“I feel very honored to be able to verbally commit to my number one college choice. The Air Force Academy has a very rigorous program militarily, academically, and physically. It is going to be a challenging program but I am committed to doing what is required. I would like to thank my Placer United coaches: Katie Dempsey, John Chimienti, Ron Benjamin, and Gene DuChateau, for giving me the confidence, training and skills necessary to be able to play at the Division 1 level.”
“I have verbally committed to the University of Colorado Boulder. Colorado was my dream school because it’s where I was born and have family. Also, coming from a small town, I wanted a big school with good athletics and academics which CU provides. It is in the PAC 12 so I will be able to visit the West Coast often. I have no idea what I want to study yet, but this school should help me figure it out. I loved the coaches and can’t wait to move to beautiful Colorado!
I would like to thank my parents for driving me an hour and a half to practice 3-4 days a week. I would also like to thank my brother for practicing with me to make me better. Thank you Ron Benjamin, Martin Sims, and the entire Placer United coaching staff for helping me reach my dreams!
Go Buffaloes!”
In his own words…“Over the past three years as a CDA player, I have been focused on my college search and West Point was a clear stand out. There is an incredible amount of history there, with great academic standards, an incredible amount of prestige, and the honor of serving your country. Furthermore, the coaching staff at West Point under Russell Payne and Leo Cullen, both of whom helped Maryland reach national titles, have each had incredible soccer careers themselves and are what made West Point a simple choice. They are the type of coaches who will drive me to develop into the best player I can be and help me attain all of my goals as a Division 1 soccer player. Under their coaching and guidance, I am optimistic I will have an incredible future at West Point. Also, I am looking forward to becoming a Black Knight and having the honor and privilege of serving my country as a United States Army Officer. Throughout my soccer career I always desired to play at the highest level. I started playing competitive soccer with Placer United at the under-10 age group and learned all about the game of soccer and continued to improve every year I played. With great coaching I developed into a well-aware, technical, and physical player whose only desires were to win games and improve as a player. When CDA was established a few years ago, I knew that was the next step for me to become a better player and I joined the program which eventually helped me become the player I am today. I can only hope that I will learn to be of the same caliber of leader as all of my coaches are and that I will make an impact in the world when all is said and done. I would like to thank everyone who supported me along the way from all of my teammates (most of whom I spent more time with than my own family it seemed like) and to all of my coaches whom I was fortunate enough to have along the way: Paul Orien, Brian Willey, Jason Gantt, Anthony Chimienti, Nathan Williams, Josh Fitzgerald, and Jeff Alcala. I would also like to thank all of my friends, and most of all, my parents for guiding me through this entire process and helping me whenever I needed it most. Without any of you I couldn’t have achieved any of this. I will never forget all of your support and I will make all of you proud at West Point
Duty, Honor, Country. Go Army!”
“I am excited to say I have accepted an offer from Chico State University to join their soccer team next year! Chico came as a surprise to me when the assistant coach, Jenna, contacted me after the Pleasanton Rage Showcase. I was amazed when I went to visit the campus. It has a beautiful setting and smaller campus. The team has a great personality and I feel like I will fit right in.
A special thanks to my parents for giving me the opportunity to play with Placer United and expand my playing career. Also, thank you to Ron Benjamin for welcoming me onto the team last year and being a great coach. Finally, to my teammates for pushing me thru practice and never going easy on me, you guys helped my game so much, thank you. Love you guys!
Let’s go Wildcats!!”
In his own words…“What attracted me to Virginia Tech is the traditional college environment I was looking for in a university. It is a well known university with a large campus, great college town, strong athletics and excellent academics, all of which were important factors I was looking for in choosing a school. When I visited the campus and met the coaching staff, I felt that they were coaches I would enjoy playing for and could help me reach my soccer goals for the future. I am also looking forward to playing in the ACC, one of the best soccer conferences in the country, as well as the opportunity to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
I would like to thank my parents, teammates and all the coaching staff at CDA and Placer United for helping me achieve one of my goals…playing college soccer!”
“I have verbally committed to a wonderful soccer scholarship at Dominican University in beautiful San Rafael. I will be able to pursue an awesome career in either Nursing or Occupational Therapy. It’s the perfect place for me, with a small setting near San Francisco and the beach. I can’t wait to play college soccer under head coach Jon Delano.
Thank you very much to Ron Benjamin and the Placer United family for pushing me to be a better player, preparing me for the next level. I am especially grateful for all the support from my parents, Summer and Grant Gollnick. They always manage to catch my soccer games even with three siblings in competitive soccer too. Love you guys and Go Penguins!”
“I have recently committed to Jackson State University in Mississippi. It’s a Division 1 and NCAA school. I’m playing soccer for them on a scholarship. I have yet to actually visit the school but from what I hear and see online it’s really nice. I believe it’s the right school for me because I wanted to go out of state for school, and experience a different environment. And JSU is definitely a different environment than what we have around here. I plan to give the team my all and succeed in school too. And I plan to achieve many things for myself in the world of soccer. I’d like to thank my former coaches: Randy Hernandez, Scott Oliver, Mike Rangel, Henry Reis, Seth Boyle, Danny Cruz, Jerry Zanelli, and Placer Coach, Ron Benjamin. You all made me the player I am today!”
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to attend and play soccer at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles! Playing Division 1 soccer in college has always been one of my goals. LMU has excellent academics and such an awesome soccer program, it was an easy decision. It offers everything that I was looking for in a college, including a great location near the beach. I would like to thank all my coaches at Placer: Gene DuChateau, Ron Benjamin, Bart Morefield, and John Chimienti.”
“I have recently accepted a scholarship to Idaho State University because it felt absolutely perfect to me. It’s a place where I can continue my soccer career, playing Division 1 and also pursue an education at a top-notch 4 year university. The school campus is within a safe environment that has beautiful scenery, along with friendly people and an excellent coaching staff. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance of my amazing soccer coaches: Chris Alcala, Jason Gantt, Gene DuChateau and Ron Benjamin. They have helped me blaze a successful trail of soccer skills through their inspirational coaching methods. I cannot thank them enough for all their dedication, time and effort. Also, I want to thank the teammates with whom I have built a bond that will last forever, and of course, my parents, who have supported me and stood on the sidelines cheering me on for nine memorable years. Go Bengals!”
“I have recently committed to Sacramento State University to play soccer for the Hornets. I chose this school because of its strong soccer program. The Hornet’s women’s soccer program has made it twice to the NCAA playoffs in the last four years. Also, I am excited to be playing under a really strong coaching staff lead by Coach Randy Dedini. I also chose this school because I would like to major in Physical Therapy and Sac State has a really good Physical Therapy program; they are ranked #8 in California. So, I am excited to have verbally committed to a soccer scholarship at this school because it seemed like a good fit for me. I would like to thank my family for all of their support, my previous coach, Berhane Andeberhan and my Placer coaches, Gene DuChateau and Ron Benjamin.”