Merced Youth Soccer Association/Merced United

Merced Youth Soccer Association/Merced United Since 1979, Merced United has offered soccer opportunities for ages 4 to Adults in Merced, CA.

🔴⚪️⚫️Merced United Day 2026⚫️⚪️🔴It was a beautiful event. The scrimmages with teams made up of UC Merced Women’s and Men...
08/21/2026

🔴⚪️⚫️Merced United Day 2026⚫️⚪️🔴

It was a beautiful event. The scrimmages with teams made up of UC Merced Women’s and Men’s players alongside our MU Comp and Rec players made it that much more memorable.🥹 Thank you to all the players who made an effort to connect with our young Merced United players, they’ll remember all of those little moments and may feel inspired to pursue soccer at the collegiate level because of it!💙

Our FREE Summer Basketball Sessions begin this Saturday (8/22) and Sunday (8/23), with 10 training sessions in total for...
08/20/2026

Our FREE Summer Basketball Sessions begin this Saturday (8/22) and Sunday (8/23), with 10 training sessions in total for 4th–8th grade boys and girls at the Merced High School gym. Bring your ballers out for a morning workout as they practice fundamentals led by high level coaches.

📍Merced High School Vintage Gym
🏫4th–8th Grade Boys & Girls

🧠⚽️❤️That’s a wrap on our SkillRISE x Merced United x Zócalo Health project.A few weeks ago we shared the workshop our 2...
08/09/2026

🧠⚽️❤️That’s a wrap on our SkillRISE x Merced United x Zócalo Health project.

A few weeks ago we shared the workshop our 2012 and 2014 Girls did with the SkillRISE team. This week the full project came to a close.

SkillRISE students Elizabeth Montejano, Selene Garcia-Perez, Shabadjat Kaloya, and Zoha Mirza presented their final project, “Athletes Leading Mental Wellness: A Youth Athlete Wellness Program.”

Here is how they got there. The students first connected with Zócalo Health’s Mariela Cervantes, Sophia Pagés, and Quinny Sanchez Lopez to learn about youth mental health, local resources, and how to actually reach young people. Then they worked alongside MULA students Natalee Olivares and Alexsia Beam-Leon to lead workshops with our 2012 and 2014 Girls, where players built Wellness Maps and talked openly about pressure from coaches, teammates, parents, competition, and themselves.

One of their biggest findings stuck with us: younger athletes expressed a stronger fear of disappointing others after mistakes or losses. That is exactly the kind of thing that goes unsaid unless someone creates the space to say it.

Our President and MULA Director, Jovan Pulido, put it best: “For us, this is what youth leadership looks like. Young people learning from UC Merced PACE and Zócalo Health and bringing that knowledge back to other youth in Merced.” And on where it goes next: “What started as a SkillRISE project became something we will continue to grow at Merced United through our MULA program.”

👏👏👏 Thank you to Zoha, Elizabeth, Selene, Shabadjat, and the entire SkillRISE team, to UC Merced Professional and Continuing Education, to Central California Alliance for Health, and to Zócalo Health. We tried our best to contribute and are grateful we got to work with everyone involved. This is what comMUnity looks like. ❤️⚽️🧠

🔴⚫️ FROM MERCED TO TIJUANA🐕Congratulations to our goalkeeper Lily.😤 After earning a tryout invitation with Club Tijuana ...
08/07/2026

🔴⚫️ FROM MERCED TO TIJUANA🐕

Congratulations to our goalkeeper Lily.😤 After earning a tryout invitation with Club Tijuana Xolos in July, Lily has been invited to sign a professional contract, pending clearance. She is down in Tijuana training with them right now, competing against the best.

This did not come out of nowhere. While her friends were making plans, Lily was at practice, at goalkeeper training, or in the gym working on exactly what her game needed. Coach Jorge put it plainly: “Great success requires greater sacrifice.”

And Lily’s own words say everything about where she comes from: “You don’t have to live in a big city to have big dreams.”

A kid from Los Banos, developed here at Merced United, on her way to the professional game. Keep going, Lily. 🧤

🏆🏆BACK TO BACK CHAMPIONS 🔴⚪️⚫️Back to back weekends, back to back trophies for Merced United.🌞First, our 2010/2011 Girls...
08/07/2026

🏆🏆BACK TO BACK CHAMPIONS 🔴⚪️⚫️

Back to back weekends, back to back trophies for Merced United.

🌞First, our 2010/2011 Girls traveled to Turlock for the TSP Liberty Cup on July 25 and 26 and came home with First Place. A deep, veteran group that has been building toward weekends like this one.

🏛️Then our 2012 Girls went up to Sacramento for the Capitol Cup on August 1 and 2 and did not lose a game:
6-0 vs Woodland
7-0 vs Napa Soccer
1-0 vs Sac United
4-2 over Sac United in the Final
Four games, four wins, two goals conceded all tournament, all of it in 100 to 103 degree heat 🥵

Special shoutout to Bella🥇, she played up two years to help the 2010/2011s at the Liberty Cup, then turned around and lifted the Capitol Cup with her own group the very next weekend. Two teams, two weekends, two championships. That is what it looks like to answer the call whenever your club needs you.

