The U11-U13 Girls Norcal State Cup second round was played January 10-11 at various venues across Northern California. Two of our Placer United girls teams reached the Final 8 in the state!

The U12G Gold had a December win, 6-0 over North Bay Elite in second round Game #1. In Game #2 on Saturday, the girls defeated Sonoma County Alliance 4-1. In Game #3, the girls drew 0-0 with Bay Oaks to advance to the Top 8. The quarter-finals will be held on January 24th.

The U11G Gold also had a December win, 3-0 over Folsom in the second round Game #1. The girls started off with a convincing 5-0 win over MVLA in Game #2. In Game #3, the girls battled to a 1-0 win over UC Premier to also advance to the Top 8. The quarter-final game was played on Sunday versus Pleasanton Rage. Despite a great possession game and a number of scoring chances, the girls fell 3-1. The team now plays February 7th as they try to finish as the #5 team in the state.

The U13G Gold team was upset by Mustang, on the road, in December in Game #1. The girls knew that they had to come out and win two-in-a-row in order to advance to the Top 8. In Game #2, the girls beat UC Premier Warriors 2-0. This set the stage for the winner of Game #3 to advance to the quarter-finals. The next opponent was Juventus, considered one of the top teams in Northern California. It was a back and forth affair with both teams having scoring chances. Unfortunately, the girls lost 2-1 in this battle but are still alive in the Cup with a quarter-final match on January 24th.

The U12G Black team had a 0-0 draw in December with Sac United Red. In Game #2 on Saturday, the girls lost a heart breaker, 3-2 to MFC Flash. In Game #3, the team took on the bracket leader, Cal Odyssey South. They were down 2-0 and fought back to tie the game at 3-3. The girls showed great resiliency and made the game very difficult for the opponent. The team’s quarter-final game is scheduled for January 24th.

Congratulations to all of the teams and good luck in the next round!

The 2015 US Youth Soccer Region IV  Olympic Development Program Championships took place Jan. 8-11 at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix. Participating teams are comprised of elite players in the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 age groups from Region IV.  Five Placer United girls from the U15 ’00 Gold team played integral roles in their team’s success. Abena Aidoo, Clare Murphy, Isabella Perez and Emily Talmi represented the 2000’s while Nicolette Lewis represented the 1999’s. Both the 1999’s and 2000’s Cal-North State teams reached the final before losing out to Cal-South.

Congratulations on a great weekend girls!

January 2015

On behalf of your entire Placer United Soccer Club family, including our Directors, Paul O’Brien and Ron Benjamin, our coaching staff, our Club Administrator, Jodi Tarr, and your Board of Directors, we wanted to send our warmest holiday greetings. The Club break is a great time to recharge our soccer batteries and be ready to hit the ground in full stride, and we hope you are enjoying some relaxing time with family, friends and loved ones.

The turn of the calendars is a great time to take stock of the year just completed, and take a look at the year ahead. Placer United is a soccer club dedicated to always moving forward, and in our 33rd year now, you can expect even more of the same in the year ahead.

But looking back to 2014 first, it was a remarkable year for our Club and for the soccer community.

No doubt, the biggest news in the local soccer scene was the explosion of the Sacramento Republic FC. From startup, to stadium fillers with record attendance, to USL PRO Champions in their inaugural season, to the leading candidate for the next round of MLS expansion, the rise of the Republic is a testament to the fact that Sacramento is a soccer town. And Placer United was there shoulder-to-shoulder with the Republic every step of the way, from ownership to management to players to fans, Placer United has deep ties to our region’s leading professional soccer team, which is why we were honored to be the first youth soccer stop of the Republic’s Championship Trophy Tour. Sacramento and Placer County are #BuiltforMLS.

For Placer United, there are simply too many team accomplishments to list in an email. Of course you know about the successes of our U18 Boys Gold team with 6 major trophies including the National Premier League National Championship, but it runs much deeper than that. We’ve built this cool page on our website that highlights the top accomplishments of each of our teams, and we hope you will take a minute to review it.

