Five Placer United girls teams saw great competition mid-March. The U16 girls black team played in their last event of the year at the Diablo FC Cup. The girls lost a tough opening match to the host, Diablo FC. The girls then rebounded and beat the CV Revolution 3-2 and the Sagebrush squad from Nevada 2-0. The girls missed the championship match by goal differential. Congratulations U16s on a great season!

The U15, U16, U17 and U18 girls gold teams travelled to Nevada to play in the prestigous Las Vegas College Showcase. There were over 250 college coaches in attendance for the event.

The U15 girls gold had 2 wins and 2 losses and were semi-finalists. They had a 2-0 win over Tucson Soccer Academy and a 1-0 win over Alliance FC. They fell to the Dakota Rev Rampage out of Minnesota, 2-1 and Harpeth from Tennessess 2-0.

The U16 girls gold had a very difficult draw as well. They had a 1-1 tie with Empire and a 2-0 loss to East Meadow out of New York. They then played the Chantill Firecats who are ranked in the top 5 nationally and lost 2-1 with numerous chances to tie the game late. They ended on a great note, beating the McClean Power 3-1.

The U17 girls gold won the championship in their division! They beat the Lady Renegades from Florida, 2-1, had two 0-0 tied games with Mass Premier from Boston and the Florida Rush. The girls also defeated Chicago Inter 7-0 as the girls put on a dominant performace.

The U18 girls gold tied with FC Milwaukee 1-1. They then had two 2-0 losses to Sparta from Utah and AUFC from New Mexico. In the most dominant performace of the weekend, the girls outshot Sereno Golden Eagles by a dozen and unfortunately gave up a goal against the run of play to lose 1-0.

The first game in group bracket saw the U16 ease past Ebbett’s Pass Gold 7-0. Goals from Kyle Sakurada (2), Ryan Longley, Iggy Recendez and a hat-trick from Eddie Hernandez secured a one-sided game.

The second game was not as one sided, a tough scrappy game Vs. International Zephyr (Reno, NV) was decided just before half-time. The goal came courtesy of Eddie Hernandez, who raced onto a well-weighted pass from Kyle Sakurada and smashed home from the edge of the box. Placer was also indebted to Steven Fraser’s defending from the front, Tim Yefimov’s support play in wide areas and Cameron Sing, who made 2 great saves to keep the lead. Placer won 1-0.

In Sunday’s semi-final versus Reno Galaxy, Placer enjoyed lots of the ball early on and should have been ahead within minutes after Eric Tassev worked hard to get into the area but headed narrowly wide. Placer went ahead thanks to a Eddie Hernandez tap-in after good work down the left from Billy Baker. The second goal came soon after, Yoan Chamberlin getting on the end of a Favio Torres cross. Cade Christensen was solid in defense and Iggy Recendez worked his socks off in center midfield to give Placer a 2-0 lead at half-time. The boys started flat in the second half and paid for this as Reno Galaxy scored twice in quick succession to make it 2-2. But goals for Austin Ketchersid and a second for Eddie allowed Placer to win 4-2 and move on to the afternoon final versus Modesto Ajax.

The final was a tense game, with both teams battling hard but having to deal with the swirling windy conditions. The Ajax GK was the busier and made a top-class save from close range to keep it 0-0 at halftime. Mid-way through the second half the deadlock was broken. Placer had Eddie Hernandez to thank as he struck a low shot past the keeper from just inside the box, to give Placer the lead. Ajax pushed numbers forward late in the game but stout defending from Ryan Longley, Chantz Riise, Favio Torres and Billy Baker ensured Placer saw the remaining few minutes out unscathed and to win the Cup.

Well done boys!

Several Placer United female players were selected for the 99/00 PDP (NorCal’s Player Development Program) Regional Pool. The girls were evaluated at training sessions by the PDP staff last week. The girls who made the pool are as follows: Rachel Gensch, Morgan Jones, Nicolette Lewis, Abby Michaelson, Clare Murphy, Sylvia Sloss, Makana Yarnell-Williams, Isabella Perez and Emily Talmi.

The girls will now train with the PDP Staff and will work towards being selected to participate in a number of PDP events.

Placer United takes pride in our player development and we wish all of the players the best moving forward with the PDP Program.

The Placer United U16 and U17 Girls Black teams travelled down to the Bay Area this past weekend and had very strong results. The girls played 4 games each in a college showcase format where winners are determined on points.

The U16 Girls Black had 3 wins and 1 loss to take 3rd overall in points. They defeated Mustang Velocity 2-0, American River 2-1 and Heritage Lightning 1-0. The girls lost the final game 2-0 to the ACC Mavericks.

The U17 girls took first place in overall points! They defeated Sac United 6-0, drew 0-0 with Mustang Fury and then finished off the event with a 3-1 win over Delta and a 3-0 win over El Dorado.

Great weekend girls!

The U14 Girls Black team played Marin FC Red this past weekend in the Knockout Round of NorCal State Cup. Placer won in penalty kicks 4-3 in which our goal keeper, Jordan Hicks, had two saves. This win enables Placer to stay in the Gold Bracket of NorCal State Cup. Placer will play in Turlock on March 19th in the Round of 16 and then on March 20th in the Quarterfinals. Congratulations girls!

Another big weekend ahead for Sacramento’s only USSF Academy teams at Del Oro High School in Loomis.

We have Southern California’s Arsenal coming into town Saturday, February 26th for 1:00pm kick off against the U18 and a game featuring the U16 at 3:30pm.

The gunners have been shooting with both barrels again this season and are up there with the top Academy clubs in the Country. Coach PJ Brown, last year’s Academy “Coach of the Year” wil be cocked and loaded to avenge last year’s defeats by the CDA teams.

Sunday brings MLS Academy teams from Real Salt Lake into action at 10:00am and 12:30pm. Real is one of the only academies to have a true residency program with players living together 24/7, combining school and soccer as part of their curriculum. Coached by former LA Galaxy Defender Greg Vanney, they have been “Real” busy racking up some big time results.

Hope to see plenty of soccer fans at all games! 

Arsenal-Salt Flyer