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USL Fresno FC

Match Day + Fuego Friday | Fresno FC vs. Orange County SC

April 26, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Fresno FC News Release


USL CHAMPIONSHIP REGULAR SEASON: MATCH 6

FRESNO FC vs. ORANGE COUNTY SC

KICKOFF AT 7:30 P.M. | GATES OPEN AT 6:30 P.M.

TV: ThisTV 26.2 | Radio: ESPN Deportes 1600 AM | Stream: ESPN +

Social Media: Follow @FFCFoxes on Twitter for match updates and follow along using the hashtags #FRSvRNO

MATCH PREVIEW

Los Zorros (2W-0L-3D, 9 points) look to extend their unbeaten streak against Orange County SC (2-3-2, 8 points), a team that took two wins from Fresno FC during the 2018 regular season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Chukchansi Park in what is the first of 3 Fuego Friday matches for Los Zorros, in which they'll wear their 'Fuego red' kits and fans can enjoy $2 Tecate Tall Cans. After a mighty 3-1 result over then-first-place Tulsa Roughnecks FC, Los Zorros had a week off and saw them remain as the only unbeaten team in the USL Western Conference. In front of them is a tough test in Orange County SC - the USL Western Conference runners-up - who won 3-0 at home and 1-0 in Fresno a year ago. It'll be another defensive vs. offensive matchup for Los Zorros on Friday, as they'll put their Western Conference-best defense that has conceded just three goals through five matches against an OCSC offense that is converting 19% of its shots for fourth-best in the USL West. Leading the offensive production for Orange County is forward Darwin Jones with four goals through seven matches in 2019, with three players (Leonardo, Quinn, Seaton) right behind with two apiece. Los Zorros are led in goals scored by midfielders Arun Basuljevic and Jemal Johnson, who each bagged a brace against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros and Tulsa Roughnecks FC, respectively. The Week 6 win also saw new offseason signing Jaime Chavez open his Fresno FC account, as he scored his first goal of the season on a header in the 59th minute against Tulsa for the go-ahead goal. The Foxes will also see the return of midfielder Seth Moses, who served a one-game suspension for his red card in Week 5, and Zack Ellis-Hayden, who has recovered from injury.

MORE THAN JUST A GAME

Tonight's #FuegoFriday theme night is more than just a match to wear our Fuego red kits, but a celebration of the players, coaches, staff, and fans, that helped make the Fresno Fuego, and eventually Fresno Football Club, into the professional club it is today.

Prior to the match, the scholars of The Other Football Project will host a panel discussion at Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Company featuring Fresno Fuego co-founders Francisco and Antonio Alvarez, as well as other former players and coaches. The panel begins at 5:15 p.m. and will end at 6:15 p.m.

The Other Football Project will then pass out free trading cards of San Joaquin Valley soccer legends at the match to the first 1,000 fans through the gates.

The Friday panel is the first of a series of discussions hosted by The Other Football Project that continues Saturday at Fresno State's Henry Madden Library. Topics include 'Fandom in the Valley', 'Women's Soccer: Past and Present' and keynote speaker Joshua Nadel, who authored the book "Women's Soccer in Latin America."

IN MEMORY OF MOISES MARTINEZ

Fresno FC and Fire Squad Fresno will celebrate the life of Moises Martinez prior to tonight's match with a moment of silence just before kickoff. Moises Martinez was a player of the Fresno Fuego, and a reserve for the Fresno FC U-23s when he suffered a severe brain aneurysm in fall of 2018. Moises passed away last month.

In addition to playing for the Fresno Fuego and Fresno FC U-23, Martinez starred at Selma High School and then West Hills College in Lemoore. In 2017, he was part of Broken Drum, a seven-player team that won the Fresno qualifier of the U.S. Neymar Jr. Five challenge, winning a trip to the national championship in Miami.



United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 26, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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