from New Zealand. She is only the 2nd currently active player from New Zealand and just the 7th overall. Ben Nelson currently stands as the best Kiwi to ever do it, joining the league in S18, but all those who came before never amounted to more than a couple seasons in the league. Alyssa has high hopes of becoming a star for her country, to continue to push the envelope that Nelson started, and etch her name as the best Kiwi the league has ever seen.
Barnes hails from the same youth academy as Isabela Cortez, who was last season in the SSL a decade ago playing for AS Paris. Cortez was a high-pace, active winger and Barnes fits that same mold. She still has a lot of work to round out her game, but she looks to bring the same pace and aggressiveness that Cortez had, but also rounding out her complete game to be excellent defensively. You can tell watching Barnes that the tools are there, but she's still young and has a lot of work ahead of her to compete on the SSL stage. She's said a lot that she wants to focus on being a complete player but it's easy to see a lot of the technical tools are still lacking, and her mentality when she hits the SSL Academy pitch is yet to be seen. We will have to see how she lives up to the lofty expectations she's set for herself.
Barnes hails from the same youth academy as Isabela Cortez, who was last season in the SSL a decade ago playing for AS Paris. Cortez was a high-pace, active winger and Barnes fits that same mold. She still has a lot of work to round out her game, but she looks to bring the same pace and aggressiveness that Cortez had, but also rounding out her complete game to be excellent defensively. You can tell watching Barnes that the tools are there, but she's still young and has a lot of work ahead of her to compete on the SSL stage. She's said a lot that she wants to focus on being a complete player but it's easy to see a lot of the technical tools are still lacking, and her mentality when she hits the SSL Academy pitch is yet to be seen. We will have to see how she lives up to the lofty expectations she's set for herself.
Code:
260 words![[Image: BIMAL2g.png]](https://i.imgur.com/BIMAL2g.png)
[pbcust,12,400,000000,ffffff,Arial][pbl]Isabela Cortez || RM || Retired[/pbl]
[pbl]Height: 5'5[/pbl]
[pbl]Weight: 140 lbs [/pbl]
[pbl]Birthplace: London, ON, Canada[/pbl]
[pbl]Number: 9[/pbl][/pb]
