Placer United U15B 00 Gold Wins NorCal NPL Championship hosted in Davis, CA

A big congratulations to the Placer United U15B 00 Gold team who were crowned 2015 NPL Champions League winners. The boys entered the final weekend of the NPL Champions League in second place and knew they would need maximum points from their last two games to bring home Placer United’s third NPL title of the year. And they delivered!

In game one over weekend at the  NPL College Showcase, the boys beat current NorCal State Cup champions and NPL league leaders Santa Clara Sporting 2-0 with goals from Ivan Oseguera and Estaban Zepeda. That huge victory moved the boys into first place with all teams having one more game on Sunday to play.

Going into Sunday’s last round of league games, four teams still had a chance to be crowned champions. So the boys knew anything but a victory against a strong Bay Oaks team would open the door for someone else. When Bay Oaks scored the first goal of the game the door seemed to open but a quick reply from Jordan Vice and then Keegan Ness quickly shut and bolted that door.

When the final whistle sounded the scoreboard read Placer United 2, Bay Oaks 1, the boys clinched the championship of 2015 NPL Champions League.

Great job guys! Your win gives Placer United three 2015 NPL titles.

Congratulations to all!

Go Placer!

Placer United Alumni Player, Johannes DeMarzi (center), Midfielder with San Francisco City FC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (April, 2015) – In its first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup appearance, San Francisco City FC (formerly Ticket Arsenal FC) will open the 102nd edition of the country’s longest-running national soccer competition by hosting Cal FC, April 25 at 2 p.m. PT at Kezar Stadium.

San Francisco City FC claimed US Club Soccer’s direct qualifying berth to the U.S. Open Cup by defeating Stanislaus United, 3-0, on Jan. 31. That game was the final stage of the US Club Soccer qualifying process in a NorCal Adult Premier Leagues playoff series.

While San Francisco City FC coach Andrew Gardner has aspirations greater than a one-and-done appearance, he recognizes the significance of the appearance itself.

“The fact that we are able to host a US Open Cup match, here at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco is a major success. To be able to bring this level of soccer, to a city with this kind of history behind it, is something so special,” Gardner said. “On the pitch, I am really confident in where we are at as a club and our ability to compete with anyone. With the combination of high-level former college players and recent professionals, I think our soccer can match up with the best of the best. I have my sights set on getting to round two of the Cup. If we are able to go out and establish our ‘city football’ style of play and knock off a couple teams in the play-in and first rounds, I would consider this first trip to the U.S. Open Cup a success.”

San Francisco City FC readies to face Cal FC, a United States Adult Soccer Association representative, in the play-in round of the tournament. Cal FC made a name for itself in the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, when the Eric Wynalda-coached squad defeated the Portland Timbers (MLS) and Wilmington Hammerheads (USL Pro) en route to the round of 16.

“In the end, while we know they will be a very skilled and organized bunch, their history has certainly added to the motivation of our players and staff to end up on top,” Gardner said. “We want to be that 2015 team to make a run and surprise some larger clubs. Not only do we want it, but we have it within our grasp; it’s now just a matter of capitalizing on it.”

Buy tickets to San Francisco City FC vs. Cal FC, April 25 at 2 p.m. PT at Kezar Stadium

The winner of San Francisco City FC/Cal FC advances to the first round, May 13, against Ventura County Fusion (USL PDL) at the Ventura College Sportsplex in Ventura, Calif., at 7 p.m. PT. In addition to the PDL, the first round will also welcome fellow amateur teams from the National Premier Soccer League and other USASA opponents.

A week later, those winners move on to face USL foes (Division III) in second-round showdowns before NASL (Division II) and MLS (Division I) teams join in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Ultimately, the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship will be held Sept. 29 or 30 at the home field of one of the finalists.

There are a record 91 total teams participating this year – 47 professional and 44 amateur. The 2015 champion will hoist the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, earn a berth in the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League and claim $250,000.

MLS’s Seattle Sounders FC are the defending U.S. Open Cup champions, having won four times in club history.

This is the fifth year US Club Soccer has sent representatives to compete in the U.S. Open Cup.

Before San Francisco City FC takes the field, Gardner said his advice to the team will be simple. “I will just remind them of everything it has taken to get up to this point – all the way back two years ago when this was just an idea, and we had to battle through some tough things,” Gardner said. “We have not only persevered, but we have found major successes. This is just the next step in getting to where we want to be. We have prepared for it, this amazing city is out here to support us and it’s our time.”

