SF City’s 2026 season comes to a close with a 6-1 defeat to Ventura County Fusion in the USL League Two playoffs in a battle of division champions. Dane Pendelton once again came in clutch with his first half goal in the 35th minute but that was all for the upstarts, with playoff returnees Ventura marking a second half comeback that would have hard to overcome for the home team.
Niklas Thanhofer scored his second straight goal in the knockout rounds with his 48th minute strike with Andres Torres grabbing the go-ahead strike in the 53rd minute and adding another in the 88th. Miles Merritt added his name to the scoresheet with his 60th minute score, and Siddiq Lezzar contributed to the goal list late in the 85th minute before Callen Lewis (along with Torres) putting the dagger to SF City’s season with the sixth goal in the 89th minute.
Ventura County will meet Ballard FC in Flint, Michigan in the quarterfinals on Friday July 24 at noon, while SF City will spend the off-season on what could have been. Winning their first division title in the USL era will be celebrated as a crowing achievement after 10 years of futility and building from the ground up where they have developed local rivalries.
