“Words can’t express how excited I am to be playing at Cal State Monterey Bay next semester. I took a gamble this year by going to Sierra College part time and gave myself another year to find a place to play my soccer. It really couldn’t have played out any better. I’d like to thank all of my friends, family, teammates, and coaches for pushing me to be what I am today, including Matt Scamacca, Paul O’Brien, and Jason Gantt, for mentoring me over the majority of my eleven years at Placer. Also a shout out to my Mum and Dad for being the best parents in the 916 — couldn’t have done it without you. Go Otters!” — Scottie Walsh

“I’m overjoyed to announce my decision to attend and play soccer at Chapman University this fall. I truly believe I couldn’t have found a better academic or athletic fit for me. First, thank you to all of the teammates I’ve had at Placer throughout the past five years, who have been instrumental in shaping me as a player and an individual. You have always pushed me to improve my game, and I consider myself very lucky for having gotten the chance to play with each of you. Another thanks to all the coaches I have had at Placer since I joined the club as a 13-year-old. To Coach Kevin Unsworth: thank you for always pushing me to improve the technical aspects of my game and for helping me to rediscover the passion I have always had for soccer. To Coach Todd Decarlo: thank you for helping me discover my desire to play soccer at the collegiate level, for believing in me enough to promote me to a higher level team midway through my U16 season, and for being invaluable to the development of every aspect of my game. To Coach Katie Burton: thank you for your encouragement and for helping me develop as a player in just the few months you coached our team. To Coach Ron Benjamin: thank you for all of your assistance in the college process this year and in prior years, and for always pushing me to play faster and smarter. I’d also like to thank Rocklin High’s Coach Paul Morrison for helping me to step up as a leader and embrace my versatility as a soccer player. Finally, thank you to my parents, whose endless encouragement and unwavering confidence in me has helped me to recognize my full potential and make my college aspirations a reality. Thank you guys for all of the time, money, and energy you’ve dedicated to my soccer career. Your support means everything to me. I can’t wait to join the Chapman family and play under Coach Courtney Calderon next year. Go Panthers!” — Faith Holloway

“I am very proud to announce that I have committed to play soccer at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology! I am so thankful for everyone who has contributed to my growth on and off the field up to this point in my life. Thank you to coaches Jordan Kadlec and Andrew Conniff for giving me this opportunity to play Division II soccer at a school that suits me both athletically and academically. I would especially like to thank my parents for supporting me throughout my soccer career. I am also incredibly lucky to have been mentored by so many great coaches over the years, for I would not be in this position without them. These people include Matt Scammacca, John and Anthony Chimienti, Danny Cruz, Jimmy Frazelle, Kelcey Chaidez, Paul O’Brien, Ron Benjamin, Robbie Handy, and Jason Gantt. I want to thank all of them for everything they have done for me. My teammates have been awesome over the years and I wish them the best of luck in the future. Once again, I am so thankful for everyone who has played a part in my development as both a person and a player!” — Garrett Bonzell

“I am so unbelievably excited to announce that I have committed to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, to continue playing soccer. Many thanks to Coach Alex Crozier for this opportunity and also to coaches Bernardo Silva and Lindsey Smith for making the college process fun and easy. I’m so honored to have the chance to play at the next level at such an amazing school. I would have never made it this far if it weren’t for the so many amazing people that helped me along the way. I have been playing for Placer for six years and I can honestly say it has been one of the biggest and best parts of my life. Placer has shaped me as a player and as the person I am today. This club has introduced me to some of my best friends and has really helped me discover just how much I love the game of soccer. Thank you to Todd DeCarlo for being a great coach and supporting me throughout the past six years. You have pushed me and you were there to help me even when you weren’t my coach. You made me a more confident and competitive player on the field. You have gone above and beyond to make sure it was possible for me to attend the school of my choice. Thank you to Coach Gene DuChateau for helping me grow so much as a player. I feel that I improved more in the three years under your coaching than I did the rest of my soccer career. You and coach Bart Morfield helped turn me from just another player on the field to an impact player. Thank you to Coach Bart for not only transforming our team but for focusing on improving each player individually. I am so thankful for your dedication and for not settling with my soccer ability but working to make me better. Thank you to Coach Ron Benjamin for being there throughout all my years at Placer and always taking great interest in helping me grow as a player. Even while being busy enough running your own teams and the club you have made time to value and focus on each and every player. Thank you to my high school soccer coaches Mark Bowman and Matt Felt for making my high school experience just that much better and for believing in me as a freshman to make an impact on the team. You both motivated me to be the best I could be and you each made me more comfortable and confident even when being introduced to new positions and a new team. Lastly thank you to my family. Thank you to my sister who has been there in my life and on my team for not just six years but 16 years. Thanks for being my best friend and for supporting me no matter what. Mostly thanks to my parents. You guys have been there during our toughest losses and during our most rewarding wins. You both have made me the best I could possibly be and you each have dedicated so much time, money and effort into making me the person and player I am today. I can honestly say I wouldn’t be half the person or player I am today without each of you. You guys have done so much more than what was asked of you and for that I couldn’t be more thankful. Thank you both for making all my greatest dreams come true. I can’t wait to move onto the next step in my life and soccer career. Go Mustangs!” —Mackenzie George

