“I am very excited to announce that I have committed to attend and continue my soccer journey at the Air Force Academy! This is an incredible opportunity with state-of-the art facilities, excellent coaching staff, academics, and the ability for me to graduate as an officer at the AFA. Many thanks to my Air Force coaches, Larry Friend, Kiha Sutta, and Captain Christin Brodie, for their support and encouragement through this process. I am so grateful for my Placer family and coaches for developing me into the player I am today. After finishing my seven years with Placer Club, I will get to attend the D1 school of my dreams. Many thanks to Coach Todd Decarlo, Gene Duchateau, Bart Morefield, Matt Scammacca, and of course Ron Benjamin. I especially want to thank my parents for their constant support and encouragement. I can’t wait to continue my soccer career at the Air Force Academy. Go Falcons!” — Rachel Gensch

“Beyond blessed to announce that I have committed to Cal Berkley! It’s has been a very long journey to get to this point and I would like to thank all of my teammates, friends, and family who have helped me achieve this. When it came down to it, Cal was an easy choice for me, it being a Pac-12 school, top 5 in the nation academically, and it just felt like home. I would like to deeply thank my coach Ron Benjamin who has been my coach since I moved to Placer last year. Ron has been the biggest help in the college recruitment process and I couldn’t have done it with out him. I would also like to thank my trainer Aklesh who has been training me since I was 8 years old. Without Aklesh I wouldn’t be where I am today, he constantly pushes me and makes me a better player each time I step on the field to train with him. He also believed in me when no one else did. Lastly, I would like to thank my dear parents for their never ending support and teaching me the values of hard work, dedication, and respect. I feel very grateful and humbled by this opportunity to play for Cal and I look forward to preparing myself both physically and academically! Go Bears!” — Abena Aidoo

“I am so excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Illinois Wesleyan University to continue my soccer career and broaden my knowledge of the world at an excellent university. I have been with Placer United Soccer Club for the past nine years and I know I would not be the player or person I am today had I not made the decision to be a part of Placer’s amazing competitive soccer program. I would like to thank my coaches over the years including Todd DeCarlo, Gene DuChateau, Ron Benjamin, and Bart Morefield. Todd, thank you for teaching me essential skills that led me to improve my foot skills and my agility. Gene, thank you for always pushing me harder and harder to improve because you knew I was capable. Ron, thank you for the endless amount of fitness that made us more fit than our opponents and thank you for always dedicating so much time to us, even when you would rather be with your family. And Bart, thank you for always being the one to believe in me when I struggled to believe in myself. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for encouraging me to follow my dreams and allowing me to move to Illinois, despite the fact that I am your baby girl. I am so honored and humbled to have such great support all around me these past nine years, so thank you all.” — Emma Darragh

“I am super excited to announce that I have committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to continue to play the sport I love and to attend an amazing school.  As soon as I stepped foot on the campus and walked around the town, I knew this was a special place. Working with Coach Crozier, Coach Smith, and Coach Silva made the decision an easy one.  Coach Silva always took my many phone calls and answered all my questions and made the decision to say ‘yes’ an easy one.

This would not have been possible without all the people that have played a role in my life. First, thanks to all my coaches for helping me get this far – my first coach at U6, Mr. Nimtz, my first comp coach, Ron Sanchez, my first Placer coach, Lee ‘Wembly’ Callow, and Coach Scammacca.  A special thanks to Coach Ron Benjamin for not only pushing me beyond my limits, but also for being there by my side throughout the college recruiting process.  Of course, the biggest thanks goes to my family –  My sisters for always being there; my mom, for driving me everywhere and loving me no matter what and for always being positive in her feedback; and my dad for being my advisor, my secretary, and my friend. He has played a major part in my decision making process, spent countless hours helping me create emails and highlight videos, and gave me the confidence for my first college coach call.  He has always offered the best advice and driven me to be the best player and person possible.

Being able to attend Cal Poly and play soccer at the division one level is a dream come true. I’m definitely going to enjoy the remaining three years of high school, but look forward to the next chapter in my life.” —Emily Talmi

“I am very excited to share that I will be playing for Azusa Pacific University on the women’s soccer team next fall in 2016! Many of my coaches and teammates through the years have impacted the way I play and the player I am on the field. Nick Perjanik always encouraged me to take on defenders and get “hungry for a goal”. Mark Broers and Coach Frank have coached me through my high school seasons at Granite Bay High School and made me love the game even more. Coach Todd, Coach Ron, and Coach Katie have been my coaches while playing for Placer and I cannot express how thankful I am for all three of them as they made me a well-rounded player. My soccer IQ, foot skills and much more have improved tremendously while playing for these coaches. My parents have been huge supporters through the years that I have played soccer. Even through early morning games and soccer tournament chaos, they have been 100% on my side and pushing me to be better. My brother, Konner, has encouraged me through the years to always be confident in my abilities. He has many qualities that I aspire to be more like every day and following in his footsteps of going to a Christian college is very exciting to me! There is ultimately one reason why I play the game and who I should thank for being where I am. God has opened numerous doors for me within the past couple of years and soccer is just one many. I am ecstatic for next fall and to get to know the APU family; growing in Christ with my teammates, coaches, and trainers was my number one priority when choosing where I will attend and I am very confident in that I have found the perfect place for this at APU.” — Kennedy Christie

