The U13 Girls Gold team traveled to Lake Oswego, Oregon, over the July 24-25th weekend to play in the Oswego Nike Cup.

The team finished the tournament with 5 wins and no losses or ties! The girls put on a attacking show over the weekend scoring 12 goals in the 5 matches. Defensively the girls were as stingy as ever allowing only 2 goals against them the entire tournament with 1 of the goals coming when the team was a player down.

It was an incredible experience for the girls and the huge amount of family members that traveled the long distance to support the team. The girls were matched up with a solid Westsound FC team out of Washington in the semi’s and then matched up with a very solid Columbia Premier team out of Washington in the final game.

The final was an absolute thriller with the girls having to play the final 15 min. a player down. Anyone watching the game would tell you that this group of girls was absolutely determined to take home the Championship. It truly was a beautiful site to see the girls celebrate once the final whistle blew. The joy and jubilation the team expressed was just fantastic and awesome to witness!

Awesome job girls!

A new premier youth soccer program focused on established, elite clubs delivering consistent, high-quality competition and college readiness services for its members launches today. Twenty-four youth soccer clubs across the western United States have formed the Western College Development Academy, which debuts this summer with teams representing clubs in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Colorado.

A primary objective of the WCDA is to provide consistent high-quality competition and enhanced college readiness opportunities for their elite soccer players. The Academy will also provide an improved scouting environment for college coaches by bringing all of the teams together for a showcase event in Las Vegas, Nevada in November, 2010. In addition, the WCDA is creating a College Advisory Board composed of coaches from Division I, II and III soccer programs who will provide guidance and direction over the college readiness component of the Academy.

Academy clubs were chosen by the WCDA’s Soccer Advisory Board based on a number of criteria, including a club’s history of elite youth player development and past success in elite competitions. The WCDA’s website is located at www.westerncda.com.

The WCDA is a supplemental program, and member teams will continue to play in other leagues, tournaments and State Cup competitions. Players will also be able to participate on their high school teams.

“I’m very excited about the establishment of the Western College Development Academy,” said Bernie James, Director of Coaching at Crossfire Premier. One of our motivating factors is to provide a higher level of competition for our players who are not participating in the USSF Development Academy. Participation in the WCDA will provide the tools and the opportunity for our players to achieve their goals and advance their soccer careers, hopefully on the way to the college program of their choice.”

Noah Gins, Technical Director, Albion SC, added, “The WCDA is forward thinking and it has brought topclubs together to continue advancing players and showcase the top clubs in the region. The opportunities our players will get from being part of this program will open doors that otherwise would not be open and enhance our players’ chances of college recruitment. We look forward to being part of this inaugural year and helping this league gain some great momentum.”

The WCDA has been divided into 3 conferences comprised of 8 teams. Conferences are further divided into 6 groups based on geographic proximity. Schedules are crafted to minimize travel costs for families. Academy teams will play 16 matches across a complete season with the winner of each conference and one wildcard participating in the annual Academy Finals in June, 2011 at 60 Acres in Redmond, Washington.

‘The Soccer Advisory Board’s desire is to make every effort to use this unique, cooperative relationship to increase the profile of each club, and we look forward to a long and mutually prosperous relationship among our member clubs,” said Greg Ion. “We’re creating a solid foundation. We’re going to have a first-class college prep infrastructure and a support system that caters to the clubs and their member families.”

Evergreen Conference: Eastside United F.C., F.C. Portland, Crossfire Premier, Washington Premier F.C., San Juan Soccer Club, Placer United Soccer Club, Marin F.C., DeAnza Force Soccer Club

Mountain Conference: Neusport F.C., Downtown Las Vegas Soccer Club, Sparta United, La Roca Futbol Club, Rio Vista Football Club, New Mexico Rush Soccer Club, Real Colorado, Colorado Storm Soccer Club

Pacific Conference: West Coast Futbol Club, F.C. San Diego, Albion SC, Sereno Soccer Club, SC del Sol, Carlsbad Lightning Soccer Club, Fullerton Rangers Soccer Club.

The numbers – 5 games played, 16 goals for, 1 goal against, 3 days, 100+ degrees heat – gives a glimpse of the weekend, but doesn’t tell the entire story. This cohesive team has endured a great deal of hardship in the past couple of months – 3 friends/teammates down due to serious injury and a loss of a long-term coach. There’s one thing however, that this team did not lose – their drive and will.

In the first game against an old foe, the 97 girls took down Davis 7-0. The following game, versus EG Illusion was tight for the first half, but under the great direction of coach Ron Benjamin, the girls unleashed four unanswered goals to take the game 4-0. The following day brought old rival SRU. The girls pushed hard all game long and had several opportunities, but with about 15 minutes left in regulation, finished with the game winning goal. The perfect bracket record took the girls to the semi-final game and a meeting with the U14 Placer Blues. The Blues came out to play and the game was extremely physical, but the 97 girls prevailed with a 2-0 victory. The win however came with a hefty price – another precious teammate lost to injury.

This injury along with those sustained in the two prior tournaments brought the total on the injured reserve list to four. In addition, for the finals match, the team lost two more teammates to a well–deserved Regional ODP camp trip. Down six teammates in the championship game, you’d think going against cross-town rival and State Cup finalists Elk Grove Everton would mean certain defeat; well… you’d be wrong.

The girls came out with one thing on their minds – victory; and they never looked back. The game was well played by both squads and as always, like two heavyweight boxers, the punches kept coming. Placer struck first in the first half with a well shot free kick that squirted into the left corner of the net. Elk Grove came back with a PK in the middle of the second half. With the game tied, the Placer girls pushed themselves into overdrive and scored the game winning goal on a beautifully set and finished corner kick. EG did not relent and continued to push for a comeback, but as had been the case throughout the tournament, the defense bent but did not break.

A great and inspiring weekend by all the girls – Chloe Breckenridge, Makenzie Brito, Destiny Butcher, Gretchen Goyette, Anna , Ashari Hines, Kelsey Ito, Tamren Johnk, Carly Olcomendy, Sydney Pagador, Carlie Reader, Jessie Raybe, Savannah Schultz, Sydney Talmi, Sara Wagner… and a special thank you to our guest players: Emily Bringgold (U14 Black) Kamari Hines and Lindsey Erl (U13 Gold), as well as Stephanie Zuniga and Haley Crook. The weekend would not have been a success without you.

Congratulations to the Placer U12 Gold Boys team and Coach Paul O’Brien for being the finalists at the Placer Prestige Cup last weekend. The boys did very well, won all the preliminary games and semi-finals, scoring 17 goals and only allowing 3. They fought a hard battle in the finals against Juventus Aztecs, and lost 1-3, getting 2nd place. Way to go Placer U12 Gold.