ECNL adds Bay Area Surf, Placer United
Girls ECNL landed the White Whale.
ECNL announced the addition of two new clubs on Tuesday for the 2022-2023 club season, Placer United and Bay Area Surf. Both clubs join the newly formed Northern Cal conference for the upcoming season.
The addition of Bay Area Surf to Girls ECNL has been a rumor for most of the last two seasons. For the few unfamiliar, Bay Area Surf is a young club with an impressive list of current players and even more impressive list of former and current coaches.
The club, formerly know as FC Bay Area, was launched when San Jose Earthquakes disbanded their girls program – and immediately made a splash thanks to the style of play and on-field success. Andres Deza, the former director at San Jose Earthquakes Academy, partnered with Heath Piper, the current Bay Area Surf Executive Director, and others for the new club FC Bay Area.
The club added a plethora of talented players especially in the 2004 birth year age group. That 04 team recently won the Girls Academy League Champions League Championship. It will go down as one of the best girls club soccer teams in history thanks to their success in the Girls Academy League and the now-defunct Girls Development Academy.
Deza left FC Bay Area to join San Diego Surf in March of 2021 as the new Girl’s Technical Director for the club. Shortly after his arrival with Surf, his former club rebranded as Bay Area Surf.
With the Bay Area Surf team joining ECNL for the 2022-2023 season, the club’s talented 2004 age group will mostly be moved onto the college game. The club does have a very promising 2007 birth year age group that finished as finalist at the Girls Academy League Champions League earlier this season – and has a few players in the U.S. Youth National team player pool.
Placer United is a historic club from the Sacramento-area, one of the oldest clubs in the state as it was founded in 1982. Now in its 40th season, Placer United is as strong as ever with a steady stream of players to the next level. Placer United also owns the largest indoor soccer facility for youth soccer in Northern California.
With Placer United and Bay Area Surf as part of the Girls ECNL, the league realigned the clubs in that area to create the Northern Cal Conference with 10 clubs for next season: Davis Legacy, De Anza Force, Marin FC, Mustang SC, MVLA, Pleasanton Rage, San Juan SC and Santa Rosa United.
ECNL Press Release
Today ECNL Girls announced a conference realignment in the west to create the new Northern Cal Conference, a brand-new conference for 10 clubs to kick off in the 2022-23 season. The Northern Cal conference will be the new home for eight northern California clubs currently in the Northwest Conference: Davis Legacy, De Anza Force, Marin FC, Mustang SC, MVLA, Pleasanton Rage, San Juan SC and Santa Rosa United. In addition, the Northern Cal will welcome Bay Area Surf and Placer United as new clubs into the ECNL Girls for the 2022-23 season, rewarding both clubs’ performances in the ECNL Regional League – NorCal this year.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Bay Area Surf and Placer United to the ECNL Girls platform for the 2022-23 season and the creation of the Northern Cal Conference,” said Jen Winnagle, ECNL COO and Girls Commissioner. “This new conference will provide fantastic games with much-reduced travel for all teams, allowing an even better experience for players to develop to their full potential. The creation of a new conference recognizes the depth of talent in the region and the addition of Bay Area Surf and Placer United increases the competition level across the board.”
Bay Area Surf
Sunnyvale, CA
- Founded in 2017; joined the Surf brand in 2021
- More than 35 club graduates playing collegiate soccer
- Multiple players in various USYNT pools from U15-U19
“Bay Area Surf is extremely excited to be invited as a new member club in Girls ECNL,” said Heath Piper, Executive Academy Director. “Our goal has always been to look for the best competition for our program locally and nationally. The ECNL platform has proven over the years to be the top girls league in the country and it’s an honor for our program to have been selected to represent the ECNL brand. We look forward to the competition and the opportunities for our players to showcase their talent at the highest level each week. We know that this will only further enhance their opportunities collegiately and beyond.”
Placer United
Rocklin, CA
- Founded: 1982
- Placer United Indoor Training Facility is, the largest indoor training facility for youth soccer in the Sacramento area
- More than 400 alumni playing collegiate soccer since 2010
“We are absolutely delighted to be accepted into the ECNL Girls platform,” said Ron Benjamin, Director of Coaching. “This acceptance is a reward for years upon years of hard work and dedication, trying to make our club one of the prominent youth soccer organizations in Northern California. We look forward to playing in the ECNL competition and enhancing our college recruitment process and opening up even more avenues for our female athletes.”