W-League Opens In May
The Washington Spirit Reserves begin their campaign under the national spotlight by hosting the New York Magic in the 2013 season opener on Saturday, May 11th at the Maryland Soccerplex. Match time is slated for 4:00 PM.
The Bay Area Breeze join the 25-team league in 2013, further strengthening the highly competitive Western Conference.
The W-League remains divided into three geographic conferences – Eastern, Central and Western – with the Eastern Conference featuring two divisions, the seven-team Northeast and the five-team Southeast.
Opening day also features a divisional match as the Virginia Beach Piranhas play host to the Fredericksburg Impact. The opening weekend continues with an important Southeast Division matchup as the Carolina Elite Cobras play host to the Atlanta Silverbacks.
The final weekend of the regular season is set for July 12-14, with 21 of the 25 teams in action as the race for postseason spots winds down.
SC United FC Bantams
The Palmetto Football Club, South Carolinas only USL Premier Development League franchise, will begin the 2013 season as the SC United FC Bantams, after partnering with South Carolina United FC, S.C.’s largest youth soccer club with more than 4,600 players ages 4-19.
This is one of two affiliations in South Carolina between youth soccer clubs and USL clubs. The other is the partnership between the Carolina Elite Soccer Assoc. and the W-League’s Carolina Elite Cobras.
Hucles Set To Coach
Former U.S. WNT midfielder Angela Hucles has signed on as an assistant coach with the W-League’s California Pali Blues. Hucles, from Virginia Beach, VA, spent her college years close to home as a Cavalier at the Univeristy of Virginia (1996-99). She retired in 2009, and had 109 caps with the U.S. WNT.