In 2014, we continued to develop all of the elements of our Club that make us the best Club in Placer County and one of the top Clubs in Northern California:

Coaching

We welcomed several new coaches to our staff that is already the most accomplished and credentialed in the region, and upgraded the licenses and training of many of our staff. We named Jason Gantt as Coach of the Year for his longevity with the Club and the incredible success he enjoyed with the U18B team this year. Hopefully, you have seen a lot more of our Directors, Paul O’Brien and Ron Benjamin, and our U8-U11 Technical Director, Kevin Unsworth, at your players’ training sessions and matches, as they show their commitment to helping all our coaches perform at the top of their game.

Programs

Our indoor leagues at Tinker, both youth and adult, saw record numbers, as did our camps and clinics. If you haven’t participated in these, have a look. While the core of our program for 33 years continues to be our youth competitive program, we also launched our first Recreational Soccer Programs in 2014, and these offerings will expand in 2015 with the designation of our own Emre Gencer as our Recreational Technical Director. Under Paul’s direction, Emre will continue to coach a competitive team, as well as build our Recreational Program so that players of all abilities and from across the whole soccer community can have a home at Placer United.

Facilities

Programs, coaches, players, families and facilities are what make a soccer program great. In 2014, we worked hard to improve the pitch at Cirby, and we’re starting to see the results of that investment. Of course, we continue to enjoy a great relationship and partnership with Del Oro High School to host many training sessions and games there, and we’re proud to own and operate the premier indoor soccer facility in the Sacramento region with our Placer United Soccer Indoor Training Center on Tinker Road.

Events

2014 was a great year for all our events, from a record-breaking number of teams at our Placer United Girls Tournament, the launch of our Juniors Cup, a great time for families at our Summer Family BBQ, and an evening of fun and fundraising at our “Kickin’ Back to Soccer” dinner/dance/auction. We also inaugurated our first member into the Placer United Hall of Fame – the legendary Gene DuChateau, and maintained our commitment to connections with our alumni by following their accomplishments in college soccer and beyond, and hosting several of them back for the Alumni Game in December. Too many of our alumni players had big years in 2014 to list them all here, but some highlights include Ryan Hollingshead making the squad at the MLS level for FC Dallas and Luis Martinez making a pro team for Costa Rica. Seth Casiple and Connor Hallisey participated in the MLS Combine and Seth was drafted by the Portland Timbers and Connor was the #10 pick in the first round of the MLS Super Draft headed to Kansas City Sporting. Meanwhile, on the girls side, Erika Garcia continued to train with the full Mexican Women’s National Team in preparation for the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and current U18 player, Sydney Pagador, remains in the player pool for the Phillipines Senior Women’s National Team.

College Signings

Probably one of our favorite events every year is college signing night for our graduating players. Placer United puts more young women and men into top college programs that any Club around. You can keep track of all the signings on our website, and please attend our College Signing Ceremony on Wednesday, February 4, 2015.

High School Success

Placer United boys players were consistently the leaders and top players on their high school teams this past fall, as evidenced by the huge number of our players making all-conference teams and dominating the Sac Bee’s top players list for the region. Our girls players will no doubt see the same level of excellence this Spring as they saw in 2014. The girls’ high school season kicks off in Spring 2015.

With 2014 in the books, it’s time for a quick look ahead at 2015, which will no doubt be our best year ever…until 2016!

In 2015, we will see:

Acceleration of Planning for our Placer United Soccer Complex in Lincoln

While we have talked about this for some time, most of the work has been behind the scenes. This will be much more public in 2015, and has already started to make news. The complex is in environmental and planning review now with our partners at Richland Planned Communities and the City of Lincoln, and is ahead of schedule. With twelve tournament-quality fields, a stadium complex, additional indoor and outdoor training facilities, weight-training and locker facilities, community recreation and meeting facilities, and concessions, groundbreaking in 2016 will be a game-changing event for our Club and the soccer community. You will be hearing soon from us on how you can help us fulfill our share of making the complex a reality.

Continued Expansion and Development of our Coaching Staff

Our Coaching Directors will start to announce the 2015-2016 coaching slate soon, starting with the U8-U11 coaching staff. Look for that announcement soon. In the meantime, we remain committed to retaining the best soccer coaching staff in the region. We already have the highest credentialed coaching staff in the region, with more USSF “A”, “B” and “C” licensed coaches in our Club. Our returning and new coaches remain committed to their professional development under the watch of our Directors, and the Club will assist all our coaches achieve their next level of licenses.

More Trophies and Titles and Championships While Playing Good Soccer

Winning matches, tournaments, league titles, and cups at all levels is so much fun. Doing it while playing quality soccer based on a USSF curriculum and playing style of attacking, possession-based soccer and sound defense is priceless. At Placer United, we win while playing quality soccer. Expect more of the same in 2015.

Expansion of our Soccer Offerings

We aspire to be the truly united soccer club for all of Placer County and surrounding communities, with soccer offerings for all ages and all abilities. With the full launch of our U6-U10 Recreational Program in 2015, we are taking the next step in that development. We look forward to the day when Placer United is recognized as the soccer club for the whole community.

Continued Improvement in our Communications and Customer Service

Our members are our customers and our lifeblood. Without you, we would not exist. We made a special presentation to Tiffany Burns and awarded her Volunteer of the Year for her exceptional dedication. Expect even greater commitment to customer service, satisfaction, and communication in 2015. Let us know what we are doing well, and how we can improve. You have our personal commitment that if we make a mistake, we will fix it. If we do well, we want to reward it.

As you can see, we had a great 2014, and are planning for an even better 2015. With so much going on, we appreciate you taking the time to read this yearend report and look ahead. Enjoy the rest of your break, and we look forward to seeing you out on the fields soon!

Happy New Year!

Jeff Flint, President and Chairman
Placer United Soccer Club

On behalf of your entire team at the Club:

Board of Directors

•          Yvonne Sieber, Vice Chair
•          Jeanne Mabry, Secretary
•          Jonna Ward, Treasurer
•          Dave Faingold
•          François Barbé

Coaching Directors

•          Paul O’Brien, Director of Soccer Operations
•          Ron Benjamin, Director of Coaching
•          Kevin Unsworth, U8-U11 Technical Director
•          Matt Bernard, Director of Goalkeeping
•          Emre Gencer, Recreation Program Director

Staff and Volunteers

•          Jodi Tarr, Club Administrator
•          Our entire coaching staff
•          Our incredible group of Team Managers

Girls – U9-U11

U9G Gold – Finalist-Copa del Rey, Finalist-Placer Juniors Cup, Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-Red 2: Premier 2

U10G Gold – Champions-Placer Juniors Cup, Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-Red 2: Diamond 1

U10G Black – Finalist-Copa del Rey, Champions-Ghosts and Goals, Finalist-Placer Jrs Cup, Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-Red 2: Premier 3

U11G Gold – Champions-Region 6 Norcal Spring League, Finalist-Norcal Spring Cross-Regionals, 2nd Place-Region 6 Fall League, Semi-finals-Placer Girls Cup, Top 32 of Norcal State Cup Red Group (in progress)

U11G Black – Champion-Placer Girls Cup, Semi-finals-Norcal Cup-Platinum 2

Boys – U9-U11

U9B Gold – Finalist-Placer Juniors Cup, Semi-finals-Davis Super Classico Summer, Semi-finals-Davis Super Classico Cinco de Mayo, Semi-finals-Boo Fest, Semi-finals-Copa del Rey, Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-Red 2: Premier 3

U9B Black – Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-White 1: Platinum 1

U10B Gold – Semi-finals-Placer Juniors Cup (U11), Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-Red 2: Diamond 1

U10B Black – Semi-finalists-Norcal State Cup-Final Four-Red 1: State 1, Champion-Copa del Rey, Finalist-Placer Juniors Cup, Semi-finalist -Davis Classico.

