The San Diego Zest FC are the new official Premier Development League team in the San Diego area. The league is comprised of the very best college players in the nation looking to make their way into professional teams in the United States and abroad.

"We want players at San Diego Christian to have the opportunity to go on and play professionally," said Coach Westermann. "We have a couple guys that may make the jump and eventually I think it'll happen more often which is one of the goals of our program."

The PDL has a track record of players getting looks and roster invitations with MLS teams following successful seasons.  Coach Westermann noted it isn't uncommon for MLS players to rehab in the PDL and for young players that were just drafted to hone their skills with teams like the Zest before heading to their professional club.

Coach Westermann has big time visions not only for his San Diego Christian squad, but for soccer as a whole in the San Diego area. Having been heavily involved with the San Diego youth soccer scene over the last four years, Westermann and Riley now find themselves with a major opportunity to be a part of something new and exciting in the area, the San Diego Zest FC, as their assistant coaches.

SDC senior Borja Suarez is making an impact with the team with a team-leading five assists and has added two goals as a regular starter amongst NCAA Div. I players.

The Zest are second in the Southwest division with a 5-1-3 record and rank fourth in the Western Conference Power Rankings.

San Diego Zest's Philosophy:

The development of talented players into members of professional soccer leagues, including MLS, USL, and the top division of Japan Professional Football League, known as J-League. Our purpose is to encourage young men and women to have widened global perspectives, and contribute to the community. 

We focus not only on the development of professional soccer players, but also on high academic achievement, and we will exist to assist San Diego County to generate a large number of young people who excel both academically and athletically.

Vison:

●　Provide a positive environment for the continued development of soccer in the San Diego region.

●　Promote the PDL brand definition and advancement in San Diego and Japan  

●　Enhancement of a soccer exchange program between Japan and the U.S.

●　Support of Japanese soccer players pursuing sports in America.

●　Support of American players pursuing sports in Japan.

Women's tournament check-in is at 9 a.m. with men's check-in at 11 a.m.

Donations are welcome from each team toward the SDC Soccer programs.

To see the full list of tournament rules, please click here.

Any questions regarding this event may be directed to head men's and women's soccer coach, Josh Westermann, at jwestermann@sdcc.edu

The award is a first for all three student-athletes. The trio was named to the All-GSAC team in their prospective sport earlier last month. Oray and Henrique were also named to the NAIA Scholar Athlete list earlier this week.

"It's a big accomplishment for these student-athletes and the fantastic seasons they had on and off the field," Head Coach Josh Westermann said. "Any time awards like these are received, it's a reflection of the team as a whole and the positive season we had."

Oray, a junior, scored a team-high 12 goals and seven assists for the women's soccer team, who went 9-8-1 on the year and made it to the GSAC Tournament. Oray also is the first women's soccer player in SDC history to receive such honor. She ranked 27th in the nation with five game-winning goals.

"Vivian had her best season of her career at SDC. She just kept scoring goals and getting through defenses," Coach Westermann said. "She played all over the field for us. She was just tenacious defensively and made things happen every time she had the ball at her feet"

Henrique scored a team-high 13 goals and tied for the lead in assists with five. His 13 goals were tops in the GSAC for the men's soccer team, ending the season with an 11-8 record, second best in the school's history.

"Pedro has been a rock for us over the last three years," Coach Westermann said. "As a captain, he encouraged the team on a daily basis and made everyone better around him. His technical ability and vision were the best I've seen in the GSAC."

Fellow teammate, Suarez, finished a goal behind Henrique with 12 and also had five assists. Suarez and Henrique join a short list of NAIA All-American award winners for SDC, joining Jason Aldous who earned it twice, once in 1998 and 2000.

"Borja was a goal scoring machine this season," Coach Westermann said. "He consistently threatened every defense we played against and created many goal scoring chances for other players too."

