USL LEAGUE TWO: Ventura County Fusion shuts down FC Tucson to advance to conference finals for fourth time in seven years

Jul 22, 2025 160 Views USL 2

Two-time national champion now in the Elite Eight, will face fellow power Ballard FC for Western Conference title

VENTURA, Calif. – Sometimes consistency is everything.

The Ventura County Fusion is still very much alive in the 2025 USL League Two postseason.

Behind consistent play all season, the Southwest Division champion Fusion – national champions in 2009 and 2022 – advanced to the Western Conference finals for the fourth time in the last seven years and the fifth time overall with a 2-0 victory over high-powered FC Tucson in a Western Conference Semifinals match Sunday at Ventura College Stadium Field.

The Fusion picked up two second-half goals to advance and will face fellow power Ballard FC in the Western Conference finals Friday at Interby Stadium in Seattle, Washington.

Angel Iniguez scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 54th minute, while Andres Torres netted an insurance tally in the 68th minute for the Fusion (11-2-1).

Nicholas McCune collected the clean sheet in goal for the team’s fifth shutout of the season. Torres teamed up with Nicholas Baltazar, Siddiq Lezzar and Jesus De Vincente to conduct a blanket covering of one of the USL League Two’s top offensives to aid the shutout cause.

FC Tucson (8-3-3) came into the tournament with a co-league lead of 55 goals on the season, But FC Tucson only advanced past Almeden FC (2-1) in a game decided on penalties (2-0 edge) for the team to get to this match and then were blanked by the Fusion.

FC Tucson finishes with a 57-14 scoring edge and a berth in the Round of 16 but the pathway has reached its end.