Meet Paxton Battaglia, an outstanding center back for the Milton Eagles girls soccer team and a starter as a true freshman. She comes from an athletic family that has played collegiately and in the professional ranks. Her dad, Matt Battaglia, was a former All-American middle linebacker for the University of Louisville. He went pro and played in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. Her grandfather, Carmen Battaglia, was a running back at Florida State.
Her big brother, Blaze Battaglia, will become a big name on the gridiron soon and will play a big part on the Eagles defense this upcoming season.
She already has several huge accolades early on in her career, including Girls Academy Champions Cup Champion, National Champion runner-up, selected to Girls Academy Southeast Conference Talent, and four-time captain on her club team, TopHat Gold. Tophat Gold is ranked No. 1 in Georgia and No. 12 in the U.S. and is a five-time Southeast Conference champion.
“My favorite thing about the sport of soccer is that it’s competitive and an incredible team sport. It gives me structure, teaches me discipline, and it allows me to travel and compete against a lot of great athletes around the country,” said Battaglia.
She is also set to play in the Adidas Generation Cup and missed the final game of the regular season for the Lady Eagles, who played non-region Walton to close out the season. Milton surely missed her last night in its close 1-0 loss to Walton to end the regular season. The Lady Eagles finished 8-6 this season and will enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed in Region 7-5A.
“It’s been an honor to play varsity at Milton as a freshman, and there are a lot of great teammates on this team. I’m looking forward to our playoffs. I’m honored to be one of the 40 girls selected from the Girls Academy to compete against Manchester City & Bayern Munich in the 2025 Generation Adidas Cup International,” said Battaglia.
She explained more about her position on the pitch and what she is responsible for each time she plays in the starting lineup.
“Center backs are similar to the QB in football. It’s our responsibility to see the entire field and help move the ball up field. We assist all of our teammates by informing everyone of things they cannot always see. Since we are in the back of the field, we can see everything. If someone needs to tuck in, we tell them to tuck in. It’s a center back’s responsibility to hold the back line.”
Battaglia is one of the top-rated center backs per Prep Soccer and is already standing out at a young age. She also had a memorable moment this season when she scored a goal against Cambridge early in the season. When you watch her film, you see a very physical player who plays with great pace, outracing her opponents and making it tough for them to advance the ball to get it in scoring position. Battaglia is great at stopping momentum and staying in front of the opposing attack, using her tactical skills and athleticism to constantly make plays. Her story is just getting started, but she has already accomplished so much in her young career with much more to go. Battaglia will be a name to continue to watch moving forward.
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