To see the full list of honorees: Men's | Women's

Here are the camp details:

  Date: January 29th

10:00 a.m.- Check in at SDC Campus (address below) in front of the Cafeteria

10:30 a.m.- Admissions Tour

11:30 a.m.- Lunch in the Cafeteria

12:15-2:30 p.m.- Workout on the Soccer Field (address below)

Cost- $40 - Please bring money in cash the day of the event

Those who cannot attend the 29th camp, there will be an addidtional session Saturday, Jan. 30th from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The camp will be at the training facility listed below and the same location as the Friday camp. 

Location of SDC Campus:

200 Riverview Parkway

Santee, CA 92071

Location of Soccer field:

Santee Sportsplex

9951 Riverwalk Drive

Santee, CA 92071

Those interested, please fill out this camp bio form.

Questions about the camp can be directed to head men's and women's coach Josh Westermann at jwestermann@sdcc.edu.

"I am very proud of both teams for making it to the GSAC tournament," Head Coach Josh Westermann said. "Both programs are headed in the right direction and we've been blessed to make it this far. You win, you advance. Any team can win on any given day."

The men's team travels to The Master's College on Friday for a 2 p.m. scheduled kickoff in Santa Clarita. The Hawks faired well earlier in the year with a 3-0 shutout over the Mustangs on Oct. 21. These two teams have had a recent encounter in the first round before. SDC earned a No. 3 seed in the tournament in 2013 and hosted against the No. 6 seed Mustangs. TMC upset the Hawks 2-0 and eliminated them from the tournament.

"The men's team was out at this time last year, so it's a big turnaround season for us," Coach Westermann said. "We've nearly tripled our wins from last year. We know we can beat any team in the conference if we play to the best of our abilities for full 90 minute plus games. We made the GSAC Championship game in 2012 and have our eyes set on being back there on Nov. 14th."

This time the roles will be reversed. The Hawks earned the No. 5 seed, while the Mustangs garnered the No. 4. With a win today, SDC will advance to the next round and will play either No. 1 seeded Biola or No. 2 Vanguard.

Saturday will mark the third straight GSAC Tournament appearance for the women's side. They earned the last playoff seed and will travel to Costa Mesa to take on the Lion of Vanguard. The Lions defeated the Hawks 8-1 earlier in the year and Coach Westermann understands the challenge of playing against the highly-rated Lions team. With a win against Vanguard, the Hawks will play No. 1 seeded Biola.

"For the women's team, this is three years in a row. The GSAC is arguably the toughest conference in the nation for women's soccer. We made it to the GSAC semifinals last year, the best in history. After graduating 9 starting seniors last year, we have a young team. They have risen to the occasion and proven themselves. The future is very bright."

Last year, the Hawks earned the sixth seed and upset the three seed Mustangs 2-0, who had beat them twice already earlier in the year.

In playoffs, season stats and standings don't really matter. Coach Westermann has preached that message to both his teams and knows anything can happen on any day.

"It takes the right attitude, concentration, and effort to succeed in playoffs. We have to be solid defensively as a team and put our chances away and I know we can do it."

Adan Valdez will join the men's program while Allie Hill joins the women's.

"We've established a great tradition of signing top student-athletes from San Diego United," Head Men's and Women's Coach Josh Westermann said. "Allie and Adan have impressed us through the recruiting process and will be solid additions on our teams."

Adan and Allie both played for Sami Nedjar, a long-time coach in the San Diego community. He is the Assistant Men's Coach at San Diego State University and Technical Director of San Diego United.

"Sofia Montes, Katherine Day, Rachel LaHaye, Marlene Huerta, Amber Brancato, Brittany Beam, and Ashley Jarosin have all joined our women's soccer program over the last few years from SD United," Coach Westermann said. "They've been outstanding for us on and off the field. They helped us to back-to-back Golden State Athletic Conference playoffs and our first semi-final appearance in the school's history in 2014."

Here is a closer look at the signees:

Adan Valdez, Fr., 5-9, Midfielder/Forward, Steele Canyon HS

-              Starting RM or Forward

-              First CIF goal for SCHS

-              Honorable Mention award

Albion Showcase Champions 2014, State Cup Finalist 2009, West Coast Classic Champions 2009, CV Ranger Memorial Day Champions 2008-2010, Coronado Holiday Cup Champions, Pegasus Cup Finalist 2011, Nomads Cup Finalist, Nike Crusaders Cup Finalist 2011, Las Vegas Premier Invitational Finalist 2014, CV Rangers Thanksgiving Tournament Champions 2012, FC San Diego Presidents Cup Finalist 2008, Presidio League Runner up 2009-2012

Alexandra "Allie" Hill, Fr., 5-6, Center Defense/Midfield, El Capitan HS, 4.03 GPA

Club Accomplishments:

-Presidio League- GU13 AAA League Champions

-San Diego United Summer Challenge- Champions 2010 and 2011

-June Player of the month 2012

-Player of the half, awarded by Soka University Coach Cano at summer college camp 2012

-Player of the half, awarded by Occidental College Coach Acuna at summer college camp 2012

-November Player of the Month 2013

-May Player of the Month 2014

High School Accomplishments

-2012 All-Grossmont Valley Girls Soccer Team, Second team

-El Capitan High School Varsity Soccer Coach Award 2012

-2013 All-Grossmont Valley Girls Soccer Team, First Team

-El Capitan High School Varsity Soccer Best Midfielder Award 2013

-2014 All-Grossmont Valley Girls Soccer Team, First Team And League MVP

El Capitan High School Varsity Soccer Best Midfielder Award 2014

-Four year varsity starter

The first camp is an all-girls camp that will run from June 15-18, with participants between the ages of 14-18. The camp will be broken down into three options.

            Girls Summer Camp

Full Overnight - $500 – includes meals and transportation

Extended Day (9-6) - $400 – includes all meals

Day Camp (9-4) - $300 – includes breakfast and lunch

Check in is scheduled for June 15 at 2 p.m. at the SDC Fields located near the Santee Sportsplex with the address as follows:

9951 Riverwalk Dr

Santee, CA 92071

Itinerary:

Monday June 15

2:00 p.m.          Check in

3-5:00 p.m.       Tactical Sessions/Small Games

5:30-6:15 p.m.   Dinner in cafeteria

6:30-7:00 p.m.   Meeting in chapel for expectations of camp and Q&A with coaches

Tuesday June 16- Thursday June 18

8 -9:00 a.m.       Wake up/Breakfast on campus

9:30-11:30 a.m. Technical Sessions

12-1:00 p.m.     Lunch

2-4:00 p.m.       Tactical Sessions/Small Games

5;30-6:15 p.m.   Dinner on Campus

6:45-9:00 p.m.   Night 11v11

10:30 p.m.         Lights Out

Payment is due on June 15 by cash or check only with checks payable to SDC Athletics.

More information on the camp can be accessed through this link. To register for the Summer Girls Camp, please fill out this form. Questions can be directed to SDC Men's and Women's Assistant Soccer Coach Cameron Riley via phone (661-619-7919) or email (cameron.riley@sdcc.edu).

SDC I.D. Camp

The SDC I.D. Camp is open to all high school and community college athletes. The camp will run for two days, June 22-23. The camp will be held on the fields by the Santee Sportsplex at the address of:

9951 Riverwalk Dr

Santee, CA 92071

The price for the I.D. Camp is:

June 22 only - $100

June 22-23 - $150

Itinerary:

June 22-23

8:30-9:00 a.m.                    Check-in

9-11 a.m.                            Technical Drills

11:30-12:30 p.m.                 Lunch

1-3:00 p.m.                         Small sided games/Scrimmaging

Payment is due on June 22 by cash or check only with checks payable to SDC Athletics. To register for the SDC I.D Camp, please fill out this form. Questions can be directed to SDC Men's and Women's Assistant Soccer Coach Cameron Riley via phone (661-619-7919) or email (cameron.riley@sdcc.edu).

Each Hawk player ran a station from dribbling to shooting and 1v1 and 2v2 drills.

