PDL TEAM

History

 FUSION HISTORY QUICK FACTS

Get to know the Fusion!

• Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer franchise based in Ventura, California, United States.
• Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), which is primarily designed to develop players between the ages of 17 – 23 for careers in professional soccer.  The PDL is made up of 68 teams from across the country.  The Fusion competes in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. 
• The Fusion entered the PDL in 2007 as the first ever soccer franchise from the Ventura County area of Southern California. 
• The Fusion franchise is one of the only franchises around the country to truly incorporate all levels of the game.  The Fusion currently fields a Men’s United Soccer League (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) team, a Youth Club Academy and various community soccer programs for players at all levels and needs, including a soccer school, soccer camps and free soccer clinics. 
• The Fusion Youth Club Academy host 2 youth soccer tournaments annually: the Ventura County Fusion Invitational in August; and the Ventura County Fusion Spring Classic in March. 
• The Ventura County Fusion PDL team won the 2009 USL PDL National Championship defeating the Chicago Fire PDL team 2 -1 in front of 3,500 fans at Buena High School in Ventura, CA.  The game was also broadcast nationwide on Fox Soccer Channel. 
• In addition to the USL PDL National Championship the 2009 Ventura County Fusion PDL team also won the 2009 USL PDL Western Conference Championship with victories over Los Angeles Legends and Hollywood United Hitmen in Ventura, CA and Pacific Palisades, CA as well as the 2009 USL PDL Southwestern Conference Championship with victories over Kitsap Pumas and Bradenton Academics in Laredo, Texas.  
• The Ventura County Fusion franchise was awarded the 2008 USL PDL Communications award. 
• The Fusion regularly generates a great deal of local and national publicity.  Throughout the year local newspapers include various articles about the Fusion’s accomplishments as well as weekly updates during the season.  In addition, the Fusion has been featured multiple times on national television in the USL Breakaway program that airs regularly on Fox Soccer Channel. 
  
• During the regular seasons, the Fusion teams have traveled to, and compete against, teams within California, Utah, Colorado, Seattle and Vancouver. 
  
• During each season national and international opponents provide games for the Fusion, aided via national TV coverage that embraces the PDL championship and the Lamar Hunt Open Cup.
  
• The Fusion regularly plays pre-season exhibition matches against professional teams from around the world.  To date these games have included opponents such as Everton FC and Burnley FC from the English Premier League, Hammarby and GAIS from the Swedish First Division and Japanese J-League Champions Oita Trinita.
  
• The Fusion has played several MLS teams, including the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer (MLS).
  
• The Fusion has played various levels of national teams as well, including the United States U18 National Team and the Mexico U21 National Team.
  
• Some of the most notable of these matches included a 1-0 win for the Fusion over Columbus Crew who later went on to become the 2008 MLS Champions (with this result the Fusion became only the second PDL team in the history of the league to beat an MLS team), a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake who later went on to become the 2009 MLS Champions, a 1-0 victory over GAIS 1-0, and a 1-1 draw with the Mexico U21 National Team. Not only are we beating professional teams here in America, but also from across the globe.
  
• The Fusion plays host to MLS and European teams wanting to use the organization and facilities for their pre and mid season preparatory breaks.  These training camps form an extremely valuable adjunct to their season.
  
• In July 2009 the Fusion hosted Burnley FC of the English Premier League in Ventura, CA for their preseason training for 2 weeks.  During this time the Ventura County Fusion also hosted a game with Burnley FC at Buena High School in Ventura, CA in front of 3,800 fans.
  
• The Fusion home games regularly bring in around 1,200 fans to each game.  This average is currently the second highest in our conference and one of the highest in the entire league.  With the recent growth that the franchise has seen we expect to see this number rise for next season and are confident that we will reach our target audience of 2,000+ fans per game.
  
• The talent pool for the PDL team continues to one of the highest in the country.  The franchise has had the pleasure of advancing 6 players into the 2008 MLS Super Draft including the #1 overall pick Chance Myers who was selected by Kansas City. 2009 saw a further three players sign with MLS teams.   The PDL team has also had the opportunity to send various players to trials with many international clubs throughout the world including England, Mexico, Norway, Germany and Sweden.
  
• The Fusion Youth Soccer Academy in its first 2 seasons fielded 22 teams per season, six of which recently finished 1st or 2nd in their respective CSL brackets and are eligible for promotion for the 2010-2011 season, has a Director of Coaching, and fully qualified pro coaches overseeing the entire program.
  
• PDL Director of Soccer, Graham Smith is a former English Premier League club Director (Chelsea), who played professionally in over 250 games in the English league, before founding First Wave Sports Marketing, the third largest soccer agency in the United States.  Also, the PDL Head Coach, Ole Mikkelsen is a former NASL professional soccer player and US Olympic National Team soccer player who is the current UCLA record goal scorer with 83 career goals.