All posts by PUSC

Douglas and Vice Selected to State Pool Camp

Cameron Douglas and Jordan Vice

Cameron Douglas and Jordan Vice

Cameron Douglas and Jordan Vice were selected to the ‘99 State Pool Camp hosted at Sonoma State from a State Pool Roster of more than 50 boys. The State Pool is made up of boys coming from all the regions in Northern California who were selected from the PDP Regional teams. At the camp, the boys had an opportunity to be coached by National Team coaches and coaches from Spain as well as the PDP coaches. The level of play was very competitive and a real honor for the boys to be selected as participants. Cody Sundquist was also there representing Placer United in the ‘98 team. The next level is National Pool, so this was a great two day experience!

Lily Dubuc of the U18 ’97 White, Commits to Dominican University

College Bound_Lily Dubuc_2013“I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have verbally committed to play for Dominican University. I am very excited to study communications there and be part of Phillip Billeci-Ga​rd’s amazing program.

I would like to thank my parents for driving me the millions of miles to practice and games every week. They have sacrificed so much time for me and I will always be thankful.  Also huge thanks to my sister for dealing with my soccer obsession for our entire childhood. I know it has been tough and annoying, so thank you for everything. I love you.  

Thank you to the Rohlf family for making every drive down to practice the best part of my day. I do not know what I would do without the support and friendship you guys have given me. Thank you Jenna and Ethan for being my best friends and teammates for the last eight years.

Thanks to Fred Hsu for giving me the experience of a lifetime playing in Europe. To all my Swedish and Danish teammates, thank you for teaching me what it means to eat, sleep and breathe soccer.

I would like to express my gratitude to being a part of Placer United these past three years. Thank you to Todd DeCarlo, Paul O’Brien and all the other coaches I have had the pleasure of training with. You have all improved me as a player and a person. Special thanks to Ron Benjamin for believing in me and pushing me this hard. You are an amazing coach and my appreciation for you is endless. Without you I would not be on this amazing journey. 

Also, thank you to all of my teammates over the years for the laughter, competition and support. You are my family and I love you beyond words. I would like to give an extended thank you to all the boys who have let me train and compete with them over the years as well.  Without my teammates I would not be the player I am today and would not have this incredible experience ahead of me.

Finally, thank you to Dennis Belisle for making me fall in love with this beautiful game eight years ago.

Go Lady Penguins!

—Lily Dubuc

Nicole Spring of U16 ’98 Red Girls to Play in Maccabiah Games In Israel this Summer

Nicole SpringWe are thrilled to announce that Nicole Spring, a defender for our Placer United 98 Red girls squad, is one of twenty players selected to represent the USA in girls soccer at the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel in late July.

The Maccabiah Games is the third largest sporting event in the world (after the Olympics and Asian Games).  Over 7,000 athletes will be competing in the Games.  The Maccabiah Games originated in 1932.  The Games have been held in Israel every four years since 1957.  Every Israeli citizen (regardless of religion) and every Jewish person who is not an Israeli citizen is eligible to compete in the Games.  Many great American athletes have competed in the Maccabiah Games in the past including Mark Spitz (swimming), Kelly Strug (gymnastics), Jeff Agoos (soccer) and Larry Brown (basketball).

Nicole traveled to Philadelphia this winter to try out for the U18 USA Jewish National Soccer Team and was one of the youngest members selected.  Nicole will be representing Team USA against Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, South Africa and Sweden as her Team USA club attempts to bring back a gold medal in the Junior Girls Futbol/Soccer competition.  Nicole leaves for Israel on July 6.  She will spend 10 days in Israel training with the team and traveling the country prior to the commencement of the Games.  Competition will begin on July 18 and the gold medal game is scheduled in Netanya, Israel on July 28.  We are proud of Nicole for making the team and wish her the best of luck as she represents our club and our country in this international competition.

More information is available here:
http://maccabiusa.com/seclect-a-sport/soccer/124-usa-soccer-team.html

Placer United Girls League and MVP Distinctions and First Team All League Awards

Four Placer United Female Players Selected as High School League and Positional MVP’s and Sixteen Players named to High School First Team All League

The 2013 spring girls soccer First Team All League selections were announced this week and Placer United had many of its female players receive the honor. In addition to the selections, a few of our players received Player-of-the-Year and Positional MVP Awards for their conference:

  • Sierra Foothill League MVP – Lauren Stafford – Roseville
  • All-Capital League MVP – Lizzie Hutchison – Rio Americano
  • All-Capital League Defensive MVP  – Emily Hansen – Rio Americano
  • All San Joaquin Athletic Association Midfield MVP – Jessica Raybe – Lodi

Below is a list of players who were selected as First Team All League in their respective conferences:

Sierra Foothill League

  • Roseville – Marissa Vaughan
  • Rocklin – Lindsay Erl
  • Granite Bay – Julia Beck, Makenzie Brito
  • Del Oro – Marisa Grattan, Jessica Hinsken
  • Woodcreek – Emily Kitchen

Pioneer Valley League

  •  Lincoln – Abbie Faingold
  • Placer – Samantha Slade

Delta River League

  • St. Francis – Jena Keffer, Anna Gregg

Capital Valley League

  • Oakmont – Katie Carte, Allison Wieser

Capital Athletic League

  • Whitney – Tara Armstrong, Mallory Erl, Molly McConnell

Congratulations to all our players who participated in your high school soccer seasons and to all of you who received awards!

William Jessup Welcomes Mitch Pingree

WJU Coach Robbie Handy and Mitch Pingree

WJU Coach Robbie Handy and Mitch Pingree

“I am proud to announce I have committed to William Jessup University! I am beyond excited to play collegiate soccer! I chose WJU due to the small campus size and the opportunity to receive a private education where I can truly get to know my professors and classmates.

