Ventura County Fusion is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura ( Spanish for " Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist ...

, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the

American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the campus of

Ventura College Ventura College is a public community college in Ventura, California. Established in 1925, the college has a campus with an enrollment of 13,763 students. It is part of the Ventura County Community College District. History 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

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

area of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. They played their first competitive game on April 28, 2007, beating fellow expansion franchise

Lancaster Rattlers FC Santa Clarita (FCSC) is an American soccer team based in Santa Clarita, California, United States. FC Santa Clarita also known as the Santa Clarita Storm make just north of Los Angeles home, as they compete in the United Premier Soccer League ( ...

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 powerhouses

Fresno Fuego Fresno Football Club U-23, formerly Fresno Fuego FC, was an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club drew an av ...

and

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Wester ...

– 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 the Southern California Seahorses. By the time the final set of games came round, Fusion needed three points from their final two games to leapfrog the

San Fernando Valley Quakes San Fernando Valley Quakes was an American soccer team based in Calabasas, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, wh ...

into the playoffs, but two consecutive ties – 3–3 with Southern California Seahorses and a hugely disappointing 0–0 with

Los Angeles Storm LA Laguna FC was an American soccer team based in the Los Angeles area, United States. Founded in 2010, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL) (now USL League Two), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southw ...

– 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 Eric Humberto Avila (born November 24, 1987) is an American professional soccer player who has played as a midfielder and defender. Early life and education Avila who is of Mexican descent, was born on November 24, 1987, in San Diego, Califo ...

and

Chance Myers Chance Russell Myers (born December 7, 1987, in Thousand Oaks, California) is an American former soccer player. Career College and amateur Myers attended Thousand Oaks High School, and played college soccer at UCLA from 2006 to 2007. Over two y ...

led the assist stats. In the offseason, Fusion played against English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side Everton in a closed friendly at the

Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

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 Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

, and

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

and

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

of MLS. Fusion enjoyed a 1–0 victory over a Columbus side that included MLS veterans such as

Frankie Hejduk Frank Daniel "Frankie" Hejduk (born August 5, 1974) is an American former soccer player who played as a wingback and midfielder. At the club level he represented the Tampa Bay Mutiny, Bayer Leverkusen, St. Gallen, Columbus Crew, and the LA G ...

, despite playing without all their college players, due to NCAA regulations. Ventura started their second competitive season without the services of

and

, both of whom had been taken in the

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from the expansion San ...

, and Mark Draycott, who had returned to England to play for

Swindon Supermarine Swindon Supermarine Football Club is a semi-professional association football, football club based in South Marston, near Swindon, England. The club plays in the and is affiliated to the Wiltshire Football Association. The club plays at Webbsw ...

. 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 over

in late May. This signalled an about-turn in form; Fusion enjoyed four wins in June, including an impressive 4–1 thrashing of

away from home. Two more impressive victories – 2–0 over Southern California Seahorses and 4–0 over

– kept Fusion's playoff run on course, but a shock 1–0 defeat to struggling

at home meant that they had to beat eventual divisional champions

in their next game, or their season would be over. The Quakes won 3–2 in a bad-tempered game at

Pierce College Pierce College may refer to: * Pierce College (Washington) * Los Angeles Pierce College ** Pierce College station See also * Peirce College * Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampsh ...

, 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 Hagop Chirishian (born November 1, 1989 in Hollywood, California) is a professional American soccer player who currently a free agent. Last played for New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. Career Youth and Amateur Chirishian, wh ...

was the team's top scorer, with 4 goals, while former

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

midfielder Rodrigo López led with 3 assists. On July 21, 2009 the Fusion played

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

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

Ivan Becerra Jorge Ivan Becerra (born May 22, 1984) is a Mexican former professional soccer player. Early life and education Becerra was born May 22, 1984, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He and his family would move to the United States before Becerra's 6 ...

