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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us July 8, 2005 Fuego set for final test of ’05 Local soccer squad to finish with all-star test By Amanda Bolsinger Tidings Correspondent Saturday evening at 7 p.m., Fuego will face a Mexican all-star team for the third time. The La Liga Del Valle All-Stars and Fuego play each other each season in a high profile exhibition game held at Walter A. Phillips Field. The game will be the last of Fuego’s regular season. The team gathers again in about a month to defend their title in the State of Jefferson Cup, Aug. 6-7 in Grants Pass. The annual contest against the La Liga Del Valle All-Stars usually draws Fuego’s largest crowd of the season, with between 1,000 and 1,500 fans attending the game instead of the usual 750. “It’s something fun to end with,” Fuego co-captain Iman Siadat said. “They bring a good Mexican contingency to the crowd. It’s a very exciting game with yelling and chanting.” A large appeal of the game is the opportunity to watch some of the best players from the Mexican league face off against local favorites like Fuego co-captain Rael Hirning, who’s scored five goals in the last four games. The game will be a showcase of different soccer styles. The all-star team is loaded with individual talent and boasts strong dribbling skills. Fuego plays a more American style of soccer, taking advantage of its size by playing physical. “It will be a very interesting diverse type of game,” Siadat said. “[The crowd] will get to see both styles of the game.” Fuego beat the all-star team 3-1 in their first match-up in 2003 and the teams tied 2-all in last year’s competition. “It’s a friendly game, but the competition level is high,” Siadat said. “It won’t be an unbalanced game; they are definitely a good team.” The game will cap Fuego’s most successful season to date. The local aspiring semipro soccer club enters the contest 9-3-3. “This is the best record Fuego has had since we started playing exhibition games,” Siadat said. “We are really happy with our progression.” Fuego is a five-year-old program based out of southern Oregon. The team pulls players from parts of northern California as well as the Rouge Valley. There are 32 men on the team ranging in age from 18 to 35. Eighteen men play in each game with playing time determined by practice and previous games. Fuego plays an eight to nine month season that includes travel through California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. Many of the players on the team use their time off from Fuego to coach local high-school teams and share the experience. Siadat is the Ashland High girls’ varsity assistant coach and like many of his teammates spends at least 11 months each year playing soccer. The demanding schedule includes exhaustive amounts of training and condition since many of the players on the team aspire to play semi-professional and professional level soccer. Occasionally, professional soccer players from the Chicago fire will practice and train with Fuego and a few of the Fuego have some semi-professional experience. With the short off-season here Saturday’s game is a highlight for Fuego. “It’s going to be an exciting game,” Siadat said. “I’m sure they are going to be up and ready for it.” DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Generic Viagra Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Sportsbook Absinthe Supply Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Hammocks Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino King of Spirits ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams