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Placer U10B Premier Play Well in Tiburon

The U10B Premier team spent the weekend competing at the Fall Kickoff Tournament in the beautiful setting of Tiburon, California.

The first game versus Palo Alto didn’t start as planned and we lost a goal within two minutes of the start. It turned out to be only a minor set-back as the boys responded with three quick goals from Elvis Aviles, Marcus Tovar and Caiden Macktinger; and eventually won the game convincingly 6-1. In the second game, four first half goals were enough to see off Mustang. They did get one back late in the game but the result was never in danger. Placer won 4-1.

On Sunday in an early game versus East Bay Eclipse, the boys knew a win would put them through to the final and they didn’t disappoint. Good work by Crew Nottingham and Kyle Wesolowski ensured a solid defensive display and three goals either side of halftime were enough to produce a comfortable 6-1 win with Hunter Romine getting a goal and Christopher Cutright scoring a cracker from distance to complete the rout. 

In the final, Placer faced Briceno SC Gladiators who had been equally impressive in their bracket play. Placer had a lot of the ball in the first half but were undone by a magnificent shot from outside the area to give Gladiators the lead 1-0 at halftime. Into the second half and an early second goal; again, a fantastic shot from well outside the area left Placer 2-0 behind and an uphill struggle. Placer got a goal back with 10 minutes remaining through Dylan Wilson who bundled the ball home after a goalkeeping error which set up a tense finale. Placer applied lots of pressure but had to be careful of any counter attack. With seconds remaining Kyle Schell’s quick thinking throw-in allowed Alex Schott to drive into the area and score from a tight angle to tie the game 2-2, and crazy scenes of jubilation ensued courtesy of parents, players and coach alike. On to two, five minute halves of overtime.

With nine minutes of stalemate and both teams cancelling each other out, in the final minute of overtime the referee awarded Placer a penalty. Delaying tactics from the Briceno coach in entering the field and trying to change his goalkeeper before the PK took its toll as the keeper saved the penalty and after kicking it upfield, the Briceno forward raced away with seconds remaining to smash the ball in and gave Gladiators a devasting 3-2 win.

The defeat was harsh on Placer. The boys were distraught at the end but they should all be very proud of their efforts and fighting spirit to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the final. In addition, they played some very good soccer and dominated bracket play. The game we love so much frequently has a habit of being so cruel…

Well done boys!

Kevin Unsworth
Coach

College Bound

CDA’s Cody Giddings Heads for West Point

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!”

College Bound

Caitlin Jones of ’94 Elite Verbally Commits to Chico State University

 In her own words…

“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!!”

College Bound

Connor Swartz Commits to Virginia Tech

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!”

News

Placer United Girls Mustang Stampede Results

Seven Placer United teams travelled down to Danville last weekend to compete in the Mustang Stampede sponsored by Mustang Soccer Club. The tournament was filled with some of the best teams in Cal-N, Cal-S, Colorado and Washington.

Four of Placer teams made it through very difficult group play games and advanced.

The U11 Elite defeated Santa Clara Sporting 4-0, Mustang Blast 4-0 and tied Santa Rosa Riptide 1-1. They advanced to the quarter-finals and were up-ended by eventual finalist FSC 1-2.

The U13 Elite defeated Ajax 3-1, drew 0-0 with Arsenal (CA-S) and defeated SCA 1-0. The girls lost in the quarter-finals, 0-2 versus eventual champion, Pleasanton Rage.

The U15 Premier also adavanced through group play with a 1-0 win versus ACC Mavericks (finalist), a 1-0 loss versus VUSA Timbers and a 1-1 draw with Mustang Freedom. In the quarter-finals, they played through regulation and overtime to end in a 0-0 tie. The girls lost in penalty kicks.

The U15 Elite girls drew with Carlsbad Lightning 0-0, drew with Mustang Mavericks 1-1 and defeated Tynecastle (WA) 2-0 to advance to the quarter-finals. In the quarters, the girls defeated FC Elk Grove 2-0 and advanced to the semi-finals. In the semis, the girls were pitted against Bay Oaks Botafogo. There was no score in regulation and overtime and the girls fell in penalty kicks.

The U10 Elite, U12 Elite and U14 Elite had very difficult first round games and did not advance. They played Westminster, VUSA Timbers, Davis, Mustang, NW Nationals,and Eastside FC.

Congratulations to all teams! We will continue to challenege the players and compete in the best possible environment!

College Bound

Lauren Gollnick, ’94 Girls Elite Verbally Commits to Dominican University

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!”

College Bound

Kim Hernandez of Placer ’93 Girls Commits to Jackson State University

In her own words…

“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!”

News

Placer United Girls Travel to Pleasanton and San Diego

Placer United girls U9-U14 Elite and Premier teams were in action this past weekend at the Pleasanton Rage Juniors Showcase. Highlighting the weekend were the U11 Elite and U12 Elite. The U11 Elite, coached by Joe Black made it all the way to the finals. They beat Livermore 2-0, Castro Valley 5-0 and then tied 0-0 with Central Valley Magic to decide who went through to the finals. The Magic edged Placer Elite by one in goal differential. In the 3rd place match, the girls defeated San Juan Blue 4-2. The U12 Elite, coached by Matt Scammacca, reached the championship game by defeating Diablo FC 2-0, North Bay Elite 2-0 and then were upended in the championship 0-1 to DeAnza Force.

The U17 and U18 Elite girls teams travelled down to San Diego to compete in the prestigous Surf Cup. Over 350 college coaches were at the event scouting for their collegiate teams.

The U17 girls lost 0-2 to Real So Cal and 0-3 to Legends Breakaway, two of the top teams in Southern California. The girls rebounded with a 0-0 draw with the Central Valley Chillipeppers, a Northern California rival. 

The U18 girls lost 0-2 to Real So Cal in the opener. They then drew 0-0 with Legends FC. The team ended the event with a 1-1 draw with Fort Worth FC out of Texas missing out on the quarter-finals.

News

Emily Bringgold Selected for ODP Regional Camp Holdover

Emily Bringgold of the U15 Elite ’97G team has been selected to the USYSA Regional ODP holdover pool.

Fourteen ’97 state teams gathered in Moscow, Idaho in early July to compete for 36 spots in the holdover pool. Emily was selected as a center back and will now compete in the regional event July 26-30 in Southern California.

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