With a postseason place in hand for nearly a month and its focus turned to exhibitions against international opposition in recent weeks, the Ventura County Fusion may not be the sharpest it has been this season.

Which means it has one week, two training sessions and a four-hour drive north to shift into playoff mode for this weekend's Western Conference playoffs.

"The boys have been in a pretty relaxed mode because we qualified so early," said Fusion general manager Ranbir Shergill. "Now we're going to have to flip the switch and realize that the season is over if we lose."

The Fusion (10-0-6) face the Kitsap Pumas (12-1-3), the Northwest Division champion, in the conference semifinals Saturday morning at Chukchansi Park in Fresno.

Host Fresno Fuego (13-0-3) and Victoria Highlanders (9-4-3) follow at 12:30 p.m. The two winners meet Sunday at 12:30 p.m. for the Western Conference title and a place in the Premier Development League Final Four.

"I think that these guys are experienced enough and seasoned enough to realize what is at stake," said Fusion coach Ole Mikkelsen. "They realize that they're now in the playoffs... They understand that winning a championship really does set you apart

"The key is going to be getting them playing the way we were playing earlier in the year."

Fusion assistant coach Bob McNabb, the former Arsenal great, has reminded Mikkelsen that the players pick themselves by their performances.

Nevertheless, with a deep squad full of contributors over the 16-game season, Mikkelsen will have some decisions to make this weekend. The Fusion had 39 different players suit up this summer, including 27 who played more than three games.

"Some thought goes into formations and who plays well together," said Mikkelsen. "You try and pick the team with some hope that the players have familiarity with each other.

"Going forward we won't be too dramatic of a difference from what you've seen during the season."

Perhaps the two toughest decisions will be in front of either goal.

With eight and seven appearances, respectively, UCLA's Brian Rowe and UC Santa Barbara's Sam Hayden have virtually split the goalkeeping position. Both have three shutouts. Both have allowed less than a goal per game.

The other quandary is up front, where Mark Magee (eight goals) started so strong, Gyasi Zardes (two goals in five games) finished so strong and Callum Riley (five goals, three assists) has been so versatile.

"It's about who's in the best form," said Mikkelsen.

The Fusion midfield will be boosted by the return of captain Andy Rose, the UCLA central midfielder who had four goals and three assists in six matches before leaving to train with the Chicago Fire and Hammarby of Sweden. He also missed last summer's playoff loss to Kitsap on penalty kicks.

"He'd be a nice addition," said Mikkelsen.

Rose sits in nicely to the position vacated by former Danish youth international Michael Jensen, who suffered an apparent season-ending ankle injury over the weekend.

"He's been a consistent fixture on the team," said Mikklesen of the former Aalborg defender. "He certainly will be missed."

While much of the PDL is made up of teams who, like the Fusion, are founded on college-level talent, Kitsap is one of a handful of teams who pay its players.

Kitsap coach Pete Fewing told the Seattle Times in June that the Pumas have a $36,000 budget for its 22-man roster.

"They pay all their players so it's really a professional team," said Fusion attacker Danny Barrera.

Despite the contrast in player compensation, Ventura County and Kitsap have plenty in common.

Both represented their division in the U.S. Open Cup. Ventura County fell 1-0 to the Los Angeles Blues and Kitsap lost 2-1 to the Seattle Sounders.

Both have played international opposition in recent weeks. While Ventura County fell to West Brom (4-2), Manchester City (2-0) and Independiente (3-0) and defeated the New Zealand Under-20s (2-1), Kitsap fell to Port Vale, who play in England's League Two.

Should the Fusion meet Victoria in Sunday's Western Conference final, the touchline will be the site of an unlikely reunion.

Fusion coach Ole Mikkelsen and Victoria coach Ian Bridge have met many times before on the soccer fields of the old North American Soccer League.

Mikkelsen was a striker for the Washington Diplomats and San Jose Earthquakes and Bridge was a central defender for the Seattle Sounders.

The Fusion then will wrap up its regular season Saturday night against the visiting Los Angeles Legends at the Ventura College Sportsplex.

A pair of Fresno wins has seen the defending Southwest Division champion drop into second place, a point behind the Fuego, 36-35. To defend its title, the Fusion will have to win Saturday and hope the Fuego fail to win Saturday at the Southern California Seahorses and Sunday at the Legends.

A second-place finish wouldn't just mean missing out on the division title, but would set up a rematch of last year's postseason meeting with Kitsap, which the Fusion lost on penalty kicks.

The Premier Development League postseason may be coming back to Ventura.

The Ventura County Fusion, who hosted the 2009 PDL Final at Buena High and have already clinched its third straight postseason berth, confirmed Thursday that it has submitted a bid to host the Western Conference playoffs July 29-31 at Ventura College.

"We've already submitted something," said Fusion general manager Ranbir Shergill.

The potential host club submits a bid that outlines what it will provide the three visiting clubs, from hotels, transportation, stadium costs and referee costs.

"It gets relatively expensive," said Shergill. "I think we put a reasonable bid. It comes down to expenses at the end of the day. We'd certainly be covering a large part of different things... We'll wait and see what happens."

Considering the conference includes three of the four unbeaten teams remaining in the 64-team PDL, the Western foursome will feature Final Four-level quality.

Ventura County (10-0-5), Fresno (11-0-3) and Kitsap (12-0-3) have already clinched berths and the fourth will be from the British Columbian duo of Vancouver (7-5-3) and Victoria (7-4-3).

"It'll be fantastic to have it locally," said Shergill.

The Fusion's bid may be boosted by circumstance. Kitsap hosted last year's conference tournament and Fresno's Chukchansi Park is already hosting minor league baseball next weekend.

But Shergill added that there would be an upside to spending the postseason on the road.

"We've been hosting all these other games and hosting another tournament is a lot of work," said Shergill. "If we don't get it, at least you don't have to worry about the work. You can focus on the (soccer)."

The Fusion staff has already been hard at work hosting West Bromwich Albion of the English Premier League, Independiente of Argentina and the New Zealand Under-20 team.

Shergill did add that, if the Fusion missed out on the conference tournament but advanced, the Fusion would pursue hosting the Final Four.

"If we win two games," said Shergill, "we'll have another opportunity to try and host."

This week may be the busiest week of the season for the Fusion.

West Brom, Independiente and the New Zealand all trained at Oxnard College Tuesday.
West Brom left Tuesday. The Argentine club has been holding double sessions daily, with morning work on the beach and late afternoon training on campus.

Behind two goals by forward Gyasi Zardes, the Fusion defeated the New Zealand Under-20 team 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon.

"After the game," said Shergill, "we took them down to the Home Depot Center to watch the Galaxy game."

The Fusion host Independiente tonight at 6 p.m. at Oxnard College. "The King of Cups" has won the Argentine championship 14 times and has accumulated 16 major international trophies, including the South American club championship, the Copa Libertadores, a record seven times.