San Fernando Valley Quakes Legends, Fresno Fuego and Ventura County Fusion, the last of which left the Quakes on the verge of their first ever divisional championship. The final game of the regular season was a winner-take-all matchup against Fresno Fuego, which the Quakes won 2–1 with goals by Devin Deldo and Sung-Hyun Kim, giving the team its first silverware in franchise history. The Quakes went to the playoffs in Fresno on a high, but were beaten in the semi final by Northwest runners-up Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, after having a man sent off and conceding an injury time equalizer; Vancouver then added two more
American coaches of foreign national soccer teams American coaches of foreign national soccer teams Several Americans have served as the head coach of a foreign national soccer team. Americans coaching foreign national teams is seen as an important step in improving the perceptions of American soccer. During the 1900s, Americans coaching foreign national teams were rare. The first American to coach a foreign national soccer team was Mark Scott Thompson, who was appointed El Salavador's first ever head coach in 1930. Alkis Panagoulias led the U.S. team in the 1980s including the 1984 Summer Olympics, before soccer had become fully established in the U.S., in between stints