What stood out just as much as the scorelines was how tight these groups are. Laughing under the tent between games, keeping each other going in that heat, celebrating together at the final whistle. Teams that enjoy each other play like this. 💪

Merced grown, Merced proud. Congratulations to both squads, their coaches, family, and all members of the comMUnity who made the drive to support their teams.❤️

Congratulations to Lia Garcia 🔴🖤Lia has been invited to the Seattle Reign FC Youth Combine, August 6 through 8, by invit...
08/06/2026

Congratulations to Lia Garcia 🔴🖤

Lia has been invited to the Seattle Reign FC Youth Combine, August 6 through 8, by invitation only! She was identified by the Reign’s Talent ID and scouting staff as a player they want to keep evaluating inside their Pathway to Professional model.

Lia is home grown. She was developed right here in Merced, on our fields, with our coaches, alongside our families. Proud of you, Lia. Go get it💪🔒🔥

🤝We are proud to be working with UC Merced’s SkillRISE program, offered through UC Merced Professional and Continuing Ed...
07/27/2026

🤝We are proud to be working with UC Merced’s SkillRISE program, offered through UC Merced Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) and supported by Central California Alliance for Health, and Zocalo Health to develop a peer-led youth mental health program for our players. This workshop was one part of that bigger project, and it showed exactly why it matters.🧠

The SkillRise students met with our 2012 and 2014 Girls teams, opening the session with a conversation about representation in sports. From there, both teams created mental wellness maps and talked through the pressures young athletes face on and off the field. The girls asked honest questions like “Have you ever felt like quitting?” and “Who do you go to when you are feeling down?”

Natalee and Alexsia from our 2008 Girls team helped lead the conversation, asking the younger players deeper questions, including whether having a female or male coach can shape their experience.

“What stood out to me was being able to hear everyone’s point of view on mental health, especially as athletes and teammates,” shared Natalee.

“I liked seeing how we were able to slowly make the girls more comfortable with us and open up about themselves. Toward the end, they became more engaged in the activities, which showed that it was effective,” added Alexsia.

Zoha from SkillRISE shared, “I loved the participants and the answers they gave us, especially the middle schoolers when we spoke about coaches and parents.”

“It’s pretty awesome to see youth taking care of their peers by leveraging their own unique interests and passion, from public health to healthcare to athletics. This project exemplifies what makes communities thrive,” said Michael Pierick, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Degree Completion at UC Merced PACE.

👏👏👏Thank you to Zoha, Elizabeth, Selene, Shabad, and the entire SkillRISE team for leading the workshop and hosting us at the UC Merced Professional and Continuing Education building. This is what comMUnity looks like.

🏆Now that the World Cup is over we can focus up on what really matters…..Fall Recreational Soccer🥰The club that started ...
07/24/2026

🏆Now that the World Cup is over we can focus up on what really matters…..Fall Recreational Soccer🥰

The club that started it all in 1979 is back for another season with our comMUnity. U6 through U18, all skill levels are welcome.

•Practices begin in August, games run September through November
•U8 and Up teams play a tournament
•Price includes uniform kit, pictures, 8 games, league fee, field fee, insurance, and more.

Want to give back? Volunteer Head Coaches receive free registration for one player plus the equipment and balls needed to run your practices.

Secure your spot today at the link in our bio!

¡Inscripciones de otoño abiertas! Visita el enlace en nuestra biografía.

Over the last month, we were proud to host one of our flagship programs ‘Sunrise Soccer’, an early morning program in pa...
07/19/2026

Over the last month, we were proud to host one of our flagship programs ‘Sunrise Soccer’, an early morning program in partnership with MARS and the Merced City School District that brought organized, structured soccer programming to Chenoweth, Rivera, Sheehy, and Stowell elementary schools.🤓

“Sunrise Soccer lined up perfectly with the ‘Soccer at School’ nationwide initiative from U.S. Soccer and the Soccer Forward Foundation working to make the game more accessible right where kids already are, like their local schools,” said Aaron Pangelina, Sunrise Soccer Program Director.

None of it happens without our MU coaches and players. Our crew was a mix of seasoned coaches who live and work right here in Merced, Merced United Alumni who are going to Merced College, and High School student athletes representing all the local schools, giving their mornings back to the community and sharing their love for the game with the next generation. Together we reached 400+ K-8 students across our four partnered schools, giving them a fun, active, and positive start to their day. And because the program was free, this was the first time many of these students ever trained with licensed coaches.

For some students, it went beyond soccer. “My success was with a girl who was too shy or scared to play. She would just sit out in the corner. First I had her picking up equipment. Then just pass, then shoot. Then pass, shoot, and eventually play. Now she comes ready to play and jumps right in,” shared Adrian Ramirez, MU Board Member. This is what Merced United is about: keeping the game open to every kid in our comMUnity. Thank you to everyone who helped make this Summer of Soccer so special. Now, let’s enjoy the World Cup Final knowing we did our part....like we always do.🏆

🧤Calling all Goalies in Merced! 🥅This summer, Coach Fabian Jr. Ramirez will be leading goalkeeper training sessions for ...
07/03/2026

🧤Calling all Goalies in Merced! 🥅

This summer, Coach Fabian Jr. Ramirez will be leading goalkeeper training sessions for MU Players and the community, designed to help keepers sharpen their technique, improve their decision-making, and prepare for upcoming season’s. After completing four months of specialized goalkeeper training in 🇲🇽Mexico, Coach Fabian is excited to bring what he’s learned back to Merced United and invest in the development of our next generation of goalkeepers.

Let’s continue building confident, skilled goalkeepers, one save at a time.🛑

Address

Merced, CA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 5:30pm - 7pm
Thursday 5:30pm - 7pm

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