First year, first championship?

The job may not be easy, but it certainly is simple for the Ventura County Fusion soccer team.

A perfect 6-0 at home this season, the Fusion can win the USL Premier Development League's Southwestern Division by maintaining that unblemished mark over the final two games of the regular season at Buena High over the next six days.

That mission begins at 3 p.m. this afternoon with a visit by the Southern California Seahorses, who defeated the Fusion, 1-0, July 6 on a 90th-minute goal by substitute Benjamin Page.

"We've done well at home, so it's a good sign when you're finishing it off with two games at home," said Fusion general manager Ranbir Shergill.

A glimpse at the division standings reveals the second-place Fusion (9-4-1) has 28 points from 14 matches. The division-leading San Fernando Valley Quakes have completed the 16-game season with 32 points, which means the Fusion can snatch the division title with a pair of three-point wins at home today against the Seahorses and Friday night against the Los Angeles Storm.

"We just have to win our last two games now and the job's done," said Shergill.

Soccer leagues typically award three points for a win and one point for a tie, which means the Fusion only need a win and a tie to pull even with the Quakes on points. In that scenario, the Fusion would win the division because it owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.

"So that's another positive," said Shergill.

The Fusion needs to remain in second place to earn a playoff berth. The Fresno Fuego and San Jose Frogs sit two and three points back, respectively, which means a certain combination of results today can clinch the postseason.

Fusion coach Graham Smith has ridden his team hard throughout the season, but the team he's forged has done well to play through a series of issues that include injuries, suspensions and inconsistent play away from home.

"Exactly, it's been a proper dogfight," said Shergill. "Everybody drops points. It's been hard for us because players have had injuries."

The Fusion attack has been boosted by recent events. After missing 13 games, winger Jason Leopoldo of Thousand Oaks returned for Wednesday's 3-2 win at Orange County. Attacker Eric Avila is available today after missing four games because of UC Santa Barbara's tour of Argentina. Midfielder Eric Frimpong has recovered from injury.

It's a different story at the back. Goalkeeper Logan Frank has had his season cut short by shoulder surgery. Starting defenders Greg Folk and Chance Myers remain at the Pan American Games in Brazil with the U.S. Under-18 team. However, defender Alfonso Montalgalvan is also unavailable today because of a family illness.

"With all the challenges, there's been a lot of positives," said Shergill. "We've had good crowds and we want the crowd to be a 12th man this week as we finish this job."