, Anthony Hamilton and Adam 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 with

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which ...

in their opening game of the season, and then were thumped 4–0 at home by the

Hollywood United Hitmen Hollywood United Hitmen was an American soccer team based in Los Angeles. The team was founded in 2009 and played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and the USL Premier Development League (PDL). The team played its home games in Cougar ...

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 the

Ogden Outlaws Ogden Outlaws is an American soccer team based in Ogden, Utah, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Con ...

, a 3–2 revenge win away at Hollywood, and a 4–2 goal fest at home to the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West Co ...

in which Anthony Hamilton scored a brace. A nervy 1–0 loss to the

Los Angeles Legends LA Laguna FC was an American soccer team based in the Los Angeles area, United States. Founded in 2010, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL) (now USL League Two), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southw ...

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 by

Alfonso Motagalvan Felix Alfonso Motagalvan (born February 11, 1987) is an American soccer player. Playing career Youth and college Motagalvan was born in Santa Rosa, California, grew up in Gilroy, California, and attended Gilroy High School where he was ...

and Anthony Hamilton, and then defeated divisional champions Hollywood in extra time thanks to two late goals by Sam Myerson. For the national quarter finals Ventura travelled to

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the Flag of th ...

, and dispatched Northwest division champions

Kitsap Pumas Kitsap SC Pumas was an American soccer team based in Bremerton, Washington, United States. The team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. From its foundation in 2009 to 2016, the club ...

2–1 on an injury-time free kick from Rodrigo López, and then demolished the

Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the Uni ...

6–1 in searing heat to qualify for their first ever PDL Champiohsip game. Ventura hosted the final, which was broadcast live on

Fox Soccer Channel Fox Soccer (formerly Fox Soccer Channel & Fox Sports World before that) was an American television specialty channel specializing in soccer, owned by Fox Corporation, which operated from 1997 to 2013. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian r ...

, and snatched a victory from out of the hands of

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. The ...

with an injury time winner from

, despite playing for most of the match with ten men. Artur Aghasyan and Anthony Hamilton were Ventura's regular-season top scorers, with 8 goals each, while Hamilton and

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 Jermaine Junior Jones (born November 3, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in Germany to an American father and German mother, he came up through the German club system and represe ...

played his last game of competitive football with the Fusion in a 1–0 home loss to FC Golden State Force.http://www.vcfusion.com/blog/fusion-pdl-season-wrap-up

Players

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.'' * Vardan Adzemian * Artur Aghasyan * Jean Alexandre * Jaime Ambriz * Rony Argueta *

Jack Avesyan Hakop "Jack" Avesyan (born September 22, 1988) is an American soccer player currently playing for Sacramento Republic FC in USL Pro. Career Youth and amateur Avesyan was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Hollywood. He attended La ...

* Mathayo Huma *

Diego Barrera Diego Barrera (born March 25, 1987 in Bogotá) is a Colombian-born American soccer player. Career College and amateur Barrera is a professional american football player from California. He attended Thousand Oaks High School, and played th ...

* Bryan Byrne *

Achille Campion Achille Pierre Camille Campion (born 10 March 1990) is a French former footballer who played as a forward. He played youth football for USL Dunkerque, before playing college football in the United States for Belhaven Blazers, UC Santa Barbara ...

* Javier Castro *

* Mark Draycott *

Michael Enfield Michael Enfield (born July 19, 1983 in Ventura, California) is an American soccer player currently playing for SP Barcelona in La Gran Liga de Oxnard. He is a member of the United States national beach soccer team. Career College and Amateu ...

Gabriel Farfan In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...

Michael Farfan Michael Farfán Stopani (born June 23, 1988) is an American former soccer player. Career Youth and College Played youth club soccer in Southern California where he captured numerous team titles, including the 2002 national championship. He als ...

