The Best of the Best

The Placer United U16 Girls Gold team demonstrated tremendous character and teamwork during their recent appearance at San Diego Surf Cup, arguably one of soccer’s most prestigious tournaments. With acceptance into the tournament reserved for only the very top teams, the U16 Girls were thrilled to be playing against the best of the best.

After a challenging start in the US Club Regionals in Turlock and the College Showcase in Pleasanton, the girls ended their Pleasanton appearance with a solid 0-0 draw against the Legends, a top Southern California team who dominated bracket play and were the eventual winners of the tournament. Building on that impressive performance, the team set a goal of beating a top ten Southern California team at their next challenge, the Surf Cup. Preparation for Surf included team bonding and fitness, along with positional and tactical training that required the girls to step up their game.

Arriving in San Diego, the team was set to face three very strong teams in bracket play: Albion, ranked #6 in SoCal, Arsenal, ranked #1 in SoCal and FC United Select, the current Illinois State Cup Champion. The team wasted no time in announcing their intent by opening up against Albion with a solid goal by Paige Crouch who received a through ball from Anna Goddi for the first tally of the game. A free kick from 30 yards out was converted by Devon Hamersley and put the team up 2-0 at the half. In the second half, Mary Mae Caldwell and Paige Crouch combined for the third score of the game, while Kaleigh Landberg fought off two defenders to seal the deal with the fourth and final goal in a 4-0 victory.

Looking to play a more defensive game against the very strong Arsenal team, the U16 Girls changed their formation to allow minimal space and to force Arsenal to play in front of them. The entire team rose to the occasion and did a tremendous job defending. Goalkeeper Madalyn Shiffel was stellar in the box, making a tremendous save right before the half and helping the team to preserve a 0-0 draw.

Going into the third and final game of bracket play, the U16 Girls found themselves at the top of the bracket with a win and a tie. No matter what the outcome, the girls would be moving on to the quarter finals, but Coach Gene challenged the girls to control their own destiny by going out and beating FC United Select instead of relying on another team to take care of business. The team responded in a big way by scoring three goals and securing their third shutout in a row. Paige Crouch tallied twice on assists from Mackenzie Moreno and Jena Keffer and Kaitlyn Kassis combined with Kaleigh Landberg for the final goal and a 3-0 win.

Finishing at the top of their bracket with 23 points, the U16 Girls faced Real So Cal in the quarter final game. Starting off a little shaky, the girls found themselves back on their heels for the first few minutes and were fortunate not to concede a goal. After settling down, the match was evenly played through the first half. In the second half, Anna Goddi and Paige Crouch combined for two perfectly executed goals to seal the 2-0 victory and send the team through to the semi-final game. The team had now gone 5 games and 322 minutes without allowing a goal against some top quality competition.

The semi-final match was scheduled for Monday morning against the #3 ranked Slammers from So Cal. The game started off sloppy and a defensive miscue allowed the Slammers to finish a tap into the goal from three yards out. Regrouping, the girls settled down and were back in the game, winning balls and connecting passes. Both teams had their chances, but in the end, the 1-0 score would prevail.

The U16 Girls are very excited about their top showing at Surf Cup and also at the progress they have made so quickly as a team, including how well the five new players have incorporated into the fold. The new players have done a fantastic job in blending with the returning players and making their mark in their new roles. Congratulations to the U16 Girls on a job well done!

Surf Highlights

Goals For = 9

Goals Against = 1

Goals against Avg. = 0.20

Shutouts = 4

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.