On Sunday, Inland Empire Football Club blanked visiting side Valley FC 2-0 in Thousand Oaks to advance to the national semifinals.
Pre-game
This matchup will be the first encounter between the California teams. Inland Empire Football Club has made quite the journey to reach this stage of the playoffs and has made club history by making it this far. Their story is that of having a rocky start, losing their first three games, and turning the ship around to make a historic postseason run.
The visiting team from Fresno looked like the better team. They have won 13 games, including 6 shutouts and only one loss. They scored 53 goals before this game and only allowed 9. That record crowned them NorCal south division champions, conquered the Washington state representative, and now travel to face the Eagles to determine the best of the West before the final four in Pittsburgh.
Match Recap
The match was held on a lovely Sunday evening at Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks. The local (relatively speaking) IEFC in red and white stripes took on Valley 559 in black.
The beginning of the game favored the visiting side from Fresno; they had more possession, precession with receiving and passing, and more waves of attack for chances. The Eagles, however, had less fortune moving forward but were held up by a solid two-line defense.
This dynamic lasted for 30 minutes, with the IE teams playing patiently to make a turnover to start a counter, a strategy they have used in the past. Finally, after taking wave after wave, they win a throw-in at Valley’s own half. A cross goes into the heart of the box, where Alfonso Ramirez heads in the airball alone to the left side. IEFC’s first proper chance at goal is converted for the boys in red to lead 1-0.
In response, Valley continued their waves of attack, aiming to go wide, narrow, and long shots, but not enough to make it in. IEFC does not pressure the boys in black during the run-up of play. Instead, they stay zonal and force a turnover in the final third to block a shot or nip a tackle to send to an open man for a counter. This back-and-forth goes on until the half-time whistle.
Both sides used the same tactic in the second half, but now there’s more physicality. This physicality brought more fouls into the game, making it choppy than the first half.
IEFC’s counterattacks saw them gain a bigger share of possession compared to the first half, as Valley FC looked tired trying to defend the fast IEFC counters.
The back-and-forth ends in the 73′ after a through pass from IEFC’s right back slices the black team’s very high-up defense by the midfield. IEFC’s Fernando Alejo receives the ball and makes a breakaway onside with a defender behind and a keeper running out of his box. By the half circle, he inside-foots the ball, which lands on the net’s right side. 2-0 for the IE team.
The black team ran to the referee to protest an offside call, but their efforts were not entertained as the forward was onside for the pass. Frustration spilled over for the Fresno team as they got into a scuffle with the Eagles over a foul, which resulted in a yellow for the IE team. Following more back and forth, Valley FC gets more misfortune as one of their defenders throws a high elbow to stop IEFC’s last man on the left flank. That tackle resulted in a double yellow for the defender; now the visitors are left with ten men.
The boys in black rush to the ref to protest the decision, but it is disregarded. Even with the man advantage and the visiting fans popping smoke, the Fresno side couldn’t pull the comeback, and the Eagles secured the 2-0 win to advance to the UPSL national semifinals.
Postgame
Valley FC season comes to an end following this defeat. The IE team’s historic run continues as they reach the semifinals as a club for the first time ever. IEFC is one of the oldest and longest-operating male adult amateur soccer clubs in the IE, and it has been operating for over ten years.
“It feels great to be making history with this young squad… there are only 3 players that are older. Everyone else is under 23.” -Coach Oswaldo Moreno
Since 2015, they have recorded nearly 100 wins as a team across three competitions, fielding local talent from San Bernardino, Redlands, and Riverside and sending them to international opportunities like Egypt and LA.
They travel to Pittsburgh to take on Dodge City Toros of Dodge City, Kansas, on August 9th at 6 pm. The match stream will be on Bein Sports. If they advance to the finals, they will take on the Rochester FC v Soda City FC match winner and win the UPSL national title with a cash prize of ~$25K.
The team is looking for donations for travel and hotel expenses to the East Coast, and if you would like to know more about the local team, here are some other recaps and stories of the club.
Recap (May 2021)
Recap (Jun 2021)
Interview with coach Ozzy (Jul 2021)
Recap (Mar 2022)
Recap (Feb 2023)
Recap (Jul 2024)
Here you can see the highlights of Sunday’s game, done by my friend Logan (IG: @ie_calisoccer)