ABOUT US CLUB SOCCER

A National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, US Club Soccer is an organization committed to the development and support of soccer clubs in the United States.

US Club Soccer offers youth and adult registration, league- and cup-based competition platforms at the recreational and competitive levels, as well as a variety of other programming, including the Olympic Development Program-sanctioned id2 Program and Player Development Programs.

Through US Club Soccer, all of a club’s programs – recreational, competitive and adult – are able to be united under one organizational umbrella, creating a “members for life” culture within each club. US Club Soccer is sponsored by Nike.

Erika Garcia

Erika Garcia, Placer United alumni and soon to be graduate of Harvard University, just accepted a position with the Programming and Acquisitions Division at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut.  She will be joining them in June after graduation in May. “I am so excited about the opportunity with ESPN,” said Erika. “I hope that everyone knows that they have been a part of it;  my childhood soccer teams, Placer United, Harvard soccer, my family, and the family I made along the way – I am very grateful for the background and experiences that they’ve given me. I didn’t do this alone!”

Congratulations Erika!

(l-r) Coach Jason Gantt, FC Dallas Coach Oscar Pareja, Coach Paul O’Brien, FC Dallas Midfielder Ryan Hollingshead

While competing at Dallas Cup with the U18 Boys, Coach Jason Gantt and Coach Paul O’Brien attended an MLS FC Dallas’s morning training session. Jason and Paul watched Placer alumni player Ryan Hollingshead train, as well as met and chatted with FC Dallas legend and head coach Oscar Pareja. 

“It was awesome to see Ryan in action on the training field with Dallas,” said Jason. “It seems like only yesterday when he was training and playing with us. He has come such a long way.”

“It’s really very exciting to see one of our own playing at the highest level,” added Paul. “Ryan’s a great example for all our players at Placer United of how hard work and dedication pays off.”

Go Placer!

Coach Paul O’Brien and Canadian International, Kyle Bekker who Paul worked with at 2013 MLS Combine in Florida

Toyota Stadium, home of MLS FC Dallas

U18B 97 Gold
Dallas Cup Opening Ceremony

After an epic battle and win in game three that resulted in one broken leg and numerous amounts of cuts and bruises, the 97 Boys Gold team lined up against a CZ Elite U19 team from Southern California in the quarterfinal of the 2015 Dallas Cup. 

By kick off time, the local news channels were forecasting winds of up to 30 mph and for once it looked like the weather men got it right. With  the teams now lined up for the walk on, the wind really started to increase and there was no doubt it would impact the game.

The whistle blew, the game started, and straight away Placer attacking midfielder Danny Caravez was flattened by a heavy tackle. Five minutes later Danny was flattened again. It now pretty obvious the CZ team were here to compete and it was plain to see why they hadn’t conceded a single goal in their opening games of tournament.

On minute 20 the first real opportunity of the game fell to CZ’s number 9 and Placer United’s  goalkeeper  Robert Quintero produced an outstanding save to deny them an opening goal. With Placer’s midfield now working really hard to win more tackles in the center of the park, the yellow sub started to gain control of the game and created a few chances. Striker Kristian Heptner had two long range efforts pushed wide by the CZ goalkeeper who was becoming more involved in the game.

Minute 30 produced the first controversial moment of the game. Midfielder and Captain KikI Guzman launched a trademark throw into the CZ box. Striker Heptner lost his marker in the box and ran and jumped to attack the ball only to be rugby tackled to the ground, no call.

Minute 35 produced another controversial moment. Again Captain Kiki launched a throw in. The CZ goalkeeper leapt to catch the ball but somehow misjudged it in the wind and the ball seemed to strike him go into the open net. As the submariners peeled away in celebration, the referee ran towards the lineman on the opposite side who said the goalkeeper didn’t touch the ball so the goal was disallowed.

At half time, the game was 0-0 and center back Isaul Bautista was taken to the medical tent with a suspected concussion from a late and heavy hit after clearing a ball just before the whistle sounded.

Ten minutes into the second half, midfielder Danny Caravez had to leave the game as a result of another heavy challenge. With the boys now defending against the wind, the pressure was mounting and the intensity was growing. It was time to stand up and be counted.

On minute 75, the moment we all feared happened. CZ crossed a ball into the box which changed direction in the wind and crashed against the back post. As the Placer backs twisted round to clear the ball, a CZ striker swung his foot, miss hit the ball and it rolled slowly but surely across the line. 1- 0  to CZ with 15 minutes left.

