2009 PDL Champions: Ventura County Fusion

It turned out to be a pretty crazy game on Saturday night in Ventura, but we managed to play 60 minutes down a man, and snatch a 2-1 win just as the game went into stoppage time – and then the celebrations started!

After watching replays, the red card awarded to our center mid was a terrible decision by the referee, one of many shocking decisions in the game! But what a fitting way to cap off a long season that saw us finish with a 12-2-7 record. Alfonso Motogalvan clinched the winner deep in the 90th minute, giving us the title in our first season in the playoffs. Ivan Becerra had scored the first goal off of a corner. Chicago got back in the game in the second half, when one of our defenders knocked the ball into the back of our net. Tired legs gave Chicago a few late opportunities, but our bench proved to be extremely deep and lifted us for the last 15 minutes. Next step for Ventura County Fusion; USL 2? Here’s hoping we get some backers to move the franchise to the next level. Rumor has it that there might be a new West Coast division starting this coming year. If you want to catch the game, it will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel, this Tuesday at 4.30pm PST, and again at midnight!

Here is a write up on the game with pictures, compliments of the official Ventura County Fusion website: http://venturacountyfusion.com/

Also, ex-Chivas USA midfielder Rodrigo Lopez sported a unique pair of cleats for the championship game, a pair of Manriquez. I though I would share a picture of the cleats, since Roro will be playing with the Portland Timbers for the rest of the USL season! Roro played a big role in the final weeks of our season, joining us from the quarter final on. It took a few weeks for his paperwork to come through but thankfully it was sorted just in time for him to help us clinch the championship, maybe he can play a role in the Timbers end of season run-in!