Fixture: Ventura County Fusion (2-0-1) vs. SoCal Seahorses (1-0-1)
Date & Time: Friday, June 3 |7:00 pm PST
Venue: Ventura College Stadium | Ventura, CA
Twitter and Instagram: @VCFusion
The Ventura County Fusion plays its home opener Friday night at 7 pm vs. the SoCal Seahorses at Ventura College Stadium. The Fusion is (2-0-1) on the season and occupies second place in the USL League 2 Western Conference Southwest division.
Friday’s game is a rematch of the Fusion’s second game of the year, in which they played the Seahorses to a 2-2 draw at Biola University. Fusion head coach Mike Elias knows the Seahorses well and expects no surprises in Friday’s rematch.
“To be honest, we’re expecting the exact same game plan and performance from the seahorses,” said Elias. “They have a certain style and a certain system of play so it’s one where our players do have to show up.”
The Fusion is coming off a hard-fought 1-0 road victory over Central Valley Fuego FC 2 last Sunday evening in Fresno. Substitute Julian Madrigal, who plays his college soccer at Stanislaus State, buried a late penalty kick for the win in that one.
The Fusion is Ventura County’s only professional sports club and is committed to developing local players and providing a pathway from the youth to the professional ranks. In addition to its USL League 2 team, the club offers youth programs and fields teams in competitive development leagues including USL League A and MLS Next. It also hosts annual pro soccer combines, which give local players who hope to have professional careers a chance to perform in front of scouts from American professional teams.
Ventura County Fusion has fielded a team in USL League 2, formerly PDL, since 2007. The league runs from May through July and features youth players, pro hopefuls and college players on summer break. USL League 2 features more than 70 teams from across North America & Canada. Since the club’s inception in 2007, over 100 Fusion players have gone on to play professional soccer after representing the club in USL League 2 play.
This year’s Ventura County Fusion USL League 2 roster includes players from local colleges including UC Santa Barbara, Occidental College, Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount as well as players from far-away institutions like Boston College and Olympique Lyonnais. Travis Bowen, a 32-year-old from Los Angeles, is the team’s oldest player. He played college soccer locally at Oxnard College and has had professional stints at clubs including LA Galaxy 2, Arizona United, and Detroit City FC. Sixteen-year old Fusion Academy product Sergio Villalpando made his USL League 2 debut against Central Valley Fuego 2 and earned the penalty kick that Madrigal converted to secure the win.
“I think we’ve got a good group of boys in this season,” said Elias. “We’re still waiting for some players to come through and that will no doubt improve the team. But the chemistry is strong in a relatively short period of time which is always encouraging to see. They’re working hard during practices. They’re willing to learn and improve.”
Logan Farrington, a 6’2” striker who plays his college soccer at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, has scored in two of the Fusion’s first three games and leads the team in goals with two. During his last college season, in 2021, Farrington had eight goals and seven assists to earn a spot on the Horizon League First-Team All-Conference squad.
Ventura County Fusion Home Schedule - All games will be played at Ventura College Stadium
Friday, June 3, So Cal Seahorses 7 pm PDT
Friday, June 10, San Francisco Glens SC, 7 pm PDT
Sunday, June 19, Marin FC Legends, 3 pm PDT *Location TBC
Saturday, June 25 Central Valley Fuego FC 2, 7 pm PDT
Friday, July 15, FC Golden State Force 7 pm PDT
For more information on the Ventura County Fusion, click here.
Media contact:
Scott Matulis
818.451.8918
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