This wasn’t the first time a State Cup final was battled out between Placer United and Santa Rosa United. The two Clubs have a history of competing hard fought finals, and this match was no different. With a welcome relief from all the rain, a sunny afternoon in Modesto produced another topsy-turvy classic!

SRU came out sharp and scored within the first five minutes of the game, taking advantage of some defensive nerves. As the half progressed, Placer grew into the game but without creating too many clear-cut chances. The game was direct and physical with both sets of defenders doing well to deal with aerial balls. With halftime drawing close, SRU were indebted to their outstanding goalkeeper for producing a couple of top class saves to keep the game at 0-1.

Coach Don rallied the girls during halftime and Placer United came out flying, only to be undone several minutes into the second half by a fabulous strike from distance, making the game 2-0 to SRU. Placer United didn’t let their heads drop and hit back quickly, Archana Jeyarajah nudging home at the far post from an in-swinging corner to give everyone hope of a come back. Placer continued to push for the equalizer but were continually thwarted by the impressive SRU Goalkeeper. In the final minute, the break through came via a familiar source. Nalani Damacion’s shot from distance was expertly tipped over by the GK; from the resulting corner, Jeyarajah was again on hand to prod home in an almost identical goal to her first, to level at 2-2 and take the game to overtime.

Placer United certainly had the momentum and were awarded a penalty early into the OT. Once again, however, the SRU goalie came up big for her team and managed to save the spot kick, diving low to her right to clutch the ball. Nerves started to set in on both groups and the remainder of overtime was played out without too much incident, meaning the game was headed to dreaded penalty kicks.

Both groups dealt with the tensions incredibly well, scoring all eight of the penalty kicks. With PK’s tied at 4-4 and SRU up next, Goalkeeper Alyssa Savig produced a marvelous save to give the advantage back to Placer. We had to score to win the cup! Up steps Erica Grilione, undeterred from her PK miss earlier in the game to confidently slot home to give Placer United the victory and title of 05G State Cup Champions. Congratulation to all the girls and Coach Don on a remarkable season and epic comeback! Go Placer!

With close to fifteen current Placer United Academy players invited to USSF National training centers, the 2016/17 season has been a break out year for Placer United Soccer Club and it’s USSF Academy teams. On the field the boys have played some really good soccer against professional clubs like San Jose Earthquakes and Sac Republic FC, as well as renowned youth soccer clubs De Anza Force, San Diego Surf and La Jolla Nomads, to name a few

“Simply put, if you want to be the best you need to play against the best,” said Placer Academy Coach Paul O Brien. “The boys really look forward to each weekend because they know they will be challenged both physically and mentally in every game.” Across the teams in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 age groups,  Placer has played  over 58 Academy games so far this season and won 47 of those games. “It’s a great achievement for our club,” O’Brien reflected, “Especially when some of those victories have come against professional club Academy teams.”

“Changes really started about two years ago when we took a good look at our club and realized we needed to make some improvements in certain areas,” explained O’Brien. “We looked first at our approach to Academy soccer. We worked on redefining our Vision and Mission statements,  Coaching Philosophy and Style of Play so that it became a lot simpler to teach and articulate to our players and parents what we wanted to do and how we were going to go about doing it. It was also something we wanted everybody involved to be able to see on the field during training and games, beyond the words spoken or written on a powerpoint.” said O’Brien.

“Having the ability to field three academy teams is a real game changer,” added three year Academy coach Kevin Unsworth. “We are now able to create a more challenging environment, one in which our younger players have the opportunity to play on the older Academy teams if we feel it would help in their development, as well as let the existing players know they need to keep working hard to stay on our Academy teams. We are very upfront with the players and parents and let them know this philosophy at the start of the season. We took four 2004’s to the 2003 USSF Academy Showcase in LA. We also have had a few 2003’s play up on the 2002 team and really make an impact in those games.”

O’Brien continued, “After seeing the success of our Academy teams this year, we are ready to start implementing a few more improvements within the club and that’s going to be pretty exciting. Being involved in the Academy system has made me and the other coaches really think differently about our approach to games and training sessions. This is just one of the reasons I like being involved in the USSF Development Academy. Basically, I’m being held accountable by USSF and it doesn’t get any higher than that.”

Take a look at Placer academy boys in action:

Click Here for the Placer Academy Tryouts schedule.

Eight Placer United female players were selected and competed in PDP games this past weekend.  In game #1, the 2002 PDP team played against the Japanese Academy team.  The game was back and forth with lots of goals being scored.  The Japanese won the game 6-4.  Placer players Kellie Pagador (03) scored two goals and Manuri Alwis (02) had one.

