Fresno Fuego
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| Full name | Fresno Fuego Futbol Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Fuego |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Stadium |
Chukchansi Park Fresno, California |
| Capacity | 12,500 |
| Owner | Jeremy Schultz |
| Head Coach | Brian Zwaschka |
| League | Premier Development League |
| 2016 | 1st, Central Pacific Division Playoffs: Divisional Playoff |
| Website | www |
Fresno Fuego is an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The club drew an average home attendance of 3,951 in 2016, including league matches, divisional playoffs and exhibitions against professional clubs.
The team plays its home games at Chukchansi Park, where they have played since 2006. The team's colors are red, white and black.
The club enjoys a successful cross-promotional partnership with the Fresno Grizzlies AAA baseball team, which was the first of its kind in the PDL.
Fuego made their debut in PDL competition in 2003, having picked up the franchise rights in 2002 by then partners Jaime Marquez Sr., J. Francisco Alvarez, J. Antonio Alvarez & Jaime Marquez Jr. from the former PDL champions, the Central Coast Roadrunners from San Luis Obispo. Playing on the campus of San Joaquin Memorial High School, Fresno made a blistering start to their first campaign, scoring eight goals in back-to-back wins over Nevada Wonders, California Gold and Orange County Blue Star, with standout striker Orlando Ramirez. Fresno's impressive early season form also saw them qualify for the US Open Cup, where they made it all the way to the fourth round with victories over Chico Rooks, Utah Blitzz and El Paso Patriots, before they finally fell, 3–1, to Los Angeles Galaxy. Fresno's home form was superb during their first season, losing just one game – a 3–2 turnaround to California Gold – the entire year. Fuego's Latin American connection, led by Ramirez and Fabricio Codeceira was influential and by the end of their debut year they were sitting proudly atop the Southwest table, ahead of Orange County Blue Star on goal difference. The playoffs were a disappointment; after defeating Northwest champions Spokane Shadow, Fresno fell to Blue Star in the conference final.
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