* Michael Ghebru * Manny Guzman * Anthony Hamilton * J. J. Koval * Rodrigo López *

* Anton Peterlin *

Nelson Pizarro Nelson Pizarro (born July 8, 1985) is an American soccer player who is currently a coach with the San Diego Surf Academy. Career College and amateur Pizarro played college soccer for Lincoln Memorial University. His style of attacking football ...

* Dylan Riley *

Brad Rusin Bradford Evan Rusin (born September 5, 1986) is an American retired professional soccer player. He appeared for Bradenton Academics, Ventura County Fusion, and San Fernando Valley Quakes at the semi-professional level, and for Carolina RailHawk ...

Jamie Scope Jamie Scope (born 10 December 1986 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is an English footballer. Career College and amateur From 2006 to 2010, Scope was a member of the University of the Incarnate Word Men's soccer team located in San Antonio, Texas. He ...

* Willie Sims * Thomaz * Marcus Watson * Brent Whitfield *

Gyasi Zardes Gyasi A. Zardes (born September 2, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Austin FC of Major League Soccer and the United States national team. Born in Hawthorne, California, Zardes was part of the LA Gala ...

Henry Brauner Henry George Valencia Brauner (born 10 May 1984 in Quezon City) is a Filipino football coach and former player who played as a central midfielder. Since February 2020, Brauner is the director of player development for Seattle Sounders FC of ...

Brian Rowe Brian Michael Rowe (born November 16, 1988) is a former American soccer goalkeeper. Youth soccer Rowe went to South Eugene High School, where he was voted best defensive player in 2005 and MVP in 2006. He also was first team all-district in 20 ...

* Abu Danladi * Joe Holland *

Nick DePuy Nicholas "Nick" Brady DePuy (born November 14, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. Career College DePuy played four years of college soccer at UC Santa Barbara be ...

* Justin Vom Steeg *

Daniel Steres Daniel Steres (born November 11, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo. He was USL-Pro All-League Second Team in 2013 and 2014, USL All-League First Team in 2015, a ...

* James Kiffe * Jochen Graf * Michael Daly *

Brandon Vincent Brandon Vincent (born May 1, 1994) is a former American professional soccer player who played as a defender for the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. Vincent grew up playing in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for Real So Cal. Career ...

* Earl Edwards Jr. *

Matt LaGrassa Matthew R. LaGrassa (born January 27, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays for USL Championship club Sacramento Republic. Career College LaGrassa grew up in Elk Grove, California, where he attended Pleasant Grove ...

* Rony Argueta * Tony Alfaro * Javan Torre *

Ismaila Jome Ismaila "Ish" Jome (born November 4, 1994) is a Gambian footballer who currently is a free agent. Career Early life and youth career Jome was born on November 4, 1994, in Banjul, Gambia, to Jainaba Jobe and Dodou Jome. At a young age, he reloca ...

Year-by-year

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

Head coaches

* Graham Smith (2007–2009) *

Ole Mikkelsen Ole Mikkelsen (born April 8, 1959, in Los Angeles, California) is a Norwegian-born American businessman and former soccer manager and forward. He played in both the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and Western Soccer A ...

(2010–2012) *

Rudy Ybarra Rudy Ybarra is an American former professional soccer player who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance. Player Ybarra graduated from Santa Barbara High School in the class of 1976. In 1978, he sign ...

(2013–2019) * Mike Elias (2019–Present)

Stadia

Bulldog Stadium Valley Children's Stadium, also known as Jim Sweeney Field at Bulldog Stadium, is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of California State University, Fresno in Fresno, California. It is the h ...

at Buena High School;

(2007–2010) *

Panther Stadium Panther Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium located on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was the secondary venue for field hockey events during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. It is currently home to th ...

at Newbury Park High School;

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

, 2 games (2007–2008) * Stadium at

;

(2009, 2011–present)

References

External links

* {{California sports Association football clubs established in 2006 USL League Two teams Soccer clubs in Greater Los Angeles 2006 establishments in California Ventura, California