Jump to content

San Diego Zest FC

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

San Diego Zest FC
Full nameSan Diego Zest FC
Founded2016; 9 years ago (2016)
StadiumMultiple[1]
OwnersSan Diego Sports Authority
Head CoachSouth Korea Jaewoo Kim
LeagueUSL League Two
20197th, Southwest Division
Playoffs: DNQ
Websitehttp://www.sandiegozestfc.us/

San Diego Zest FC is an American soccer team based in San Diego, California. The club was founded in 2016 and is owned and operated by the San Diego Sports Authority, a Japanese–owned sports management company. They compete as LA Galaxy SD Zest in USL League Two and play their home matches at James Madison High School's George Hoagland Stadium. The team colors are orange and navy.

History

[edit]

San Diego Zest FC was established in 2016 by a sports management company called the San Diego Sports Authority, hereafter SDSA, located in San Diego, California. The project was started in 2014 with aim of developing the local community soccer level and providing Japanese soccer players the path to pro in the U.S. On January 21, 2016, the USL PDL announced that it had awarded the franchise to San Diego Zest FC, starting with the 2016 season.[2] "San Diego has for a long time been a target city for the USL PDL, we are very excited the outstanding leadership of the San Diego Sports Authority will be the group that brings the league to a great soccer city, and are looking forward to working with the club for many years to come.” said league director Todd Eason.

2016: Inaugural Season

[edit]
  • San Diego Zest FC had a very successful inaugural season campaign. They finished with an 8-1-5 record, which resulted in a 2nd-place finish in the Southwestern Division and clinching a berth into the USL PDL playoffs. They lost in a very close match to FC Golden State Force 2–3 in overtime.
Zest FC players celebrate after defeating FC Golden State Force 5–1 during its 2016 season regular season match.
  • Zest FC was led by its two stars, UCLA's DF/MF Erik Holt, and Chico State's FW Matthew Hurlow-Paonessa. Holt was named to PDL's All-Western Conference team, scoring 2 goals and playing very well in the playoffs.[3] Hurlow-Paonessa was a scoring phenomenon for Zest FC, scoring 9 goals and contributing an assist during his campaign.
  • Hurlow-Paonessa became the first player to sign with a professional soccer club in San Diego Zest FC's history, agreeing to his first professional contract with Phoenix Rising FC.[4]
Erik Holt had an interview with SV Horn's owner Keisuke Honda after he proved his high performance to them at Horn's professional tryout.

2017: Second Season

[edit]
  • On February 22, 2017, San Diego Zest FC officially clinched a berth for the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as a result from their very successful inaugural season. They lost to LA Wolves FC in the opening round 2-4 in their U.S. Open Cup debut. Zest FC was not able to carry its high performance from its inaugural season, finishing with a 3-9-2 record in its 2nd season.

Introduced Women's Team To Compete in 2018

[edit]
  • On May 22, 2017, San Diego Zest FC announced the founding of an all woman's team to compete in the Women's Premier Soccer League, WPSL, starting in the 2018 season. The sister club of the San Diego Zest will hope to emulate the same success their founding team who are competing in their second season as members of the USL PDL.

New Ownership of Montenegrin Third Division Club FK Adria

[edit]
  • On October 4, San Diego Zest FC announced its new ownership of Montenegro soccer club, FK Adria, launched and started competing in the Montenegrin Third League in the 2017–2018 season. FK Adria, named after the Adriatic Sea, has a mission to groom people to be successful individuals, even after their playing careers have ended, at the international level by implementing a vision that includes what the team calls "character-building through soccer.

Partnership with Los Angeles Galaxy San Diego

[edit]
  • San Diego Zest FC announced a new partnership with Los Angeles Galaxy San Diego on November 17th. Zest FC and LA Galaxy San Diego are committed to benefiting each other through cooperation and developing good sportsmanship within the athletes while promoting enthusiasm within the community locally, nationally, and internationally through soccer.

