 | |||
| Full name | Ventura County Fusion Soccer Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Fusion | ||
| Founded | 2006; 20 years ago (2006) | ||
| Stadium | Ventura College Sportsplex Ventura, California | ||
| Capacity | 5,000 | ||
| Owner | Ranbir Shergill | ||
| Head Coach | Keith Costigan | ||
| League | USL League Two | ||
| 2023 | 2nd, Southwest Division Playoffs: Conference Final | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Ventura County Fusion is an Americansoccer team based inVentura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays inUSL League Two, the fourth tier of theAmerican soccer pyramid.
The team plays its home games in the stadium on the campus ofVentura 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.
The Fusion entered the Premier Development League in 2007 as the first ever soccer franchise from theVentura County area ofSouthern California. They played their first competitive game on April 28, 2007, beating fellow expansion franchiseLancaster Rattlers 2–1, and setting the wheels in motion for what turned out to be a promising first season. Four wins in their next five games – including impressive victories over traditional regional powerhousesFresno Fuego andOrange County Blue Star – propelled the Fusion to the top of the table by mid-season. However, a spate of injuries began to take its toll on their roster, and by the middle of July the Fusion were stuttering towards the finish line, still in with a shout of making the playoffs, but being hampered by damaging defeats to Fresno and theSouthern California Seahorses. By the time the final set of games came round, Fusion needed three points from their final two games to leapfrog theSan Fernando Valley Quakes into the playoffs, but two consecutive ties – 3–3 withSouthern California Seahorses and a hugely disappointing 0–0 withLos 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, whileEric Avila andChance Myers led the assist stats.
In the offseason, Fusion played against EnglishPremier League sideEverton in a closed friendly at theHome 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 againstHammarby of the SwedishAllsvenskan, andReal Salt Lake andColumbus Crew of MLS. Fusion enjoyed a 1–0 victory over a Columbus side that included MLS veterans such asFrankie Hejduk, despite playing without all their college players, due to NCAA regulations.
Ventura started their second competitive season without the services ofChance Myers andEric Avila, both of whom had been taken in the2008 MLS SuperDraft, and Mark Draycott, who had returned to England to play forSwindon Supermarine. Despite this, anticipation was high that success would be swift, but they actually started the season sluggishly, losing two of their first four games, and not picking up a victory until their 3–0 triumph overFresno Fuego in late May. This signalled an about-turn in form; Fusion enjoyed four wins in June, including an impressive 4–1 thrashing ofFresno Fuego away from home. Two more impressive victories – 2–0 overSouthern California Seahorses and 4–0 overLancaster Rattlers – kept Fusion's playoff run on course, but a shock 1–0 defeat to strugglingOrange County Blue Star at home meant that they had to beat eventual divisional championsSan Fernando Valley Quakes in their next game, or their season would be over. The Quakes won 3–2 in a bad-tempered game atPierce 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 formerChivas USA midfielderRodrigo López led with 3 assists.
On July 21, 2009 the Fusion playedBurnley 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 playersIvan Becerra,Anthony Hamilton andAdam Smarte to the roster during the offseason, Ventura looked like a decent bet to qualify for the post-season for the first time. Things did not start well; they drew 2–2 withBakersfield Brigade in their opening game of the season, and then were thumped 4–0 at home by theHollywood United Hitmen next time out. The hammering, however, seemed to bring things into focus, and things improved sharply. From then on, Ventura embarked on an astonishing 12-game unbeaten streak that included six ties and hard-fought victories away at theOgden Outlaws, a 3–2 revenge win away at Hollywood, and a 4–2 goal fest at home to theBYU Cougars in whichAnthony Hamilton scored a brace. A nervy 1–0 loss to theLos Angeles Legends on the last day of the regular season meant that the Fusion finished third in the Southwest division, but sneaked into the playoffs by the back door as the lowest seed in the West. Fusion beat the Legends 2–1 in the first round of the playoffs thanks to early goals byAlfonso Motagalvan andAnthony Hamilton, and then defeated divisional champions Hollywood in extra time thanks to two late goals bySam Myerson. For the national quarter finals Ventura travelled toLaredo, Texas, and dispatched Northwest division championsKitsap Pumas 2–1 on an injury-time free kick fromRodrigo López, and then demolished theBradenton Academics 6–1 in searing heat to qualify for their first ever PDL Championship game. Ventura hosted the final, which was broadcast live onFox Soccer Channel, and snatched a victory from out of the hands ofChicago Fire Premier with an injury time winner fromAlfonso Motagalvan, despite playing for most of the match with ten men.[1]Artur Aghasyan andAnthony Hamilton were Ventura's regular-season top scorers, with 8 goals each, while Hamilton andHagop Chirishian contributed 3 assists apiece.
On July 15, 2014, Fusion played a friendly match againstRangers 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]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
Vardan AdzemianArtur Aghasyan
Jean Alexandre
Jaime AmbrizRony ArguetaJack AvesyanMathayo HumaEric AvilaDiego Barrera
Ivan Becerra
Bryan Byrne
Achille CampionJavier CastroHagop Chirishian
Mark DraycottMichael EnfieldGabriel FarfanMichael Farfan
Michael GhebruManny GuzmanAnthony HamiltonJ. J. KovalRodrigo LópezAlfonso MotagalvanChance MyersAnton PeterlinNelson Pizarro Dylan RileyBrad Rusin Jamie Scope
Willie Sims
Thomaz Marcus WatsonBrent WhitfieldGyasi Zardes
Henry BraunerBrian Rowe
Abu DanladiJoe HollandNick DePuyJustin Vom SteegDaniel SteresJames KiffeJochen GrafMichael DalyBrandon VincentEarl Edwards Jr.Matt LaGrassaRony ArguetaTony AlfaroJavan Torre
Ismaila JomeSam Strong| 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 toCOVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | 4 | USL League Two | did not play due toCOVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2022 | 4 | USL League Two | 2nd, Southwest | Champions | did not qualify | — |
| 2023 | 4 | USL League Two | 2nd, Southwest | Conference Final | 1st round | — |
| 2024 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, Southwest | Conference Semi-finals | did not qualify | — |
| 2025 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, Southwest | TBD | 1st round | — |
v
Rangers F.C.| July 15, 2014Friendly | Ventura County Fusion | 3–1 | Rangers F.C. | Ventura, California |
| 7:15 p.m. PST | Vale 42'Argueta 73'LaGrassa 84' | Report | Mohsni 80' | Stadium:Ventura College Sportsplex |
Graham Smith (2007–2009)Ole Mikkelsen (2010–2012)Rudy Ybarra (2013–2019) Mike Elias (2019–2023)Keith Costigan (2024–present)
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