U10B White – Champions-Norcal Region 6 Fall League-Silver 2, Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-White 1: Platinum 3, Semi-finals-Placer Juniors Cup

U11B Gold – 2nd Place-Region 6 Norcal Spring League, Champion-Norcal Spring Cross-Regionals, Champions-Davis Super Classico Cinco de Mayo, Champions-Davis Super Classico-Summer, Champions-Juventus, Champions-Norcal Region 6 Fall League, Semi-finals-Nomads Thanksgiving, Top 32 of Norcal State Cup Red 1/ State 2 Group (in progress)

U11B Black – Finalist-Placer Juniors Cup, Norcal State Cup Red Group

Girls – U12-U18

U12G Gold – Champions-Norcal Region 6 Spring League, Champion-Norcal Spring Cross-Regionals, Champion-Norcal Region 6 Fall League, Surf Cup, Champions-Pleasanton Showcase, Champions-Davis Showcase, Norcal State Cup Champions

U12G Black – Semi-finals-Pleasanton Showcase, Semi-finals-Placer Girls Cup, Norcal State Cup Red 2/Diamond 2 Finalists

U13G Gold – Top 32 of Norcal State Cup Red Group (in progress), Played in Surf Thanksgiving, Norcal State Cup Red 1/Premier 1 Finalists – #18 in the State

U13G Black – Champion-Placer Girls Cup, Quarter-finals-Norcal Cup-Platinum 1

U14G Gold – Champions-Norcal Region 6 Spring League, Champion-Norcal Spring Cross-Regionals, Played in Surf Thanksgiving, NPL Champions League

U14G Black – Semi-finals-California Cup

U15G Gold – Champions-NPL Fall Champions League, Played in Surf Cup and Surf Thanksgiving, Semi-finals-Davis Showcase, Finalist-Pleasanton Showcase, Semi-finals-Placer Girls Cup

U15G Black – Finalist-Juventus Showcase

U16G Gold – Champions-NPL Fall Champions League, Semi-Finals-Surf College Cup, Semi-finals-Davis Showcase, Semi-finals-Utah Avalanche Showcase

U16G Black – Finalist-Sacramento United Suntan Classic

U18G Gold ’97 – Champion-Davis Showcase, Finalist-Pleasanton Showcase, Played in Surf Cup and Surf College Cup

U18G Gold ’98 – Champion-NPL Fall State Premier 1, Semi-finals-Davis Showcase, Semi-finals-Utah Avalanche Showcase

Boys – U12-U18

U12B Gold – Champions-Norcal Region 6 Spring League, Semi-finals-Norcal Spring Cross-Regionals, Champions-Norcal Region 6 Fall League, Quarter-finals-Surf Cup, Semi-finals-Mustang Stampede, Semi-finals-Davis Showcase, Finalist-Davis Super Classico, Top 32 of Norcal State Cup Red 1/State 2 – finished #11 in the State

U12B Black – Semi-finals-Mustang Stampede, Semi-finals-Sacramento United Suntan Classic, Norcal State Cup Red Group

U13B Gold – Semi-finals-Las Vegas Mayors Cup, Semi-finals-Sacramento United Suntan Classic, Norcal State Cup Red 2 Diamond 1 State Cup Champions

U13B Black – 2nd Place-Norcal Region 6 Spring League, 2nd Place-Norcal Region 6 Fall League, Champion-Santa Rosa Nike Harvest Cup, Finalist-Casa Boca Champions Cup, Norcal State Cup Red Group

