In her own words…

“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!”

In her own words…

“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.”

In her own words…

“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!”

In her own words…

“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.”

In her own words…

“I have recently committed to playing for Sierra College with one of my former coaches, Jason Gantt. I chose to play at Sierra College because I feel like it is the perfect fit for me and the next couple years of my soccer career can grow with this experience. It will give me an idea of what college soccer is like, helping me decide what I want to do with it in the future. I plan on majoring in Psychology and attending Cal Poly after my time at Sierra. 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 with 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 Wolverines!”

In her own words…

“My name is Emily Chalfant and I just completed my junior year at Woodcreek High School. I have recently accepted an offer to play soccer at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. I have always aspired to go to a private christian school and after visiting many colleges, Point Loma was definitely the best fit. The combination of strong academics, great community, supportive coaches and location make it a place where I can really see myself during my college career. I hope to study in the pre-medical field and to pursue a career in health care.

I have been playing soccer for eleven years and seven of those have been at Placer United. I owe my opportunity to play at Point Loma completely to the coaches and staff from the Placer United Soccer Club. I would like to thank all of my coaches throughout the years, especially Jon Chimienti, Bart Morefield, Ron Benjamin and Gene DuChateau for pushing me to become a better player and taking my game to the next level. Since last January when I tore my ACL, their continued encouragement helped me to stay positive and focused during rehab. With the help and support of these coaches, as well as support from my physical therapist Quinn McArthur, I returned at 100%. I cannot wait to continue my soccer career at Point Loma under coach Tim Hall and am very excited to be given this opportunity.”

Caitlyn Kretzschmar, Class of 2012 and a member of Placer United Elite ’94 Gold, has verbally committed to attend University of San Diego. In Caitlyn’s own words, “I am so excited to be attending and playing for San Diego. When I came to Placer two years ago, I had the goal to improve my game enough to be able to play in college. Thanks to Ron Benjamin and the coaching staff at Placer, I have achieved that goal! When I visited USD, I fell in love with the campus and I know that playing for the Toreros and for Coach Greenwood will help take me to the next level of competitive soccer. I am also very happy that I will be attending a college that has highly recognized academics and that it is in warm, sunny California. I would like to thank my teammates and coaches for pushing me to work hard and for making me a better player. I would also like to thank my whole family for supporting me and helping me to get where I am today. I couldn’t have done it without them! Go Toreros!”

In her own words…

I have recently committed to playing at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, for the 2012 season. I am so excited about playing for the Spartans. I wanted to go to college in North Carolina since my sister played in a tournament there four years ago when Ron coached and directed Marin FC. I love the area, the coaches, the players, the academics and the opportunity to play at a very high level of soccer. It was a very exhausting experience, but I am very happy with my decision to be a Spartan!

I’ve got another year to go before I am finished with my club soccer career. However, I thank my Placer United teammates, my parents, and of course my coach, Ron Benjamin. I have played for three different clubs over my club soccer career and this has been my absolute favorite! Great players, great competition at the best tournaments, wow! My mom and dad have been great about supporting me since I commute four hours round trip to practice. I look forward to playing my last year with my Placer United teammates!