San Diego Zest FC
San Diego Zest FC is an American soccer team in San Diego, California, United States. The club is founded in 2016 owned and operated by the San Diego Sports Authority, a sports management company. They will compete in the Southwest Division of the Premier Development League. San Diego Zest FC is set to play at University of California, San Diego's RIMAC as one of its locations in its inaugural season. The team colors are Orange, Navy, and White.
History
The second open tryout hosted in February 2016. Many talents mainly from NCAA colleges participated showed the abilities in front of coaches and the club owner.
Zest FC Coaching Staff
San Diego Zest FC was established in 2016 by a sports management company called San Diego Sports Authority, hereafter SDSA, located at San Diego, CA. 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 Premier Development League announced that it had awarded the franchise to San Diego Zest FC, starting with the 2016 season. [1] "San Diego has for a long time been a target city for the 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. The club has hosted the first open tryout on Saturday February 6th at James Madison High School, two weeks later from their official announcement and there were approximately 30 prospective players participated in. The second open tryout was held a week later, February 13th at the same field and number of participants increased up to 60. On July 6th 2016, San Diego Zest FC announced its first affiliation agreement, partnering with Japanese club Avispa Fukuoka, which competes in Japan's first division. Zest FC became the first PDL team to partner with a J1 League club, signing a renewable one-year agreement. Zest FC defeated PDL 2016 season's unbeaten club FC Tucson, which was also honored as the Western Conference Champion of the PDL season 2016, 2-1 on July 9th at Kino Sports Complex.
Year-by-year
| Year |
Division |
League |
Regular Season |
Playoffs |
Open Cup |
|---|
| 2016 |
4 |
USL PDL |
2nd, Southwest |
Divisional Playoff |
Did not enter |
Head Coaches
-
Cem Tont (2016-present) [2]
Current roster
As of February 21, 2015[3][4][5][6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 1 |
 |
GK |
Sebastian Ortiz
|
| 3 |
|
DF |
Angel Gonzalez
|
| 4 |
|
MF |
Erik Holt
|
| 5 |
|
DF |
Andrew Stalboerger
|
| 6 |
|
DF |
Justin Fiddes
|
| 7 |
|
MF |
Andy Reyes
|
| 8 |
|
MF |
Yuki Hata
|
| 9 |
|
FW |
Eduardo Guerra
|
| 10 |
|
MF |
Brian Iloskil
|
| 11 |
|
FW |
Patrick McGrath
|
| 13 |
 |
MF |
Borja Suarez Nunez |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 14 |
|
MF |
Manuel Carrillo
|
| 15 |
|
FW |
Keyran Kelly
|
| 16 |
|
FW |
Torrey DeArmas
|
| 20 |
|
MF |
Garrett Heine
|
| 21 |
|
GK |
Adam Allmaras
|
| 22 |
|
DF |
Ryan Camara
|
| 23 |
|
FW |
Matthew Hurlow-Paonessa
|
| 24 |
 |
DF |
Merlin Hoeckendorff
|
| 25 |
|
MF |
Michael Dingle
|
| 26 |
|
DF |
Blake Homan |
|
Average Attendance
References