U14B Academy – Played up in U15 age bracket at Davis College Showcase and made the Semi-finals. (Team is a member of the United States Soccer Federation Academy. U.S. scouts attend training sessions and games. Players are invited to USSF Camps)

U14B Gold – Semi-finalists-Vacaville Shootout

U15B Gold – Champions-Davis Showcase, Champions-Sacramento United Suntan Classic, Semi-finals-Santa Clara Sporting Invitational

U16B Gold – Champions-Juvnetus TOC, Semi-finals-Juventus Showcase

U18B Gold – National Champions-NPL National Finals, Champions-Surf Cup, Champions-Davis Showcase

U18B Black – Champion-Juventus Showcase, Semi-finals-Ballistic Summer Classic, Quarter-finals-Nomads Showcase Thanksgiving

Congratulations to Placer United alumni Seth Casiple and Connor Hallisey who were selected on Major League Soccer’s list of 55 NCAA Division I college seniors invited to showcase their talents at the 2015 adidas MLS Player Combine January 8-13 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The coaching staffs from all 20 MLS teams will be on hand to scout talent for the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 15, in Philadelphia.The invite list includes seven players who will be competing at this weekend’s College Cup in Cary, North Carolina: four from UCLA and one each from Providence, UMBC and Virginia.The 55 seniors were selected by a committee consisting of NCAA Division I coaches from every conference and MLS representatives. They will be joined at the adidas MLS Player Combine by other seniors, including those from lower NCAA divisions, underclassmen who sign Generation adidas contracts and other international invitees, all of whom will be announced at a later date.

First	Last	School	Pos	Hometown / Citizenship
Saad	Abdul-Salaam	Akron	D	Gahanna, OH / USA
Miguel	Aguilar	San Francisco	F	Sacramento, CA / Mexico
Fatai	Alashe	Michigan State	M/D	Northville, MI / USA
Tyler	Arnone	Michigan	D	Hicksville, NY / USA
Dominique	Badji	Boston University	F	Dakar / Senegal
Oumar	Ballo	UMBC	D	Baltimore, MD / Mali
Laurie	Bell	Milwaukee	D/M	Poynton, England / UK
Salvador	Bernal	UNLV	M/F	Las Vegas, NV US perm. res.
Nick	Besler	Notre Dame	M	Overland Park, KS / USA
Adria	Beso Marco	UConn	M	Lleida / Spain
Andrew	Bevin	West Virginia	F/M	Napier / New Zealand
Eric	Bird	Virginia	M	Virginia Beach, VA / USA
Connor	Brandt	San Diego	M	Temecula, CA / USA
Sergio	Campbell	UConn	D	Clarendon / Jamaica
Seth	Casiple	Cal	M	Rocklin, CA / USA
Wes	Charpie	USF	D	Tarpon Springs, FL / USA
Andy	Craven	North Carolina	F	St. Simons Island, GA / USA
Otis	Earl	UC Riverside	D	London / USA, UK
Earl	Edwards	UCLA	GK	San Diego, CA / USA
Marc	Fenelus	Cal St Fullerton	F	Providenciales / Turks & Caicos
Oniel	Fisher	New Mexico	MF	Portmore / Jamaica
Tomas	Gomez	Georgetown	GK	Webster Groves, MO / USA
Connor	Hallisey	Cal	M	Granite Bay, CA / USA
Cameron	Iwasa	UC Irvine	F	Sacramento, CA / USA
Daniel	Keller	Louisville	D	Carmel, IN / USA
Robert	Kristo	St. Louis	F	St. Louis, MO / USA, Croatia
Sagi	Lev-Ari	Cal St Northridge	F	Haifa / Israel
Rob	Lovejoy	North Carolina	F/M	Greensboro, NC / USA
Fabio	Machado	Providence	M	Santa Catarina, Brazil / USA
Ignacio	Maganto	Iona	F	Madrid / Spain
Anthony	Manning	St. Louis	D	Mesquite, TX / USA
Ramon	Martín Del Campo	UC Davis	D	Chula Vista, CA / USA, Mexico
Shawn	McLaws	Coastal Carolina	D/M	Edmond, OK / USA
Dan	Metzger	Maryland	M	Holmdel, NY / USA
Tyler	Miller	Northwestern	GK	Woodbury, NJ / USA
Luke	Mishu	Notre Dame	D	Knoxville, TN / USA
Adam	Montague	Michigan State	F	Toledo, OH / USA
Craig	Nitti	Loyola Marymount	D	Calabasas, CA / USA, Italy
Boyd	Okwuonu	North Carolina	D	Edmond, OK / USA
Tim	Parker	St. John’s	D	Hicksville, NY / USA
Nikola	Paunic	USF	D	Toronto, ON / Canada
Matt	Polster	SIU-Edwardsville	D	Las Vegas, NV / USA
Jose	Ribas	Creighton	D/M	Guayaquil / Ecuador
Sidney	Rivera	Old Dominion	F	Hampton, NJ / USA
James	Rogers	New Mexico	F	Denver, CO Sierra Leone, USA
Manolo	Sanchez	Clemson	M	Philadelphia, PA / USA
Will	Seymour	Oregon State	M	Soham, England / USA, UK
Khiry	Shelton	Oregon State	F	Leander, TX / USA
Aaron	Simmons	UCLA	D	Mansfield, TX / USA
Leo	Stolz	UCLA	M	Munich / Germany
Andy	Thoma	Washington	M/D	Los Alamos, NM / USA
Skylar	Thomas	Syracuse	D	Pickering, ON / Canada
Andrew	Tusaazemajja	UCLA	M	Panorama City, CA / USA
Christian	Volesky	SIU-Edwardsville	F/M	Henderson, NV / USA
Andrew	Wolverton	Penn State	GK	Atlanta, GA / USA