In game #2, the 2003’s were in action in a north versus south northern California battle.  Six Placer United players competed in the match.  03’s Emma Schafer, Grettel Sainz, Emma Hofmann, Karley Garcia, Paulina Caja and Malia Damacion (04). The players did an outstanding job in a 2-2 draw.

Congrats to all of the players on a great day of soccer!

Video of Game Highlights:

by: Steve Wilson, Sports Editor – The Press Tribune

Roseville resident and Sacramento Republic FC Academy U18 midfielder Ryley Kraft was selected to train with the U.S. Men’s U-19 National Team during the team’s domestic camp in Sunrise, Florida this past week.

The local soccer standout made a name for himself with the U.S. U-19s as they played a pair of friendlies against El Salvador and Miami FC, Feb. 3-10.

“There’s only 22 kids selected for this camp in the nation, so I’m honored to be one of them,” Kraft admitted. “It’s a very rare opportunity, but it’s exciting.”

This is Kraft’s first call up to the ranks of the U.S. Youth National Team. The midfielder has made 16 appearances with Republic FC’s U-17/18s team during the 2016-2017 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season, starting in 13 of those games and registering six goals.

“Physically, the program has really helped me get stronger, which has helped me elevate my game,” Kraft admitted. “I’ve learned how to play faster, because the speed of play is faster — I’m constantly playing against bigger, faster, stronger players.”

Kraft, who spent over a half decade competing for the Placer United youth teams, earned a national team bid via participation in the U.S. Development Academy.

“It’s hard to know what to expect at that level, because this was my first call up,” Kraft acknowledged. “But I just try to play with confidence and do what I do best.”

In his team’s opening game, Kraft found the net in the 62nd minute of action as he tied the game at 1-1 with a header. His goal came after a penalty from El Salvador in the final third and a place kick from the far side of the field. Kraft was the beneficiary of a deflection from his teammate as he swarmed to the net and finished off the play.

With his participation this week, Kraft could be called to compete for the national team again, this time for an international competition.

“I’ll have to wait and see if I’m selected, but it’s definitely a possibility,” he added.

Already a high school graduate, Kraft will play the rest of the season with the academy team in hopes of earning a contract, but he’s also considering the prospect of playing soccer at the collegiate level next year.

Kraft returns home Friday from his National Team bid and will rejoin the academy as the Republic get set to host the Seattle Sounders FC U-17/18s at Cosumnes River College Saturday, Feb. 11.

 

On Sunday February 12th, the Placer 05 Girls Gold team will play the Santa Rosa 05 Girls team for the chance to be named Nor Cal State Champions. The Placer girls have really hit top form since the start of the new year scoring a total of 22 goals in their last 4 games as they blew away the competition on their march towards the final. This will be Coach Don Finley’s third successive Nor Cal State Cup Final having won the Cup in 2015 and narrowly losing out in 2016 with the Placer 03 Girls Gold team. Says Finley, “The game will be a tough one for the girls as Santa Rosa is a very good side. But Placer has won against some very good teams on the way to the final including some ECNL teams. I’m confident our girls will give it their all just like they always do.”

Big Congrats to the Placer 05 Girls and good luck in the final. Go Placer!

Two Placer United 2003 players received “All Tournament” recognition at the 2017 US Youth Soccer ODP Region IV Championships in Phoenix, Arizona. The event was hosted at the Reach 11 Soccer Complex on January 5th-8th.  Each state in Region IV brought their state team to the ODP championships.  Camille Garcia and Mia Solorio-Smith of our 03G Gold team were selected as two of the top eighteen performers at the tournament.  The selections were made by the Region IV staff coaches.  The Cal-North team beat New Mexico 4-0 and Montana 5-0, but lost to Arizona 2-1.  The two wins were enough to put Cal-North into the semi-finals where they were upended by a very strong Washington side, 0-2.

Additionally, the following Placer United players were on the Cal-North 2003 roster for the ODP Championships:  Emma Schafer, Jordan Gotham, Karley Garcia, Hannah Wirth and Kellie Pagador (injured).

Congratulations girls!

by: Steve Wilson, Sports Editor – The Press Tribune

Granite Bay Resident Making the Most of his ACF Fiorentina Primavera Academy Chance

Imagine spending your teenage years living on your own, with a couple of friends you work with, in a foreign country, not knowing the language.

