Evan Schoer, Maclean Learned, Dominic Vega

Three Placer United players will be heading to San Diego later this week to attend US Club Soccer’s first ID2 camp for players born in 2002. Evan Schoer, Maclean Learned, and Dominic Vega will be training Thursday through Sunday at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. US Club Soccer’s ID2 Program  is one of the premier identification opportunities for young players and is free of charge to those invited into camp. This is the first of five training camps to be held in 2015 culminating in eighteen players being selected for an international trip (spring 2016) paid for by US Club Soccer and Nike.

Placer United U16G 99 Gold
2015 Vegas Players College Showcase Champions

Five Placer United girls teams travelled to Las Vegas this past weekend to compete in the Players College Showcase Tournament. The U16G 99 Gold claimed a championship, and the U18G 98 Gold were runner ups.

It was the final event of the season for five Placer United teams. It was hot in the desert with temperatures hovering around the mid-80’s. There were over 400 colleges represented at the event as they scouted future players. The Placer United teams were placed in the highest divisions in the event and the college coaches packed the sidelines to watch. The U14’s and U15’s played a tournament format while the U16’s and U18’s played in a college showcase format. They played four games and the champion was decided on points.

Pre-game Visualization with Coach Bart

The U16G 99 Gold, coached by the legend, Gene Duchateau and assisted by Bart Morefield, had a great run through the event. The girls showed their class and poise maintaining a high level of possession based soccer. They opened up against the Austin Texans and won 4-0. They followed up the win with a 0-0 draw with Carlsbad. In game three, the girls beat the Slammers from Southern California, 2-0. Needing a win to claim the championship, the girls nipped Surf Hawaii 1-0 to cap off a great weekend. The team had 7 goals for and 0 against.

The U18G 98 Gold finished as finalists in the event with 2 wins, one draw and one loss. They opened up with a thrilling 3-2 win over FC Golden State. Moving into Saturday’s games, they faced the Eagles of Camarillo. It was a back and forth game with lots of scoring chances for each team but the Eagles capitalized on their chances and won 4-0. Looking to rebound in game three, the girls did just that with a 3-1 win over Heat FC. In the final game, the girls tied 0-0 with LA Premier and secured enough points to finish as the finalists.

The U14G 01 Gold had a tough draw but were excited for the competition. They started off very strong with a 1-0 win over the Fullerton Rangers. In game two, the girls battled to a 0-0 draw with Surf Hawaii. In game three, needing a win to advance to the semi’s, the girls ran into the Slammers, who were the eventual champions. It was an exciting game but the girls came up on the short end with a 3-0 loss. The girls finished group play with a 1-1-1 record and 2nd in their group. In the consolation game, the girls were up-ended by the local squad, Heat FC.

The U15G 00 Gold had a great showing at the event in a loaded group. The girls came out in game one on fire with a 3-1 win over Crossfire Washington. In game two, the girls battled MVLA in a great display of possession/attacking soccer. With 10 minutes remaining and the game tied at 1-1, the referee blew the whistle for a hand ball and the girls were defeated 2-1 on a penalty kick. In game three the girls matched up with a very athletic Slammers team and fell 2-0. In the consolation game, the team squared off against one of their Northern California NPL rivals, Santa Clara Sporting. Mid way through the second half, Placer scored and were able to hold on to a 1-0 victory.

The U18G 97 Gold played some very attractive soccer on the weekend but had some problems finding the back of the net. They opened up with back to back 1-0 losses to the Slammers and the So Cal Blues. In game three, the girls had a 0-0 draw against the Massachusetts State Champion, NEFC Elite. In their final game, the girls drew 1-1 with Wolfpack Blue out of Southern California.

Congratulations to all of the teams on a great season and showing our strength at a National event versus some of the top teams/clubs in the country.

The Norcal Premier League Player Development Program has selected the boys and girls players for the NPL/PDP 98/99 North First Team. The players will train and play under the guidance of the PDP staff this spring. The following Placer United players have made the first team:

Boys

• Cameron Douglas
• Ryley Kraft
• Keegan Ness
• Omar Oseguera
• Alejandro Perez
• Jordan Vice
• Vitaly Zadoynov
• Esteban Zepeda

Girls

• Megan Kuo
• Nicolette Lewis

The following players are in the training pool and will be invited to the next NPL PDP tryout for possible inclusion on the first team.

• Samantha Craig
• Rachel Gensch
• Mackenzie George
• Sylvia Sloss

Congratulations to all selected players!

MARCH 21, 2015
Scott Sidway
MLSsoccer.com

The FC Dallas attack is tough enough to contain when 11 players are on the field.