Placer United ’94 Alumni, Ashleigh Nelin, reached the NAIA National Championship with Menlo College.

Menlo College women’s soccer beat out Embry-Riddle of Arizona 2-1 in the NAIA Cal Pac Conference Championship to advance for the first time to Nationals.

Defending champions Concordia Cavaliers of Oregon hosted the first round game to whom Menlo’s Lady Oaks fell in a 3-0 defeat.

Ashleigh started all 21 games and was instrumental in the Cal Pac Conference Championship.

Great job Ashleigh!

 

 

The 2014 US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Girls Thanksgiving Inter-Regional took place November 21-26 at Spanish River Athletic Park in Boca Raton, Florida. Participating teams were comprised of elite players in the 1997-2000 age groups, from each of the four US Youth Soccer Regions.  Maggie Bell of ’97 Gold and Emily Talmi of ’00 Gold competed at the event and played in front of college coaches and the US Soccer National Team coaches.  Nice work ladies!

 

 

 

After a long fall season, three Placer United girls teams were crowned National Premier League Champions this weekend in Davis, California.

The U15G 00 Gold and the U16G 99 Gold were crowned champions in the Champions League division of Norcal NPL and receive an automatic bid to play for the NPL National Championship, July 9-13, 2015 in Westfield, Indiana. The winner of each National Premier League across the country come together and compete for the National Championship.

The U15G Gold finished the season with a record of 6 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw with 15 goals for and 5 goals against.

 

The U16G Gold finished the season with a record of 7 wins and 1 draw with 22 goals for and only one goal against!

 

The U18G 98 Gold won the State Premier 1 Division of the NPL. They finished with a record of 5 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw with 13 goals for and 9 goals against.

Placer United Soccer currently has two National Championships. The ’93 Gold girls in 2008 at the US Club Soccer National Cup and most recently, the ’97 Gold boys in 2014 at the National Premier League Finals in North Carolina.

Good luck to the ’99 and ’00 girls on their quest to claim more National Titles for their team and Placer United.