All of my appreciation goes out to my family, friends, and amazing coaches I have had throughout my soccer years. I would first like to thank Coach Jason Gantt. Thank you for pushing me every day to become the player you knew I could be. I have learned so much these past few years and I am very grateful for the opportunity I was given on your team. Your experience and dedication showed me how I needed to play to be able to compete at the next level. I would also like to thank my high school coaches, Matt Scammacca and Dave Shiro. I also can’t forget my LYSC coach of many years, Manny Fajardo, as well as my very first soccer coach, my Dad. Without your coaching and guidance in my younger years of the game I would not have the opportunities granted to me now. I would also like to thank my parents for driving hours upon hours each year and always supporting me. And a special thanks to my sister, Macie, for always supporting me and pushing me to do my best.

These few years at Placer United made me a stronger, smarter, and more competitive soccer player. I am thankful to all of the people that made my dream of playing college soccer possible. To my team, we went out with a bang and I wish you all the best of luck in the future.”

—Mitch Pingree

Placer United Girls ’03 Red and ’00 Red Reach Norcal Cross Regional Playoffs

The Placer United ’03 Red and ’00 Red girls have qualified for the Norcal Spring League Cross Regional Playoffs this weekend in Davis.  The ’03 Red finished in first place with a record of 7 wins and 1 loss.  They will square off against Peninsula Velocity Blue on Saturday in the quarter-finals.  The ’00 Red finished in second place with a record of 7 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw.  They will play Pleasanton Rage on Saturday.

Congrats to all teams that participated in the Spring League!

Austin Burrows Commits to Macalester College

(l-r) Hunter Seman, Coach Jason Gantt, Austin Burrows

(l-r) Hunter Seman, Coach Jason Gantt, Austin Burrows

“I am honored to announce that I have committed to Macalester College, a NCAA Division III school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Macalester and Coach Gregg Olson offered me the opportunity to play at the collegiate level while studying at one of the top-ranked liberal arts colleges in the country to pursue my goal of becoming a physician. I can’t wait to join players from all over the country, as well as players from around the world, as we try to get Macalester back into the NCAA tournament for the twelfth time.  

Soccer has been part of my life since I was four years old. I am grateful to my Placer coaches, Jason Gantt and Kelcey Chaidez, for always expecting me to play at the highest level. I would also like to thank my first coach, Paul Devereux, as well as my family, for coming to all of the games and tournaments over the years. I couldn’t have done it without you!

I look forward to joining Coach Olson and my teammates this August for the 2013 season. Go Mac Scots!”

— Austin Burrows

“Bok” from Coach Matt and Cody in Croatia

Photo_Cody Sundquist_Croatia_01“Bok” (Croatian greeting) from Zagreb, Croatia. As some of you may know, Cody Sundquist and I (Matt Bernard) are currently in Croatia with the Under 14 Boys National Team.

This has been quite the adventure thus far. Cody and I flew out from San Francisco on Sunday May 19th and arrived in New York City later that evening where we met up with rest of the players and staff. From NYC we flew to London where our flight was delayed for one hour (because they were waiting for us to get through customs). There is only one flight from London to Zagreb per day and thankfully we made it. Unfortunately not all of our luggage got on the flight with us.

We arrived in Zagreb with 99% of our luggage. Unfortunately our airline (who shall remain nameless) didn’t think it was important to send our soccer balls, bibs or cones on our flight. Regardless, we adapted and N.K. Spansko, the club where we were training, was nice enough to allow to use some of their equipment. The rest of our stuff has since arrived.

The team trained several times in preparation for our first game against Slovenia. We travelled to Slovenia for the match which is about a one hour drive . In reality it’s less than 40 miles but because Slovenia is a member of the European Union and Croatia is not (until July 1, 2013) we have to pass through the border crossing, making the trip longer.

Following our game with Slovenia we play against Croatia and Hungary. These matches are the first international matches for the Under 14 Boys National Team. We have 20 players in our roster including Cody and three other players from Northern California.

I hope that everything is going well at home. Congratulations to all the teams who competed and represented Placer United at the Placer United Cup last weekend.

—Coach Matt

Julia Beck Commits to UOP

College Bound_Julia Beck_2013“I am very excited to announce that I have verbally committed to the University of the Pacific.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to play Division 1 soccer at such a prestigious academic institution.  After visiting the campus and meeting with the coaches and team, I’m confident in my decision and know it’s the perfect fit for me.  Keith Coleman and Carmen Padilla have been great to work with and I can’t wait to play soccer under their direction at UOP!

I want to thank my parents and family for always being so supportive and helping me reach my dream.  I would also like to thank my previous Boca coaches; Melissa Cavitt, who instilled a never-ending quest to be the best player I could be; Antonio Sutton, who inspired my crazy love for the game;  and Berhane Anderberhan, who taught me to be a technical, team player.

I would also like to recognize and thank my new coach, Ron Benjamin, for believing in me and being invaluable in the last steps of this process. I’m very grateful for your efforts and can’t wait to compete with my new Placer U18 Red team!

Finally, thank you to my incredible teammates, past and present, for always pushing me to the next level, on and off the field. You guys are some of my best friends and I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Go Tigers! — Julia Beck

Placer United Alumni Travel to Brazil

Placer United alumni and current University of Nevada Reno players: Melanie Bertrand (93), Kellyn Morning (94) and Marlo Smith (93), are currently in Brazil training and playing three friendly matches as they prepare for the 2013 season. Bertrand, a goalkeeper, and Smith, a forward, played for the Placer United 93 girls. Morning, a back, played on the Placer 94 squad.

Follow their journey on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Nevada-Soccer/147450912539