But playing an entire half down a man after midfielder Zach Pfeffer earned a red card for putting an elbow into the face of Mauro Diaz proved too much for the Philadelphia Union to overcome, as FC Dallas grabbed a 2-0 win at PPL Park and improved to 3-0-0 on the season on Saturday.

“When a team goes down, you’re always looking to capitalize on that situation,” Dallas forward Tesho Akindele told MLSsoccer.com after the game.

Manager Oscar Pareja opened the match with the same 4-2-3-1 lineup that was responsible for three goals against Sporting Kansas City last week, but it failed to generate many opportunities in the first half when Dallas was outplayed by the Union.

GAME STATS: Dallas dominates possession following Pfeffer’s ejection

At halftime though, after Pfeffer’s red card, Pareja decided to bring Ryan Hollingshead off the bench in place of Michel – an adjustment that proved to be the turning point of the match.

“[We wanted] to avoid a possible red card, because he was in the yellow,” Pareja said of Michel, knowing another yellow in an already physical game would negate the Dallas advantage. “I knew he could handle it. He is a mature player.”

But the decision to substitute for Michel did more than prevent a potential ejection of an FC Dallas player. It also gave the Hoops a more aggressive attack with the more mobile Hollingshead, who now has a goal and assist in the last two games coming off the bench.

“We wanted to have another forward. I wanted to put somebody else up front and have another body in the box when we were working the flanks with Fabian [Castillo] or Tesho or Ryan,” Pareja said. “And I thought it worked very well.”

It only took four minutes into the second half for Dallas to reap the benefits of Pareja’s wizardry, when Akindele was able to block a clearance attempt by Fabinho and race down the flank to get in position to fire a low shot past goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi. Just 10 minutes later, Hollingshead brought his coach’s vision to life, finding space at the top of box and drilling one in nearly the same spot that Akindele placed his.

The attacking depth at FC Dallas is proving to be overwhelming for opposing teams, especially when players such as Hollingshead continue to make the most of their opportunities.

“That’s the mentality that we want to develop on the team,” Pareja said. “That everybody feels involved and everybody feels important whether they are starting or coming from the bench.”

And whether it is 11 on 10 or if the teams have even numbers, the ruthless mentality that the Dallas offense is showing makes the club feel that it can play with anyone.

“We’re finding goals everywhere on offense,” Akindele said. “So we’re pretty confident.”

Scott Sidway covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com.

The Placer United U18G 97 Gold won the NPL Winter League Championship this past weekend in Davis. The NPL U15-U18 Showcase hosted and marked the end of the winter league as teams were vying for the NPL winter title. The U18 girls entered the weekend with 7 wins and no losses. They faced off against Modesto Ajax and had a convincing 2-0 victory. That win claimed the championship for the team. With the championship already secured, the girls squared off against the Sonoma County Alliance who has been near the top of the table all season long. SCA scored first and the girls were down 1-0 at the half. The team quickly rebounded and scored three unanswered goals to make the score 3-1. In the final moments of the game, SCA was awarded a free kick from just outside the box and converted to make the score 3-2.  The referee blew the final whistle and the team finished the season with a perfect 9-0 record.

The Placer United U16G 99 Gold were in second place, tied with FC Elk Grove, entering the final weekend. The NPL Fall League Champions winner faced off against SCA in Saturday’s game. The girls had a majority of the possession and the scoring chances and came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory. On Sunday, the girls final game was versus Sacramento United. The team came out on fire and posted an impressive 3-0 victory to hold onto a second place finish in the league, tied with FC Elk Grove.

The Placer United U15G 00 Gold had a shot at winning the NPL Winter League but needed a slip up by Davis and had to have two wins. The girls were looking to sweep the NPL championships after winning the Champions League title in the fall. On Saturday, the girls faced Modesto Ajax. The possession and scoring chances were heavily in favor of Placer but saw themselves down 1-0 at halftime. Needing a win, the girls pressed in the second half and found the equalizer with 15 minutes to go. In a desperate attempt to win the game, the team had a flurry of chances but could not find the back of the net and settled for a 1-1 draw. To secure a second place finish, the girls needed to beat a much improved Sac United team. After a slow start, the girls found themselves up 1-0 at halftime. In the second half, the girls put together a solid performance and scored three more goals to post a 4-0 final and a second place finish.