“I am honored to announce that I have committed to play soccer at Army West Point as I continue my soccer career at the collegiate level. The opportunity to play soccer and represent such a prestigious institution is more than I could have hoped. A special thank you to Coach Payne, Coach Costanzo and Coach McAnulty at West Point for offering me the honor of becoming part of the Army family. I realize that this opportunity would not be possible without the help and support of some very special people: Paul O’Brien who has gone above and beyond on my behalf to help me realize my dream of playing soccer at the collegiate level: Jason Gantt, who is so good at getting me fired up and who challenges me to be the best I can be. His passion for the game reminds me everyday why I play soccer. Francois Barbe, who was my go to guy throughout the recruiting process, his valuable advice and insight in addition to his friendship, gave me the self-assurance to choose the right school for me. To Matt McDougal who helped give me the confidence to take chances and to not take myself too seriously. I would like to thank Ron Benjamin who helped me to see that he and the Placer program are committed to its members and makes every effort to develop players so they are able to continue to play soccer at the collegiate level if that is their goal. Finally, a huge thank you to my family and friends who have supported and encouraged me along my journey.” — Hunter Loomis

“I am extremely excited to announce that I will be attending Pomona College in Claremont, CA,  in the fall of 2016 and have committed to play soccer for the Sagehens. Playing for Placer United these past nine years has been an enormous part of my life, and I have met the most incredible people, discovered my passion, and been given many amazing opportunities. I owe much gratitude and appreciation to all my coaches, teammates and family for helping me along this journey. Thank you to Coach Lee Callow for making soccer fun and teaching me the fundamentals. Thank you to Coach Chris Alcala for encouraging me to play out of my comfort zone to become a more versatile player. Thank you to Coach Paul Morrison, my high school coach who believed in me since freshman year especially when I doubted myself. Thank you to Coach Bart Morefield for showing me the meaning of dedication and hard work. Thank you to my coach of three years, Gene DuChateau, “The Legend,” who continuously inspired my passion for the beautiful game, made me realize I wanted to play soccer in college, and helped me make that dream a reality. Thank you to Coach Todd Decarlo for shaping the player I am today… beginning at U-11 when your encouragement gave me the confidence to break out of my shell, U-12 when you made the team learn to juggle to 100 on our feet, all the way to now by supporting me throughout the college process. Thank you to Coach Ron Benjamin for his constant support, help, and encouragement throughout my entire time at Placer and through every step of the college process. Thank you to Coaches Nolan, Basso, and Scanlon for providing me with the opportunity to continue my journey with soccer in college at Pomona-Pitzer Women’s soccer. And especially, thank you to Coach Jen Scanlon for your encouragement and support in helping to make my dream school a reality!  Thank you to my second family, the amazing teammates that make me look forward to every game and every practice. Most importantly, I will never be able to thank my parents and three crazy siblings enough for all of their love, support, and encouragement. Go Placer and go Sagehens!” — Megan Kuo

“I am super excited to announce that I have committed to the University of San Francisco to continue to play the sport that I love at an amazing school. I’ve always loved San Francisco and as soon I was able to see the campus and the team play, I knew it was the perfect fit. Plus being able to meet and talk to Coach Millinder and Coach O’Sullivan made it an easy decision. I want to thank all my previous coaches, my dad (my first coach ever), Coach McGrew (my first select coach) Matt Scammacca (my first comp coach), and last but not least Ron Benjamin, who has been one of the biggest reasons I’ve even gotten this opportunity and I can’t thank him enough for everything he has done for me. The biggest thank you goes out to my family. My brother and sister always there supporting me and making me better. My mom and dad driving me everywhere, pushing me beyond my limits, helping me create emails and calling coaches, giving me reality checks, and dealing with me in general. 

To be able to attend USF and play soccer there is a dream come true. I am looking forward to the rest of my high school career and opening new doors into the future.” — Sylvia Sloss

“I am proud to announce that I have committed to play at Dominican University of California. First, I would like to thank the coaches who helped get me ready for this next level, Coach Matt McDougall, Coach Matt Scammacca and Coach Paul O’Brien. In the last ten years that I’ve played for Placer, your coaching has prepared me well for this amazing opportunity. Over the last couple of years, Coach McDougall has helped me so much with the college recruiting process, as well as my own personal soccer progress. You all have given me the tools for success, and I really appreciate all you’ve done for me and my teammates. And to my teammates, I want mine to know how much I love them, and that I’ll never forget this team and all we’ve accomplished over the past several years. I’m really going to miss you guys. Most of all, I would like to thank my family for supporting me through it all, no matter what decisions I made. I love you all so much for your support and guidance on and off the field, and for the sacrifices you’ve made over the years so that I could play soccer. I cannot wait for what my future soccer career has in store for me at Dominican, and I thank Placer United for putting me in a position to make this happen.”— Brendan Adame

“I am very proud to announce that I have verbally committed to play soccer at Sonoma State University. This is truly a dream come true for me to play at the next level for at least 4 more years! First off, I would like to thank Coach Ziemer for giving me the opportunity to come to his program. Your positive words of encouragement recently have made me a better person and a better player. I would also like to thank my team here at Placer. I love all you guys and I will never forget this team. I know I have only been here for 1 season but you guys welcomed me like I have been here my whole life and I will forever be thankful for that. Next, I would like to thank my parents. There are no words to sum up what they have done for me in my soccer life. They have driven me all over the state just so I can play this game, take me to practice, and give me words of encouragement when I need it most. I love you both. Lastly, I would like to thank my coach Matt McDougall. I will never be able to thank you enough for all you have done for me. You have made me a better goalie and helped me as much as I needed it during the recruiting process. You have always been there for me no matter how many questions I asked at any time of the day. You are the best coach a player can ask for. I will never forget Placer United and all the memories I have made here but, I cannot wait for the next step in my soccer career and what it has in store for me at Sonoma State University. Go Seawolves!” — Ryan Kelly