{"id":246816,"date":"2025-05-01T22:18:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T20:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/?p=246816"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:54:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T20:54:34","slug":"dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/","title":{"rendered":"From Graaf Willem to America: Hannelore and Pippa stay teammates at Mercer County"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"gmail-\"><strong>From teammates in the Netherlands to teammates in the United States<\/strong> \u2013 that dream is becoming reality for Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer. Starting in Fall 2025, the two players from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.graafwillem.nl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Graaf Willem II VAC<\/a> will begin their college careers at Mercer County Community College in New Jersey, where they\u2019ll continue playing soccer and studying side by side.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"3864\" data-end=\"3893\"><strong>A shared dream comes true<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3895\" data-end=\"4072\">From day one, they were determined to take this step together. Thanks to their talent, determination, and strong connection with the Mercer coaching staff, they succeeded.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"4073\" data-end=\"4233\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"4075\" data-end=\"4233\">\u201cWe both wanted this so badly \u2013 but especially together,\u201d they said. \u201cIt gives us confidence and makes moving to a new life in the U.S. just a little easier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"5510\" data-end=\"5532\"><strong>Why Mercer County?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"5534\" data-end=\"5635\">They both felt immediately at home with the team and coaching staff \u2013 a key reason they chose Mercer:<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"5637\" data-end=\"5814\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"5639\" data-end=\"5814\"><strong data-start=\"5639\" data-end=\"5649\">Pippa:<\/strong> \u201cI chose Mercer County Community College because it immediately felt like they wanted to be my new family for the next few years. I can\u2019t wait to meet everyone!\u201d \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-start=\"5816\" data-end=\"6042\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"5818\" data-end=\"6042\"><strong data-start=\"5818\" data-end=\"5832\">Hannelore:<\/strong> \u201cI chose Mercer County Community College because I felt at home with the coaches and with the team from the start. It felt like the right place for me. I\u2019m excited for what\u2019s ahead, both on and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"4235\" data-end=\"4268\"><strong>Undefeated in the Netherlands<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"4270\" data-end=\"4526\">In the Netherlands, Hannelore, a central defender known for her speed, vision, and positioning, and Pippa, a quick, technical attacking midfielder and team captain, play for the first U20 team of Graaf Willem II VAC. They\u2019re on track to become undefeated champions in the 1st division.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"6044\" data-end=\"6068\"><strong>A new chapter begins<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"6070\" data-end=\"6299\">On <strong data-start=\"4572\" data-end=\"4583\">July 28<\/strong>, they will report to campus for the start of <strong data-start=\"4629\" data-end=\"4643\">pre-season<\/strong> training at Mercer County. Preparations are already underway: both players received a challenging fitness program to arrive in top shape \u2013 something that perfectly fits their driven mentality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"6070\" data-end=\"6299\">At Mercer, Hannelore and Pippa will grow as student-athletes in a competitive, supportive environment \u2013 while sharing this once-in-a-lifetime journey, together.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"2628\" data-end=\"2663\"><strong>Want to Play College Soccer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"6301\" data-end=\"6410\">Curious about your own chances of playing college soccer in the U.S.? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong data-start=\"2737\" data-end=\"2756\">Reach out to us<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 we\u2019ll help you explore your opportunities and find the right fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From teammates in the Netherlands to teammates in the United States \u2013 that dream is becoming reality for Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer. Starting in Fall 2025, the two players from Graaf Willem II VAC will begin their college careers at Mercer County Community College in New Jersey, where they\u2019ll continue playing soccer and studying [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":244937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-madescholarships-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dutch soccer players Join Mercer County CC - Made Scholarships<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dutch players Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer join Mercer County Community College in Fall 2025 to continue their soccer journey together.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dutch soccer players Join Mercer County CC - Made Scholarships\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dutch players Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer join Mercer County Community College in Fall 2025 to continue their soccer journey together.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Made Scholarships\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T20:18:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-01T20:54:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"made_beheerder\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"made_beheerder\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"made_beheerder\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0d3c130a6edb0dabddf46ef81e45fc44\"},\"headline\":\"From Graaf Willem to America: Hannelore and Pippa stay teammates at Mercer County\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T20:18:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T20:54:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":374,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Madescholarships news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dutch soccer players Join Mercer County CC - Made Scholarships\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-01T20:18:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-01T20:54:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0d3c130a6edb0dabddf46ef81e45fc44\"},\"description\":\"Dutch players Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer join Mercer County Community College in Fall 2025 to continue their soccer journey together.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/10\\\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1144},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From Graaf Willem to America: Hannelore and Pippa stay teammates at Mercer County\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Made Scholarships\",\"description\":\"Reach your potential at an American university\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0d3c130a6edb0dabddf46ef81e45fc44\",\"name\":\"made_beheerder\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/22c2743595574e6b35cece15b02084c3.jpg?ver=1778604940\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/22c2743595574e6b35cece15b02084c3.jpg?ver=1778604940\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/22c2743595574e6b35cece15b02084c3.jpg?ver=1778604940\",\"caption\":\"made_beheerder\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.madescholarships.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/made_beheerder\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dutch soccer players Join Mercer County CC - Made Scholarships","description":"Dutch players Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer join Mercer County Community College in Fall 2025 to continue their soccer journey together.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dutch soccer players Join Mercer County CC - Made Scholarships","og_description":"Dutch players Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer join Mercer County Community College in Fall 2025 to continue their soccer journey together.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/","og_site_name":"Made Scholarships","article_published_time":"2025-05-01T20:18:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-01T20:54:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1144,"url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"made_beheerder","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"made_beheerder","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/"},"author":{"name":"made_beheerder","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0d3c130a6edb0dabddf46ef81e45fc44"},"headline":"From Graaf Willem to America: Hannelore and Pippa stay teammates at Mercer County","datePublished":"2025-05-01T20:18:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T20:54:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/"},"wordCount":374,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg","articleSection":["Madescholarships news"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/","url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/","name":"Dutch soccer players Join Mercer County CC - Made Scholarships","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-05-01T20:18:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-01T20:54:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0d3c130a6edb0dabddf46ef81e45fc44"},"description":"Dutch players Hannelore Rakels and Pippa Kleijer join Mercer County Community College in Fall 2025 to continue their soccer journey together.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/67eed3b9-bcf6-4b4c-af7f-88b5167ef3b8-e1746132867421.jpeg","width":1200,"height":1144},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/dutch-soccer-players-mercer-county\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From Graaf Willem to America: Hannelore and Pippa stay teammates at Mercer County"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/","name":"Made Scholarships","description":"Reach your potential at an American university","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0d3c130a6edb0dabddf46ef81e45fc44","name":"made_beheerder","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/22c2743595574e6b35cece15b02084c3.jpg?ver=1778604940","url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/22c2743595574e6b35cece15b02084c3.jpg?ver=1778604940","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/22c2743595574e6b35cece15b02084c3.jpg?ver=1778604940","caption":"made_beheerder"},"url":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/author\/made_beheerder\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246816"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246834,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246816\/revisions\/246834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madescholarships.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}