The Placer United U18G 98 Gold finished the winter season with 3 wins, 4 losses and 2 draws. Three of their four losses in league were by one goal. The girls entered their Saturday game in the mix to finish in the top four. They faced off against American River Freedom in Saturday’s game. The game went back and forth for 90 minutes and the score was deadlocked at 1-1. In extra time, ARFC was able to find the winning goal as time expired. In Sunday’s game, the team faced the second place team, FC Elk Grove. Placer held onto a 1-0 lead until the final 5 minutes of the game when FC Elk grove equalized. The game ended with a 1-1 score line.

Congrats to all of the NPL girls teams as they once again showed their strength in the top league in Northern California!

Placer United players and parents packed up their cars and vans and traveled en mass to the Bay Area over the weekend for one of the the biggest events of the year, the Northern California Spring College Showcase. The tournament, which draws teams from all over California and other states, as well as plenty of college coaches, was played out in the warmest weather of the year so far.

While the coaches and parents applied plenty of sunscreen in 75+ degree weather, our boys and girls dazzled and sizzled on the field dressed appropriately in their sunshine yellow kits.

U16G 99 Black – Juventus Northern California Spring Showcase Champions

The nine Placer United boys and girls teams ranging in ages from U14 to U18 played 36 games and scored a total of 58 goals as they brought home plenty of silverware for the already crowded Tinker trophy room.

U16B 99 Gold – Juventus Northern California Spring Showcase Champions

Three Placer United teams were crowned champions of the event. A BIG congratulations to the U16 99 Boys Gold, the U16 99 Girls Black, and the U14 01 Girls Black.

U14G 01 Black – Juventus Northern California Spring Showcase Champions

We want to give a massive shout out to our U15 Boys 00 Black team. The boys had a great weekend and finished in second place in their division after an epic comeback performance and a goal-of-the-year from Graham Bart in their semi-final game which took the team to the final.

Well done to the U15 00 Boys and U17 Boys 98 Gold who finished in 3rd and 5th in their divisions, as well as all the other Placer United teams that competed in and around the Bay Area.

It was great to see the Yellow Submarine out in force and doing so well.

Go Placer!

Portland Thorns FC have announced their 2015 preseason roster which includes Placer United alumni Savannah Coiner. The team opened training for its third season in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Thorns FC will open the 2015 NWSL regular season with back-to-back home matches at Providence Park on April 11 against the Boston Breakers and April 18 against the Western New York Flash.

Upon finishing her fourth starting season in the ACC at Clemson University, Savannah was invited to the preseason training camp for the Portland Thorns which started March 9th. The Thorns have been in contact with Coiner since her last college game. The Thorns, based in Oregon, have the largest fan base and most support of any professional women’s soccer league. In a 2014 game against Houston, the crowd was a record-breaking 19,123 people. The fan support and involvement in Portland is unlike any other in professional women’s sports.

Coiner was also invited to try-out with the Seattle Reign, Boston Breakers, and West New York Flash.

The National Women’s Soccer League played its first season in 2013 after the Women’s Professional Soccer League disbanded in 2012. The season runs from April-August, and consists of 9 teams. If selected, Coiner will join names like Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Heather O’Reilly in the league.

2015 Thorns FC Preseason Roster

Goalkeepers (4): Nadine Angerer**, Brittany Anghel*, Michelle Betos, Emily Kruger*

Defenders (14): Steph Catley**, Savannah Coiner*, Sarah Jackson*, Kendall Johnson, Kaylyn Kyle**, Alyssa Kleiner*, Emily Menges, Courtney Nelson*, Courtney Niemiec, Devin Prendergast*, Meredith Speck*, Rachel Van Hollebeke**, Rhian Wilkinson**, Kat Williamson

Midfielders (14): Chelsea Archer*, Kate Bennett*, Taylor Comeau*, Sinead Farrelly, Chrisalyn Fonte*, Krystyna Freda*, Tobin Heath**, Natalia Ledezma*, Allie Long, Sarah Robbins, Mana Shim, Ayaki Shinada*, Allie Sima*, McCall Zerboni

Forwards (10): Genoveva (Ayo) Añonma+, Shakira Duncan*, Melissa Fernandez*, Kelsey Haycook*, Alex Morgan**, Zuri Prince*, Danielle Schulmann*, Christine Sinclair**, Jodie Taylor**, Hanna Terry

*Non-roster invitee
**Currently with national team
+will arrive later this season

Emily Hansen, Defender, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Placer United ’97 Gold Alumni, Emily Hansen, was on the receiving end of two awards after her freshman campaign at Cal Poly. She was named to the All-Freshman Team in the Big West Conference and also took home the Rookie-of-the-Year accolade at Cal Poly. In her first year in San Luis Obispo, the defender started all but one match, averaging just over 78 minutes each game. She also moved up into the attack to place five shots on target and assist on two goals.

Congrats on a great season Emily!