“I am so excited to share that I have committed to UCLA, the #1 ranked team in the country. The minute I stepped on the campus and met with the players, the coaching staff and Coach Salcedo, I felt at home and knew it was the right place for me. I wanted to play for a school that competes every year for a national championship, that has awesome academics and can help me become a professional keeper. At UCLA, the competitive environment everyday at practice with top notch players from all over the world and everyone fighting for a starting position will help me achieve that goal. They have an incredible track record of producing MLS players and I know I can help them win another championship. I can’t thank my coaches at Placer United enough for all that they have done for me, especially Paul O’Brien. He knew my goals and would push me everyday to be the best I could be. Even playing for the San Jose Earthquakes and now for the Sacramento Republic FC Academy, Paul has been instrumental in my development and continues to take an interest in my growth, and I appreciate that so much! I also want to thank Gene DeChateau and Matt Bernard for helping develop my goalkeeping skills and for helping take my game to the next level! I can’t wait to play for UCLA! Go Bruins!” — Cameron Douglas

“I am very excited to announce that I have verbally committed to CSU San Marcos! I cannot wait to continue to play the sport I love. I want to thank my parents for their unconditional love and support; without them I would not be where I am today. I’d also like to thank my brother, Austin, for all his guidance in soccer and life. You’re amazing. To my Placer family, a big thank you to all of my teammates who have become my lifelong sisters. Thank you all for pushing me to play to the best of my ability and for always being there on and off he field. To Bart Morefield, thank you for helping me to improve my tactical game and building my confidence. To Todd DeCarlo, a huge thank for introducing the college process to me and helping immensely in my communication with the college coaches; I couldn’t have done it without you Todd! To Ron Benjamin, under you, my game improved tremendously. I cannot thank you enough for your confidence in me and pushing me to be the best player I can be. I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to play for you as I prepare for the college game. To Katie Burton, I am thankful to have you as my last coach at Placer United. I am confident you will help me and my Placer teammates prepare for the next level as we end one journey and prepare to begin another. Lastly, I am really looking forward to playing for coach Bobby Renneisen at CSU San Marcos. Coach Renneisen has already instilled confidence me and I can not wait to join my cougar teammates in their drive to be successful and have an immediate impact in joining the very challenging California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference.

Go Cougars!”

Macey Moen

“I am excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Cal State Monterey Bay. This has been a long process that I could have never done without the help of my coaches, teammates and parents. I want to say thank you to my teammates for pushing me in everything, and I know that wherever they are going, or wherever they end up, they will all do great things. I also want to thank Missy Price at University of Nevada Reno for all of the training, mentoring and continuous support, also for following and helping me all the way through the college process. Without Missy, I would have never even gotten the opportunity to play for Placer. Thank you Todd DeCarlo for welcoming me as a U-16, for pushing me to be great, not good, and for always being such a big help in the recruiting process. Thank you Katie for really giving me this last push and for preparing us the best you can for the college transition. Also thanks for always finding a way to make us laugh whether its on or off the field. Thank you Ron for being such a big help in the recruiting process and for always pulling me aside to give me some extra pointers. Last but not least, thank you to my parents for always supporting me and pushing me to do what’s best. Thank you for driving me two hours to practice and then two hours home each day. Most of all, thank you for sacrificing so many things in your life to make mine better. I am more than excited to start playing for Coach Erin Reinke at CSUMB in 2016. She is an amazing coach who I know will continually push me to become the best I can be as an athlete and a person.”

Thanks
Ashlee

“I am beyond excited to announce my decision to play soccer at the D1 level this fall at Troy University in Alabama. It’s been a dream come true and I couldn’t have accomplished it without the numerous coaches and teammates I’ve come across all over the world. I’d especially like to thank Todd DeCarlo, for pushing me, not accepting excuses, and not settling for good, but great. Even after I moved 3,000 miles southeast, Coach Todd continued to keep me in check and help me with the collegiate process, calling coaches and arranging visits. He has been more than just a coach, but a mentor and leader as well and I can’t thank him enough. As always, I’d like to thank my family for all of the sacrifices they have made and for giving me the best possible opportunities and experiences to excel at the sport I love; soccer. I’d also like to thank God for the talents and abilities he’s given me as well as the people he’s put in my life. I couldn’t do it without my teammates. Not just the girls from every team I’ve ever played on, but more specifically the girls I spent three years with at Placer. They were constantly my motivation and competition to improve and get better. Without any of these people; coaches, family, teammates, I wouldn’t be able to even fathom playing division one soccer. It’s to these people that I’m forever grateful. Go Trojans!” — Megan Aaron

“I am more than thrilled to announce that I have committed to Biola University. I am very excited to be continuing the play the sport I love while attending a great academic school and I can’t thank the people enough who have guided and supported me through this process. I would like to thank coaches Kevin Unsworth, Todd DeCarlo, and Ron Benjamin for pushing and encouraging me to improve myself as a player. Without them, I would not be where I am today. I would also like to thank Todd DeCarlo especially because during the two years I have had him as a coach, he has helped me recognize the potential I have and has definitely pushed me to grow into a better soccer player. I would also like to thank my teammates because they are a huge contribution to my growth as a player. Most importantly, I owe an incredible amount of thanks to my parents after driving me to practices and games and pushing me to never give up on my passion. Without them, I would have never been able to play soccer for Placer United.

Go Eagles!” — Sarah Jeffries