Dear Placer United Soccer Club families:

On behalf of the entire PUSC Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce to you that we have promoted Girls Director of Coaching Ron Benjamin and Boys Director of Coaching Paul O’Brien to the positions of Co-Directors of Coaching. The Board made this decision, and Ron and Paul accepted the positions, last night.

This decision was made after Nathan Williams informed us Thursday that, due primarily to personal and family obligations, he would be moving to North Carolina and taking a position as Director of Coaching with the Twin City Youth Soccer Association.

Nathan has asked us to let you know that he will be personally emailing all of our families himself with more details about his move and the reasons behind them. You can expect that email shortly.

The Board and the entire PUSC community thank Nathan for all he has done for our Club in the past eight years, and wish him and his family the very best. Nathan did a tremendous job in helping us implement our vision to be one of the nation’s premier competitive youth soccer organizations, with a focus on player development and creating a club mentality. It is a testament to the growth and strength of our club that two top coaches and soccer professionals like Ron and Paul, each of whom could be candidates in their own right to direct any of the nation’s top clubs, will be working together to take Placer United to even higher levels.

Paul O’Brien has been the driving force in developing the NorCal Premier Soccer playing league into the league of choice for Division 1 competitive soccer programs. He holds a U.S. Soccer Federation National “B” soccer coaching license. Ron Benjamin, who joined PUSC in 2007 after serving as Director of Coaching at Marin Football Club, holds a National “A” license and is recognized among his peers as a top technical soccer development coach.

Both Ron and Paul have already begun peppering us with ideas, some new, and some they have been working on for some time with Nathan. This is an exciting time for our Soccer Club, because every change, even saying good-bye to a dear friend like Nathan, gives us a chance to evaluate ourselves. We already believe we have become the top club in Northern California, but we measure ourselves against the best in the nation, and we know we can always get better.

If you have any questions, you can always contact me, any Board member, Ron or Paul, or any of our coaches.

The one thing that will never be in doubt is the Club’s commitment to our soccer families. The strength of our soccer club is in every player, every coach, every parent, and every volunteer. We are “ClubStrong.” We will always remain committed to player development and to creating the very best competitive youth soccer experience for you and your children.

Please join us again in congratulating Ron and Paul in their new positions, and in thanking Nathan for all he has done for us. We wish him, his wife Megan, and their children our very best.

Sincerely,

Jodi Tarr

Club Administrator

The U13 Girls Gold team had an awesome showing at the first tournament of their season. The girls played up 1 age group in this tournament and by the way they played and performed you would have never been able to tell. Overcoming all of the obstacles that playing up represents, the girls were awesome matching their opponents in every facet of the game along the way.

The girls battled with Carson Valley to open the tournament and coming up just short 3-2 however, anyone watching that game would admit they deserved at least a tie.

In the next two games the girls maxed out points handling both Sagebrush 3-0 and Nevada Elite 7-0. The team finished group play with 22 points putting them into the final game.

In the final, the girls met a very tough Santa Rosa Blizzard team who are very solid in the U14 age group. The girls had an incredible showing in the final match—solid in every area of the game goalkeeping, defending and attacking. It truly was a beautiful team effort with every girl on the team contributing. The girls were unbelievably composed in the final coming up just a bit short 1-0 on a penalty kick.

Congratulations to an awesome group of girls and a great team!

Placer United Girls teams played in their first events of the year over the Memorial Day Weekend.

