After five months of grueling road trips and exciting home matches, the BYU men's soccer team will conclude its season by traveling to California for two final games.
The Cougars will square off against the Ventura County Fusion and the Orange County Blue Star, teams that boasted a combined 15 draftees in last year's Major League Soccer draft.
'Talent-wise, these are two awesome teams that we look forward to play against,' head coach Chris Watkins said. 'These are the kind of teams that we went into this league to play against.'
The Cougars (6-6-2) start the road trip Friday as they visit division-leading Ventura County Fusion (10-2-2). BYU will look to avenge a 2-0 loss to Ventura County on June 22, as a pair of early goals helped the Fusion shut out the Cougars in Provo. The Cougars will be faced with the tough task of slowing down the division's most potent offense, led by forward Gyasi Zardes. The Fusion have scored 36 goals, 10 more than any other team in the division.
Following Friday night's showdown, BYU will make the short trip to face the Orange County Blue Star (3-6-5) Saturday. Normally a perennial powerhouse, Orange County is currently on a six-game losing streak. The Cougars handed the Blue Star a lopsided 4-2 defeat on June 15 in which every position player saw action.
BYU kicks off against Ventura County at 8 p.m. Friday and against Orange County at 6 p.m. Saturday.