Having come back in the final of big games before, no one was ready to panic just yet. A change in personnel would surely create  a chance. On minute 85, a chance was created but was rolled an inch too wide of the back post. On minute 91, striker Heptner got open and  chested down a cross inside the 18 yard box. He spun quickly and shot. For that few milliseconds, time seemed to stop, as everybody stood and stared intensely waiting to see the net move, but unfortunately the ball again rolled agonizingly wide.

When the whistle finally sounded and the curtain came down, it was a pretty emotional moment for all, as this was the last road trip for the Placer United 97 Boys Gold team.

The boys had put in another tremendous effort  competing against some of the top clubs and teams on the world stage at the 2015 Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup.

Go Placer!

U18B 97 Gold looking a little more relaxed headed into the quarterfinals.

Dallas Cup game three for the boys from Placer United was a game that will live in the memory for a long time. It had everything you could possibly want from a high level competitive youth soccer game.

First, the night time kick off was delayed for over an hour due to major lightning strikes. At one point it looked like the Dallas Cup committee was going to tell the teams to come back the following day. One and a half hours after the original kick off time, the call came down for the tournament committee that it was now safe to proceed.

With the game on and a place in the Dallas Cup quarterfinals on the line, Placer United faced a top U18 USSF Academy team from one of the biggest and best clubs in the nation, the Dallas Texans. There were about 200 or more noisy Dallas supporters in the stadium.

The decision to play the game in the floodlit Richland College stadium was a good one, as the hostile crowd was corralled in the stands and not on the field sidelines. During the warm up the crowd was really getting all over the submariners chanting and shouting hoping to get Placer unfocused.

At 7:45pm the game kicked off and the atmosphere became electric. The boys in yellow seem to thrive in the atmosphere and quickly settled into the game as they pinged the ball around the night time moist field. With only 10 minutes elapsed on the stadium clock, the Texans goalkeeper was called into action and produced a big time save to deny  Placer striker Kristian Heptner the opening goal. Steadily Placer gained more and more control of the game as they took advantage of the open spaces down both flanks. Both Placer full backs, Matt Carnafax and Zac Anderson, were now causing the Texans tons of problems with the timing of their runs in behind the Texans back. The only reason the score was still 0-0 was due to the Dallas goalkeeper who made string of fine saves from forwards Heptner, Loomis and Arnstein.

On the 30th minute, the score and the crowd changed as Thomas Arnstein curled a sweet strike beyond the fully outstretched hand of the Dallas goalkeeper to give Placer a 1-0 lead.

On minute 40 the game changed again. Placer U17 player Hunter Loomis broke free of the Texans back line and ran onto a neatly threaded pass. As the Texan goalkeeper slid out to intercept the ball, the players collided and remained on the ground. The referee rushed over to the spot and immediately summoned for both coaches to enter the field. From a distance it looked like Hunter was in a bad way. A quick decision was made and an ambulance was summoned. Within ten minutes, Hunter was lifted onto a stretcher and loaded into the ambulance but not before the referee issued Hunter a red card for a reckless challenge.

Upon sight of the red card, the Texans crowd erupted into cheering as they sensed an advantage playing against a Placer team with only 10 players. Coaches Gantt and O’Brien quickly reorganized the shape of the team to make sure to finish the first half with a 1-0 lead.

The second half started off with a bang when within two minutes the Texans were awarded a PK and they tied the game 1-1. The boys in yellow needed to be strong as the Texans backed by a frenetic crowd could now smell blood. The next 15 minutes saw some of the best defending by a Placer team ever, as time and again players threw themselves in front of crosses and shots trying to keep their dream alive.

The Texans hit the post. They hit the bar. Nico Figuero cleared off the line. It seemed only a matter of time before Dallas would score. But every time it looked likely, a Placer player stepped in with a huge challenge. With the pressure now mounting and the crowd getting louder some of the Placer players started to tire.  It was going to take something special to keep Placer in the Dallas Cup. On the 80th minute something special arrived.

Lone striker, Kristian Heptner, received a ball surrounded by three Texans but somehow managed to swivel free. As he was getting ready to run towards goal he got tripped up from behind and the referee awarded a free kick. The kick seemed a long way out but Kristian felt confident. The referee blew the whistle, but Kristian took another minute before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net. The crowd went silent and the Placer bench went wild. Placer United was one man down but 2-1 up with less than 10 minutes to play.

The remaining 10 minutes seemed like an hour. But when the referee finally blew full time it signaled the start of wild celebrations for a group of boys that refuse to lay down.

What a night! What a victory! Placer United moves on to the Dallas Cup quarterfinals.

Go Placer!