Stanford Memorial Shootout

(most of our teams played up an age group)

U11 Black – 1-0 over San Juan / 0-1 to Walnut Creek 0-3 to Palo Alto

U12 Gold – 2-0 over Nevada Prem / 3-0 over Nevada Elite / 0-2 to Sac Utd / 0-0 with Santa Rosa (lost in pk’s) 4th

U12 Black – 0-1 to SJ White / 0-2 to MP Strikers / 0-2 Nevada Elite

U13 Gold – 3-0 over Sagebrush / 2-3 to Carson Valley / 7-0 Nevada Elite / 0-1 Santa Rosa in Final 2nd

U13 Black – 1-2 to EDYSL / 0-3 to Burlingame / 0-3 to Central Valley

U14 Black – 6-0 over San Ramon / 2-0 over Nevada Elite / 0-2 to Burlingame / 1-0 over West Valley 3rd

PDA College Showcase in New Jersey

(over 200 college coaches at the event)

U17 Gold – 0-0 with Wall Wombats-NJ / 1-1 with Brentwood-TN / 0-0 with Chantilly-VA

U18 Gold – 0-0 with FC Stars of Mass / 1-2 to Syosset-NY / 2-2 with Montclair-NJ

Tomorrow, the USA Bid Committee will deliver our Bid Book to FIFA. We’re another step closer to earning the honor of hosting the World Cup!

This Bid is our story — the story of all fans whose passion for the game courses through our country: the busy mom coaching her kid’s soccer team; the lifelong fans who brought their love for soccer from other nations; the weekend warriors who play in city parks and parking lots.

The Bid Committee has created a new video telling this story. They’ve traveled to communities across the country, speaking with players and fans of every kind, capturing what soccer really means to the American people. Take a look at the video and pass it to everyone you know:

http://gousabid.com/ourstory

I’m excited about the USA Bid effort because I’ve seen soccer come such a long way in the United States since I first set foot on the pitch more than 30 years ago.

Soccer is America’s game — the perfect sport to match our nation’s diversity, creativity, and cooperation. And now, with your help, we can bring the game’s greatest tournament back to America, and welcome the world.

Watch this great new video and share it around:

http://gousabid.com/ourstory

Thanks again for all your support.

— Mia

Thank you to all the players who attended this year’s tryouts.

Congratulations to Placer U17 and U16 as both teams advance to the Nor-Cal finals for the second year in a row on May 8th.

The U17 Boys beat out a strong Walnut Creek team in the quarter final game 2-1, but suffered a huge blow as goalkeeper Luca Liccardi picked up an injury which ruled him out of the semi final game against a highly fancied Morelia team that put 4 past a good San Jaun team.

The boys were already missing some key players due to spring break and injuries, but with the help of some U16 players, Benedict twins, Grant and Kyle, as well as, Sam O’Brien, and with field player Noe Romero standing between the sticks, Placer beat Morelia 1-0 and advanced to their second straight Nor-Cal final which will be played May 8th.

Over the two days, Placer had strong performances from all players, especially Eddy Arreola, Ben Steiner, Brian Ramanis, Paul Villa, and Connor Puhala, to name a few.

The U16 Boys won their quarter final by the score of 5-1 against Tri Valley United who had a player red carded early in the game. The boys did a good job of being patient with the ball and taking their chances at the right time, especially as Tri Valley was coached by the former US Mens National Team, and MLS coach Lothar Osiander. Goals from Gio, Danny, Bert and Swifty sealed the win, and moved them into the semi’s which they won 3-1 against the Aztecs who beat a surprised Marin the day before with a 3-1 victory.

The game was played in heavy rain and gale force winds which affected the short passing game of the Aztecs who couldn’t deal with the high pressure game of the Placer team in these conditions. Coach Jason Gantt praised the overall team performance against two strong teams and takes the boys into the Nor-Cal finals for the second straight year.

Again congratulations to both teams.

Congratulations to Kevin Unsworth and Todd DeCarlo for completing their US Soccer Federation National “C” License this past winter. Both coaches are now well on their way to pressing through the National licenses. Kevin spent a week in Southern California while Todd traveled to Colorado to complete their courses.

These accomplishments demonstrates Placer United’s commitment to providing top level coaches on each of our teams. Coach education is a crucial part of becoming a stronger coach and also enhances personal leadership skills.

Congratulations Kevin and Todd!