With the semi-professional men’s 2009 soccer season starting in one month, Ventura County’s resident team is stepping up its practices and getting ready to set its roster for the season.
The Ventura County Fusion, one of 10 teams in the Premier Development League’s Southwest Division, practices in VC’s new stadium. The team’s goal is to have all of its home games at VC by next season, said Brian Nowakowski, the team’s assistant general manager.
The third set of tryouts for the upcoming soccer season was scheduled for March 20 and 21 at the college, but was canceled due to weather conditions. The players signed up for those days will be invited to join the team in the first practices on March 31 and April 7 Nowakowski said.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules state that no players from NCAA colleges and universities can practice or be assigned to teams until May 1, just after the season begins, Nowakoski said.
Due to the NCAA rules, key players were absent in the team’s charity game against Chivas USA on March 1, said Ross Greaney, one of Fusion’s assistant coaches and Oxnard College’s head soccer coach.
All of the game’s proceeds went to the Michael Hoefflin Foundation to fight children’s cancer.
“That’s the best part. Whatever we can do to help, everybody wins,” said Greaney.
Chivas USA brought out its first string in the game and won 4-0. “There were roughly 3,000 people and between $12,000 to $15,000 revenue, though the foundation has yet to make an official statement,” Nowakoski said, quoting a source from inside of the foundation.
The team’s roster will be set right before the first game, with about 20 to 25 players on the training squad. Fusion can activate any 18 players for each game. “The 18 can vary depending on the week and how well each player performed during the practice,” Nowakoski said.
There can be a total of 26 players on the team roster, and Fusion can add and drop players at any point throughout the season, Nowakoski said.
Fusion officials expect to have 11 to 12 returning players this season. A couple of players are returning from previous years because they were cut from a Major League Soccer team after the past season. Bryan Byrne was a former player for the New England Revolution and Johnny Alcarez of Westmont was a former player with the Houston Dynamo.
Also considering coming back to Fusion is Anthony Hamilton, who previously played with MLS team Chivas USA.