SDC Assistant Soccer Coach, Kyle Hagenburger, created and coached their first soccer program at King 

Chavez High and was also in attendance for the clinic. "They all loved it, it was a great experience and having been part of that community for so long, I am grateful to have been able to be there doing that again," Hagenburger said.

The Hawks' Jose Valencia, freshman defender, graduated from King Chavez HS in 2013 as part of the first graduation class.

The King Chavez soccer program is the subject of a documentary that chronicles "the unprecedented success of a high school soccer program in the impoverished, gang-ridden Logan Heights barrio of San Diego." This documentary is currently being made by Gameday Films and Hot Beverage Productions.

The games will be held March 21 at the Santee Sportsplex turf fields. Women's alumni game will be starting at 10 a.m. while the men's while follow after at 12 p.m.

While the alumni games are going on, there will be a soccer clinic from 10 a.m - 12 p.m. 

For the past 10 years, SDC has sent student mission teams to the hill tribes region in northern Thailand. The work done over there includes water projects, sanitation, agriculture, education, and meeting medical needs.

The hill tribes are truly the poorest of the poor with a combined family income averaging between 60 to 100 dollars per year. Currently there are 160 children enrolled in the school in this jungle region. This being our tenth year of partnership with the hill tribes, we asked the village council what they would want us to bless them with the most and they requested a soccer filed.

As per request by the village council, one of the initiates for the team this year will be constructing a soccer field for the children in this region. Currently, 100 meter by 50 meter soccer field is being graded and leveled for the arrival of our may team, which includes 6 members of the SDC men's and women's soccer team. With your support we hope to provide this village with soccer balls, goals, nets, jerseys, and other essentials to playing the game of soccer.

The team we are sending will be leading daily soccer clinics, character development, and training for the local staff regarding soccer and ministry. 100 percent of the funds received through this soccer clinic in San Diego will help fund the same kind of clinics for children just like ours, in Thailand.

Donations are welcomed from all participants. For more information on the clinics or missions trip to Thailand, contact Head Men's and Women's Soccer Coach Josh Westermann at jwestermann@sdcc.edu

Here are the camp details:

Date: January 30th

8:45 a.m.- Check in at SDC Campus (address below) in front of the Cafeteria

9 a.m.- Admissions Presentation

9:30 a.m.- Admissions Tour

10 a.m.- Chapel

11:30 a.m.- Lunch in the Cafeteria

12:15-2:30 p.m.- Workout on the Soccer Field (address below)

Cost- $40 - Please bring money in cash the day of the event

Location of SDC Campus:

200 Riverview Parkway

Santee, CA 92071

Location of Soccer field:

Santee Sportsplex

9951 Riverwalk Drive

Santee, CA 92071

Those interested, please fill out this camp bio form.

Questions about the camp can be directed to head men's and women's coach Josh Westermann at jwestermann@sdcc.edu. 

After falling to The Master's College twice already before, Katherine Day had her best game as a Hawk as she scored two goals lifting SDC past the No. 12 ranked Mustangs 2-0 to advance to the GSAC Semifinals for the first time in school history.

Many other firsts happened in the result of the win. It was the first time in school history that the women's soccer team defeated back-to-back NAIA Top 25 opponents. It is also the first win in the GSAC playoffs.

"Being on this team has been a greater blessing than I ever expected," Day said. "Every girl on the team encourages and pushes one another to be the best players and people they can be. Winning this game was a team effort and everyone put their whole heart into it. I'm proud to be a Hawk."

SDC improves to 7-8-2 overall and the Mustangs drop to 12-5-1 and will wait for an outside chance at an At-Large bid to the NAIA Championship.

The Hawks got on the board early on in the half with a successful penalty kick from Day. Vivian Oray originally dribbled through the Mustangs defense but then was later tackled in the penalty box by the Mustangs goalie, which led to Day's PK in the 18th minute.

Day, 12 minutes later, curled in shot from the right side, with defenders on her, for the huge 2-0 advantage. The goals were her fifth and sixth of the season, which leads the team.

