Ventura County FC is an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Los Angeles area town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California, United States that plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy and was formerly known as LA Galaxy II from its founding in 2014 until 2024. The team previously played in the USL Championship until the end of the 2022 season.
History
It was announced on January 29, 2014, that the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer would be fielding their own team in the USL Pro to serve as their reserve team beginning with the 2014 USL Pro season. The Galaxy chose to create their own team in the league instead of affiliating with a current USL Pro team after the two leagues formed a partnership the previous year. The current assistant coach of the senior squad, Curt Onalfo, would become head coach of the reserve squad. The club would play its home matches at Dignity Health Sports Park's Track & Field Stadium, a 1,200-seat stadium near the main stadium, home to the senior club. Onalfo had led the Galaxy's previous reserve squad to two consecutive MLS Reserve League West Division titles. In the process, the LA Galaxy became the first MLS club to own and operate its own USL Pro side.
About forming the reserve team, Galaxy President Chris Klein said, “The creation of LA Galaxy II, through USL PRO, provides the Galaxy with a fully realized, in-house player development program starting with the Under-12 Academy through the LA Galaxy first team. The investment of AEG and the Galaxy for LA Galaxy II will allow us to continue to develop the best players in Southern California while closing the gap between the Galaxy Academy and the LA Galaxy.”
In 2022, Major League Soccer announced that Los Dos would be one of the new MLS Next Pro teams in 2023. In March 2024, the team announced a partial relocation to Thousand Oaks, California and rebranded to its current name of Ventura County FC.
Stadium The club currently plays at William Roland Stadium on the campus of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. The team previously played in the Track & Field Facility at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California Occasional games would be played at the main stadium at Dignity Health Sports Park, which holds 27,000 attendees and is the home of the LA Galaxy first team.
Club culture Rivalries When in USL, LA Galaxy II competed in the 405 Derby against rivals Orange County SC. In 2022 the clubs were in a dispute over which team would play at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California, Orange County SC's current home stadium, after leaked documents showed the Galaxy organization was attempting to seize full-time usage of the venue.
Players and staff The squad of VCFC is composed of an unrestricted number of first-team players on loan to the reserve team, players signed by Galaxy II, and LA Galaxy Academy players. Academy players who appear in matches with VCFC retain their college eligibility.
Current roster
Coaching staff RoleNameNation Head coach Assistant coach Goalkeeping coach Video analyst Performance coach
Team records Year-by-year YearDivisionLeagueRegular season W-T-LPlayoffsU.S. Open CupAvg. attendanceTop scorerGoals20143USL3rd: 15–6–7Semifinals3R597 Chandler Hoffman 142015USL 5th, Western: 14–3–11Runner-Up2R969 Ariel Lassiter 112016USL 5th, Western: 12–11–7Conference quarterfinalsNot eligible 1,211 Jack McBean 1520172USL 13th, Western: 8–5–19did not qualifyNot eligible1,215 Justin Dhillon Adrian Vera 62018USL 14th, Western: 10–7–17did not qualifyNot eligible1,048 Frank López 132019USLC 9th, Western: 12–12–10Play-in roundNot eligible 881 Ethan Zubak Kai Koreniuk 92020USLC 8th, Western: 8–2–62nd Group BConference quarterfinalsNot eligible N/A Augustine Williams 132021USLC 11th, Western: 11-6-15did not qualifyCanceledN/A Preston Judd172022USLC 11th, Western: 11-7-16did not qualifyNot eligibleN/A Preston Judd1320233MLSNP 14th, Western: 5-6-17did not qualifyNot eligibleN/A Aaron Bibout142024MLSNP 6th, Western: 8-9-11Conference Quarterfinals2RN/A Aaron Bibout Rubén Ramos82025MLSNP 8th, Western: 11-6-11Conference QuarterfinalsNot eligible N/A Jeorgio Kocevski Luis Müller7
Head coaches
Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup + All time Ventura County Coaching Stats Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win % Curt Onalfo Mike Muñoz Junior Gonzalez (Interim) Junior Gonzalez Yoann Damet Marcelo Sarvas Matthew Taylor present
Honors USL Championship Runners Up : 2015 Western Conference (Playoffs) Winners : 2015
Player honors YearPlayerCountryPositionHonor2014Chandler Hoffman United StatesForwardAll-League First TeamAndré Auras FranceMidfielderAll-League Second TeamDaniel Steres United StatesDefenderAll-League Second Team2015Daniel Steres United StatesDefenderAll-League First Team2016Jack McBean United StatesForwardAll-League First Team2018Efraín Álvarez MexicoMidfielderYoung Player of the Year2020Augustine Williams Sierra LeoneForwardAll-League First Team
References
External links