Placer United Boys Glow at Davis College Showcase

Posted On July 21, 2016 by PUSC

The Placer United boys teams continued where the girls left off the weekend before as of five of our teams advanced to the semi-final rounds of the 2016 Davis College showcase.

The Placer United 2001 Gold, 2003 Academy, 2004 Academy and 1998 Black boys teams all played strong Davis teams in their quest to make the championship game, while our 2000 Boys were drawn against a tough Santa Clara Sporting.

In the 2004 Boys game, Placer trailed 2-1 at the half but the new look yellow submariners came out flying and crashed through the red sea to secure a great come back win of 5-2 and sail into their second consecutive Davis Showcase final.

Placer United 04 Academy – 2016 Davis Showcase Champions

Over on field eleven, the 2003 Boys were also dressed to impress in their smart looking new yellow kits and were involved in a thrilling back and forth affair. With Davis leading 1-0, the Placer 2003 boys scored two back-to-back goals just before the half to lead 2-1 at the whistle. Placer finished out the game 3-2 to advance to their second consecutive Davis Showcase final.

Placer United 03 Academy – 2016 Davis Showcase Finalists

The 2001 Boys, who earlier beat tournament favorites Galt FC in a dramatic quarter final PK shootout, couldn’t seem to find the much needed  energy to beat a Republic FC loaded Davis team, despite creating a few 1v1 opportunities. The boys never really controlled the game and lost 2-0.

In the 2000 Boys semi-final, Placer scored off a great free kick to take a 1-0 lead against Santa Clara. Placer then conceded an unlucky goal which tied up the game at one a piece at the final whistle. The team from Santa Clara Sporting  eventually won 4-3.

The surprise team of the tournament was the Placer 98 Boys Black team who had a very comfortable win over another Davis team. Our boys controlled the game from start to finish to win 2-1 and advance to their first Davis College Showcase final.

Placer United 98 Boys Black – 2016 Davis Showcase Champions

The final day was a super exciting one with three Placer United Boys teams all looking to take home first place silverware. The day started out with the 2004 Boys going up against a very skillful De Anza Force team. But as has been the story with most our their games in this tournament, the Placer boys looked very much like a Dortmund Jr team and never allowed the De Anza team to settle on the ball as their high pressure game forced the De Anza team into countless turnovers. Placer never looked in any danger throughout the game as they easily won 2-0 to take home their second Davis Showcase champion title. Great job by James Shepard on being named the Davis Showcase 2004 Boys MVP!

James Shepard – 2016 Davis Showcase MVP with Coach Paul O’Brien

While the 04 Boys were battling De Anza, the Placer 2003 Boys were in a dog fight with a very good Napa Academy team. With 70 minutes up on the clock and the Placer leading 1-0,  the referee  indicated that he was adding 3 mins, only to allow Napa to score in the 80th minute to tie the game and force an overtime period. 

In the first half of overtime play, Napa scored a long range bomb to lead 2 -1. In the second half, with their 2004 club mates sitting on the sidelines cheering them on, the 2003 Boys pushed for the all important equalizer. With only seconds remaining, the boys played a great combination to get open in the Napa box only to be tripped up at the last second and be denied what looked like a very clear PK. Unfortunately it wasn’t given and Placer lost out 2-1.

In the 98 Boys Final, Placer faced a very competitive CVU team. The boys had tied with this team earlier in their bracket game 3-3. So we all knew this was going to be a tough one. The game was back and forth with chances being wasted by both teams. At full time the scoreboard read 0-0 and overtime was now on. In the second half of overtime, the 98 Boys took advantage of their one chance to score and finished out their great weekend by taking home the Championship by a score of 1-0.

A great job by everybody and congratulations to all our teams on their very good performances at both the Boys and Girls Davis Showcase events.

Go Placer!