At the break, the Hawks were outshot 7-3.

The Mustangs came out fast in the second half, hoping to trim their deficit. They took four shots in a span of 15 minutes but none could get behind Katherine Koury, who finished the game with five saves in the clean sheet. SDC held the GSAC Player of the Year, Katie Farris, to just two shots, none finding the target. Averaging one goal a game this season, Farris was held in check under her season average of shots.

Farris's last shot of her season went wide in the 87th minute as Koury saved another shot in the 88th.

SDC will face the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Westmont College on Friday. The Hawks fell to the Warriors 3-2 back on Sept. 24. After trailing 2-0 at half, the Hawks scored two quick goals to tie it early, but would later allow a goal midway through the half in the loss.

"It is amazing to see how our team pulled together as a family," Jontae Campbell said. "Today's game it was evident that we fought for each other and we played for our God. I am so grateful that God is giving us another opportunity to play together again."

Kickoff against Westmont College on Friday is slated for 2 p.m.

That all changed Saturday night as the Hawks fell to NCAA Div. III foe Occidental 2-1 in overtime.

With the loss, SDC falls to 1-1-1 while the Tigers improved to 2-0.

The first goal of the game came after the halftime break in the 53rd minute as Occidental got the ball past SDC goalkeeper Katherine Koury for the first time this season.

The Hawks were able to get on the scoreboard in the 58th minute via a penalty kick as Zoar Gonzales scored her first goal of the season to knot the game at 1-1.

No further goals were scored as the game went into overtime. The Tigers struck early for the win just 23 seconds into the first overtime to clinch the victory.

Despite being on the losing end, the Hawks outshot the Tigers 11-7, including eight shots on goal.

Koury collected one save in the game. Katherine Day led the team with four saves, three on goal. Chantel Louden was next with three shots.

The Hawks will stay on the road in their next match. They travel to Claremont and play Pomona-Pitzer next Saturday. Kick off is slated for 4 p.m.

Josh Westermann, Head Women's Soccer Coach, will take over as head coach for the men's team. Westermann was currently the Head Associate Coach on the men's side for the past two seasons.  Assisting Westermann will be Salvador Velazquez and Cameron Riley. Velazquez and Riley are both former SDC soccer players.

"We are thankful for Carlos' contributions to the SDC soccer program, and wish him the best on his new endeavor," San Diego Christian College Athletic Director Kyle Ferguson said. "Carlos helped lead SDC soccer into an era of success on and off the field.

"At the same time, it is a natural move to have Coach Westermann step into the role and oversee both programs. We are blessed that Josh is here and that the program will not miss a step."

Calderson has accepted a coaching position at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, NC. The Crusaders compete in the NCAA Div. II and have 19 varsity sports.

In the three season's Calderson was the head coach, the Hawks went 26-26-2. After a rough first year where the Hawks went 5-11-1, Calderson led the team to a 12-6 record in 2012 and a trip to the GSAC Tournament Championship Game where they were defeated by then-No. 5 Concordia, 3-0.

In 2013, SDC was ranked in the NAIA Top 25 for the first time in school history as they came in at No. 18 on Oct. 22.

The men's soccer team will play against Arizona Western College in a scrimmage Saturday Aug. 16 before opening the season on the road against Soka University on Aug. 23 at 1 p.m.

The two-day spring camp is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 12 and from 9 a.m. to 4pm on March 13. Campers will be able to tour that campus and speak to academic advisers as well as receive a seminar on NAIA rules and recruiting. People who sign up will also have a chance to meet Hawks coaches and current players. Each camper will get a SDCC Hawks soccer T-Shirt to take home
 

Food will be provided on both days as well as housing if needed. This program offers athletes a chance to experience "The HAWK Culture".
 

Registration for the spring camp is $110 while groups of six or more will receive a $10 discount. Those interested can sign up here, and all questions can be directed to San Diego Christian head coach Carlos Calderson at ccalderson@sdcc.edu