The third of three matches to kick off the 2024 USL League One season features two rebuilt sides looking to improve their fortunes.
Tormenta’s New Look
2024 brings a roster overhaul and a new home kit. The team gave its season ticket holders an exclusive look, and should be dropping it to the public any day now. While Tormenta Stadium remains under construction and will not be at 100% until next season, it’s still home. Ian Cameron returns as head coach, and the team opted to return just two players on top of the four already under contract.
This is the smallest market professional soccer team in the country, so they have to get creative sometimes in building a roster. But don’t call them the underdogs, just two years removed from winning the league championship. If there’s a way to develop a group of unknowns into champions, Cameron is the one who can do it.
Fuego and the Jermaine Jones Show
Central Valley Fuego FC made the biggest coaching move the league has seen since John Harkes signed on at Greenville ahead of the 2019 season. US Men’s National Team superstar Jermaine Jones came out on top of a bizarre yet not-that-bizarre-when-you-think-about-it process in which the job was listed publicly, and everyone had to apply and go through the hiring process. Jones came in and cleaned house, retaining the services of just five players from the 2023 squad. In an interview on CBS Gozalo, Jones blatantly stated three of these players only remained because they were under contract. Whoa, no pressure, guys.
Tormenta’s Off Season Moves
As mentioned, just six players return from the 2023 squad. Gone are top goal-scorers Kazaiah Sterling (Pittsburgh Riverhounds) and Mukwelle Akale (New Mexico United). In are a few strikers from outside the league, including Niall Watson from the English National Leagues, Sebastian Vivas from Argentina and Gabriel Rodriguez from USL League Two. Pedro Fonseca returns, along with reigning young player of the year Jackson Khoury. The pair were responsible for 13 goals last season. They’ll be joined by Chilean newcomer Pedro Campos, a winger with experience in Chile and Mexico.
Conor Doyle, a long time veteran of USL League One and the MLS joins to anchor the midfield. This should provide a jolt of leadership to the team and the locker room. Doyle continues to thrive in the back half of his storied career, contributing 7 assists in 2023 with Union Omaha.
Nick Akoto, Jake Dengler, Preston Kilwien and Collin Mocyunas return to shore up a back line, along with newcomers Callum Stretch, Alsadiq Hasan and Joshua Ramos. They’re backed by two former USL Championship goalkeepers, Ford Parker and Drew Romig.
Obviously with so many changes and new professionals, there’s a big wait and see factor here.
Image credit South Georgia Tormenta FC
Fuego’s Off Season Moves
If Tormenta did a blow-up, Fuego went scorched earth. Jones declined every option and turned almost everyone away with an expired contract, keeping only three players already under contract: Jose Carrera-Garcia, Qudus Lawal, Omar Lemus. From the way it sounds, Razak Cromwell and Zahir Vasquez were the only returning players to win back a spot. He then brought in a group of a few knowns from around USL and MLS Next Pro (Ashkanov Apollon, Carlos Avilez, Chris Heckenberg, Jason Ramos, Andre Zuliaga), and some unknowns and new professionals. And a guy who has four years MLS experience and seven years USL Championship experience, but last appeared professionally in 2020 (Raul Mendiola). It’s a bold strategy, but perhaps bold is exactly what Fuego needed after a wooden spoon year.
Look, this could end up being a total disaster, or it could end up being the greatest comeback story ever told. Who is going to write the story on what Mendiola has been doing for the last three years if he ends up staging a comeback? The story on how an unconventional owner landed a former superstar player for his first big coaching gig in Fresno, California? You almost can’t help but cheer for this side, even if you’re trying to be objective, or if you support another team in the league. But it’s a huge unknown going into the season.
Head to Head
With most of last years’s squads gone, it would be impossible to base anything on then. Based on right now, we’re calling this one the season’s first draw, 1-1. Not the worst start for either side.