U.S. Pro Soccer Combine in Japan

[edit]
  • San Diego Zest FC hosted a 2-Day U.S. Pro Soccer Combine on December 16th and 17th in Fukuoka, Japan. Four clubs from USL Championship including Charleston Battery, Richmond Kickers, North Carolina FC and Nashville SC. attended for scouting Asian talents. Several players from the combine were invited to each club's second tryout.
    Four of USL coaches came over to Fukuoka.
    A lot of talented Japanese and Korean players participated in the Pro combine in Fukuoka.

2018: Third Season

[edit]

Zest FC Women Announces New Affiliation with Japan's First Division Club AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies

[edit]
  • San Diego Zest FC has announced that its women’s team, San Diego Zest FC Women, which will be competing its inaugural season in Women’s Premier Soccer League this summer, has affiliated with Japanese club AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies, which currently competes in Japan’s women’s first division. AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies was established in 2000. The team is owned by AC Nagano Parceiro, which competes in Japan’s Men’s third division, J3 League. Former Parceiro Ladies player, Kumi Yokohama, has been selected for Japan’s national team squad since 2015 and currently plays for FFC Frankfurt, which competes in the first division of Women’s Bundesliga.
San Diego Parceiro Ladies had a first win on May 20 in their season opener match against San Diego WFC Sealions.

Year-by-year

[edit]
Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
2016 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest Divisional Playoff Did not enter
2017 4 USL PDL 7th, Southwest Did not qualify First round
2018 4 USL PDL 8th, Southwest Did not qualify Did not qualify
2019 4 USL League Two 7th, Southwest Did not qualify Did not qualify

Head coaches

[edit]
  • Turkey Cem Tont, Asst. Neal Keith (2016–2017) [5]
  • South Korea Jaewoo Kim (2018–present)

Coaching Staff

[edit]
Role Name Nation
Head Coach Jaewoo Kim  South Korea
Assistant Coach Jake Rowley  United Kingdom
Assistant Coach Dong Rack Kim  South Korea

Players

[edit]

As of May 3, 2019[6][7][8][9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of May 3, 2019.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Rodrigo Sarmiento
2 DF United States USA Jamie Pick
3 DF France FRA Abdoulaye Cissoko
4 DF United States USA Kelee Cornfield-Saunders
5 DF United States USA Tosh Samkange
6 MF United States USA Sam Turner
8 MF United States USA Brandon Santel
9 FW United States USA Vardhin Manoj
11 FW South Korea KOR Sungyong Jung
12 DF United States USA Joe Daluz
13 MF United States USA Andy Sartor
14 MF South Korea KOR Lee SeongYong
15 FW Japan JPN Kazuma Suzuki
16 DF United States USA Griffin Mallas
17 MF United States USA Erick Gonzalez
18 MF United States USA Hanif Wright
19 DF United States USA Santiago Majewski
20 MF Japan JPN Shizu Yohena
21 MF France FRA Nicolas Briere
22 MF United States USA Landen Carlson
23 DF United States USA Christopher Brusenback

Notable former players

[edit]

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Average Attendance

[edit]
  • 2016: 365
  • 2017: 293
  • 2018: 121
  • 2019: TBD
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Schedule USL PDL Squad | San Diego Zest FC". Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  2. ^ "PDL Awards Franchise to San Diego". Premier Development League (PDL). January 21, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  3. ^ Staff, PDL (July 29, 2016). "2016 PDL All-Western Conference Team". USL PDL. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Communications, Phoenix Rising FC (December 16, 2016). "Phoenix Rising FC Bolster Attack With Signing of Matthew Hurlow-Paonessa". Phoenix Rising FC | Arizona's Highest Level Professional Soccer Team. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  5. ^ San Diego Zest Coaching Staff Archived 2016-06-29 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Players | FC Tucson". fctucson.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012.
  7. ^ "FC Tucson Completes Preseason Singings". Archived from the original on May 30, 2016. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
  8. ^ FC Tucson Signs Six More Players
  9. ^ Preseason Invitees Signed to Roster
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Diego_Zest_FC&oldid=1289682966"