It is undeniable that over the last few months, San Diego has garnered well-deserved national attention for what its pro and college teams have been able to accomplish. On the amateur side, the SDSU men’s basketball team made it to the NCAA final for the first time in the program’s history and the USD women’s volleyball team made it to the final four last season.

On the pro side, San Diego Wave made it to the NWSL semifinals in its first season, San Diego Loyal made it to the playoffs in back-to-back years, Albion San Diego made it to the NISA championship match, San Diego Sockers playing for a third-straight Ron Newman Cup, and San Diego Padres made it to the NLCS.

There is one team that’s currently flying under the radar and, after being crowned UPSL So Cal South Premier champions in the fall of 2022, Arenal de Gomez FC has somehow managed to get even stronger with the recent acquisition of former SDSU men’s soccer team striker Jeroen Meefout. The 27-year-old native of the Netherlands has already made his presence felt playing for ADG FC scoring a goal in the team’s second match against Southwest SC.

“We want to play for the championship,” said Meefout. “The quality of this team is really strong. We have a bunch of good soccer players and guys who play at a high level.”

Meefout helped lead the Aztecs to the 2016 NCAA tournament beating the top-ranked ranked University of Akron along the way, which was the first time in school history that any SDSU team had defeated a No. 1 ranked opponent.

“We had a good squad with a lot of good players who I still try to stay in touch with,” he added. “I know the basketball team recently beat the number one team in the country, but we were the first San Diego State team to ever do that, so that was a great memory.”

Meefout developed his skills early on playing in the PSV Eindhoven youth academy system among others deciding at the age of 17 that he wanted to pursue a college education in the United States. “Jeroen is a consummate pro who scores and creates goals at the highest of levels,” said former SDSU men’s soccer coach Lev Kirshner. “He is an outstanding locker room guy, and leader, and was an integral part of one of the most memorable soccer seasons on the Mesa.”

After graduating from SDSU in 2017, he went back to the Netherlands and played professionally for Rijnsburgse Boys in the tweede divisie (second division) before returning to the U.S. playing two seasons with UPSL team Rebels SC. Upon joining Arenal de Gomez FC, Meefout has become one of the focal points for the team thanks to his technical abilities, speed, and agility in what he and his new teammates hope will be another impressive run to the postseason

Photo by Julio Haro/Futbol Tijuana