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Photo by Rob Varela

Ventura County Fusion Super-20 player Edgar Cervantes, left, battles Poway's Jared Fenlason deep in the corner during Saturday's game at Ventura College. The Fusion won 3-1.

Asked which states they had visited in their young lives, the teenage boys who make up the Ventura County Fusion's Super-20 soccer team answered with a single voice.

"Baja California, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Sinaloa, Michoacan"

It may sound like a mysterious, far off land to the forwards, midfielders and defenders from Fillmore, Oxnard and Ventura, but they will be able to add the Commonwealth of Virginia to that list later this month.

The Fusion Super-20s, who serve as a feeder team to the club's Premier Development League side, clinched the first postseason berth in the Ventura County Fusion's brief history as a soccer club Saturday evening with a 3-1 win over the Poway Vaqueros at Ventura College.

"It's been a great experience and that will be a great experience," said head coach Ross Greaney. "These guys have never experienced a league this organized and serious. Now the demands of traveling will offer another challenge.

"Their eyes will be wide open. Hopefully, we can play as well as we have here."

Gabriel Gonzalez, Gurgen Azdemian and Emigdio Ramirez scored the goals as the first-place Fusion (6-3-1) clinched at least a second-place finish in the Western Conference of the USL Super-20 League.

Only the fourth-place Los Angeles Galaxy, which has 13 points with three matches remaining in its season, can edge the Fusion for the title by topping its 19 points.

Saturday's result was paramount for the Fusion and things became a little bit more desperate when Poway's Zach Olow split the defense and opened the scoring in the 11th minute.

But Gonzalez, the former Hueneme High and Oxnard College star, steadied the nerves 15 minutes later by settling a cross from Fillmore High graduate Johnny Martinez, turning in the penalty area and tucking away the finish.

"He brought us back into it," said Greaney.

It was Gonzalez's 10th goal in 10 league matches.

"And every goal was been big," said Greaney.

The important goal was followed, a minute later, by the beautiful goal. Azdemian combined down the wing with fullback Tony Meza before helicoptering between two defenders and driving home a 2-1 Fusion lead in the 26th minute.

"I'm just trying to help the guys out," said Adzemian, whose brother, Vardean, was a fixture for the Fusion's PDL entry last season.

Recent Oxnard High graduate Ramirez put the finishing touches on the performance with 15 minutes to play, taking down a Gonzalez pass and smashing a snap shot crashing into the net.

"I saw two defenders coming at me and just went for the corner," said Ramirez. "We're all here working for a chance to make the PDL team."

The Fusion's fourth win in its final five matches marked a significant turnaround from the team's season-opening 5-0 loss to the Galaxy.

"We didn't even know each other's names," said Martinez. "As the year went on, we bonded and came together."

They've learned each other's names. Now they need to read up on Virginia.

"I know nothing about that state," said recent Ventura High grad Abel Pacheco.

While most of the Fusion players have been to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico, the only Fusion player who seemed to know about the cradle of American Presidents was recent Buena High graduate Richie Vargas, whose brother Anthony is stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.

"I have no idea," said Martinez, when asked about Virginia. "But I'm excited about it."