Ventura County Fusion

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Ventura County Fusion
Full nameVentura County Fusion Soccer Club
Nickname(s)The Fusion
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
StadiumVentura College Sportsplex
Ventura, California
Capacity5,000
OwnerRanbir Shergill
Head CoachMike Elias
LeagueUSL League Two
20232nd, Southwest Division
Playoffs: Conference Final
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Ventura County Fusion is an American

American Soccer Pyramid
.

The team plays its home games in the stadium on the campus of Ventura College, the VC SportsPlex, where they have played since 2011. The team's colors are blue, orange and white. All home games are streamed live on the Fusion's YouTube channel. All broadcasts are done in conjunction with CAPS TV in Ventura.

History

The Fusion entered the Premier Development League in 2007 as the first ever soccer franchise from the

Los Angeles Storm – meant that they finished their debut season fourth in the table. English striker Mark Draycott was the team's leading marksman, notching an impressive ten goals, while Eric Avila and Chance Myers
led the assist stats.

In the offseason, Fusion played against English

Home Depot Center on July 24, 2007. The match was organised by head coach Smith, who "wanted it to be a reward for their great play during their inaugural season". Later, in early 2008, Fusion hosted games against Hammarby of the Swedish Allsvenskan, and Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew of MLS. Fusion enjoyed a 1–0 victory over a Columbus side that included MLS veterans such as Frankie Hejduk
, despite playing without all their college players, due to NCAA regulations.

Ventura started their second competitive season without the services of

Lancaster Rattlers – kept Fusion's playoff run on course, but a shock 1–0 defeat to struggling Orange County Blue Star at home meant that they had to beat eventual divisional champions San Fernando Valley Quakes in their next game, or their season would be over. The Quakes won 3–2 in a bad-tempered game at Pierce College, and Ventura were left rueing another year of missed opportunities. They eventually finished the season in 3rd, just two points out of the playoffs; Hagop Chirishian was the team's top scorer, with 4 goals, while former Chivas USA midfielder Rodrigo López
led with 3 assists.

On July 21, 2009 the Fusion played Burnley of the Barclays Premier League, however the superior class showed through and despite a spirited showing the Fusion went down 5–0.

2009 was a breakout year for Fusion. Having added former MLS players

Chicago Fire Premier with an injury time winner from Alfonso Motagalvan, despite playing for most of the match with ten men.[1] Artur Aghasyan and Anthony Hamilton were Ventura's regular-season top scorers, with 8 goals each, while Hamilton and Hagop Chirishian
contributed 3 assists apiece.

On July 15, 2014, Fusion played a friendly match against Rangers from Glasgow, Scotland, which the Fusion won 3–1.

On July 15, 2018, Jermaine Jones played his last game of competitive football with the Fusion in a 1–0 home loss to FC Golden State Force.[2]

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF United States USA Johnny Alcaraz
— MF Philippines PHI Henry Brauner
— DF United States USA Willie Rupert
— FW United States USA Reed McKenna
— DF Puerto Rico PUR
Gio Calderón
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Nigeria NGA Nwankwo Tochukwu
— MF Zambia ZAM Kennedy Chongo
— FW Liberia LBR Adam Smarte
— FW Armenia ARM Artur Aghasyan

Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular season Playoffs Open Cup Avg. attendance
2007 4 USL PDL 4th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify 1,176
2008 4 USL PDL 3rd, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify 1,217
2009 4 USL PDL 3rd, Southwest Champions did not qualify 876
2010 4 USL PDL 1st, Southwest Conference Semi-Finals 1st Round 873
2011 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest Conference Semi-Finals 2nd Round 1,116
2012 4 USL PDL 1st, Southwest Conference Finals 3rd Round 1,302
2013 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest Conference Semifinals 2nd Round 1,282
2014 4 USL PDL 1st, Southwest Conference Semifinals did not qualify 1,322
2015 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest Division Playoffs 2nd Round —
2016 4 USL PDL 4th, Southwest did not qualify 1st Round —
2017 4 USL PDL 8th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify —
2018 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify —
2019 4 USL League Two 2nd, Southwest Conference Finals did not qualify —
2020 4 USL League Two Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 4 USL League Two did not play due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 4 USL League Two 2nd, Southwest Champions did not qualify —
2023 4 USL League Two 2nd, Southwest Conference Final 1st round —

Honors

  • USL PDL Southwest Division
    • Champions: 2010, 2012, 2014
  • USL PDL Western Conference
    • Champions: 2009
  • USL PDL
    • Champions: 2009
  • USL League Two Western Conference
    • Champions: 2022
  • USL League Two
    • Champions: 2022

Notable matches

July 15, 2014 Friendly Ventura County Fusion United States 3–1 Scotland Rangers F.C. Ventura, California
7:15 p.m. PST Vale 42'
Argueta 73'
LaGrassa 84'		 Report Mohsni 80' Stadium: Ventura College Sportsplex

Head coaches

Stadia

References

  1. ^ "Fusion overcome Fire for PDL title". Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  2. ^ "Fusion PDL Season Wrap Up". Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved 2024-01-06.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ventura County Fusion.
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