Your job as an academy soccer player is to compete, and hold your own against the best and brightest prospects in the nation. You’re constantly graded and could be released at any time. Could you handle the pressure?

To say Granite Bay resident Cody Sundquist grew up in a hurry, well that’s simply an understatement.

The former Grizzlies soccer standout moved to Florence, Italy when he was 14 and he’s spent the past three seasons playing for the ACF Fiorentina primavera academy teams working his way from the under-15 squad to the under-17 team and finally onto the U19 roster this year.

“It was a complete culture shock at first, but I love everything about it,” Sundquist admitted. “The soccer over there is amazing, but I didn’t know the language when I first arrived, I had never lived on my own before and it took a little while to get used to.”

Not knowing much about the Italian culture or how to speak the native tongue, Sundquist spent his first few months with his new team learning Italian alongside all of the other foreign players.

“There’s a few foreign players who know a little bit of English, but not many,” Sundquist acknowledged. “The coaches and players don’t, so you have to learn Italian to be able to communicate with them, on and off the field.”

In fact, there’s only one other U.S. athlete on Sundquist’s team, who’s from Los Angeles.

“The rest of the kids are from Africa, France, Spain, Slovenia and a few other countries over there,” Sundquist pointed out. “It’s a diverse group.”

While his speech lessons have helped develop Sundquist’s abilities to communicate and order food from shops in Florence, the academy’s training on the pitch has made him a more complete futbol player.

“It’s definitely more technical and tactical,” he admitted. “There’s more physicality as well, but the biggest difference from soccer over here and the sport over there is the technical ability. There’s a lot of different styles, so you have to cope with that. Whereas here there’s usually the same 4-3-3 scheme for every team.”

Sundquist plays in the midfield — a position that requires speed, precise ball control and passing, along with stout defensive abilities. Those are all qualities he possesses, but the 17-year-old must also make a case for playing time as he contends with some of the top competition in his organization every day.

“He’s competing against the under-18 Italian national team captain and a Slovakian kid they signed for $250,000,” pointed out Paul O’Brien, Granite Bay’s current soccer coach and Sundquist’s former Placer United coach. “So that’s his competition. But in a way, that’s good for him. They brought him back because he’s done really well.

“He’s technically sound,” O’Brien added. “But that’s like comparing apples to oranges from their league to the style of play over here. There, it’s about game awareness and competitiveness. There’s lots of kids with his ability, but who can bring that awareness to the field with them? I think he’s got the mental toughness to make it.”

It’s beneficial for Sundquist to be so mentally tough.

The european academies put young players into a competitive caldron, a culture of constant improvement in which they either survive and advance or are discarded. It’s not easy, but it is one that sorts out the real prodigies — those capable of playing at an elite international level — from the merely gifted. With just one season left before he turns 18, Sundquist hopes to be the former.

“The goal is to get a contract,” he confessed. “Usually when you turn 18, that’s when they decide if you’re going to get one or not. I’m 17 now, so I’m crossing my fingers, but it’s like one in a million.

“If I didn’t get it, I would definitely continue playing back in the U.S. at the collegiate level, but I’m hoping I can pull it off.”

Growing up in the Lincoln and Granite Bay areas, Sundquist spent a half decade with Placer United’s Soccer Club. He earned star recognition prior to his freshman season at Granite Bay High as he joined the NorCal Premier Player Development Program (PDP). That’s when he was first noticed by Italian scouts.

“I was playing in the Bay Area and the head scout from the academy saw me and basically recruited me out there for a trial,” Sundquist explained. “I had one week, but I loved it and they liked me, so it all kind of came together.”

He was able to play one season of soccer on the Grizzlies varsity team in his freshman year before he left for Italy. That was the season Granite Bay won the section title behind a thrilling finish in the finals — a 2-1 victory over Jesuit.

“I’m still very proud of that team,” he admitted. “That’s why I still try to make it out to these games.”

Although his busy schedule doesn’t allow for much travel, when Sundquist does decide to fly home, usually for Christmas and a short summer break, he has to endure long plane flights and a few tarmac delays.

“It’s 13 hours, so I just try to pass the time as best as I can with movies and such,” Sundquist stated. “That’s without any delays. But I’m just happy to do it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I wouldn’t trade it away.”

While his futbol career forced him away from Granite Bay, Sundquist has still maintained his grades. He is in the midst of his final semester of online coursework through Roseville’s Independence High School before he graduates in the spring.

That should be right around the time when he finds out if he will receive a contract and continue his career or move back to the States.