FC Gold Pride preseason announced
FC Gold Pride released the team’s month-long preseason schedule today, which is highlighted by three exhibition matches hosted around the Bay Area.
Saturday, March 13 at 6:30 PM at the Mustang Soccer Complex in Danville, CA vs. Japanese club team TEPCO Mareeze
Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 PM at Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco vs. University of San Francisco Dons
Thursday, April 1 at 7 PM at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara vs. Santa Clara Broncos
The Pride will officially open its 2010 preseason training camp on Monday, March 8. Prior to that date the team will host a preliminary workout period from March 1-6. The team’s rostered players are not required to attend the preliminary workouts, but many are expected to participate.
The team’s preseason roster will feature returning Pride stars Nicole Barnhart, Rachel Buehler and WPS All-Stars Tiffeny Milbrett and Christine Sinclair. Offseason additions include internationals Camille Abily (France), Candace Chapman (Canada), Solveig Gulbrandsen (Norway) and four-time World FIFA Player of the Year Marta (Brazil). Young talent on the team includes Stanford’s standout seniors Ali Riley and 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy Winner Kelley O’Hara as well as Bay Area native Brittany Cameron.
Due to their participation in international tournaments Barnhart (USA), Buehler (USA), Chapman, Gulbrandsen, Riley (New Zealand) and Sinclair (Canada) are all expected to join training camp late.
Fans can get a preview of the 2010 squad in action at the team’s scheduled preseason exhibition matches. The Pride will kick off its exhibition schedule with a game against Japanese club team TEPCO Mareeze on Saturday, March 13 at 6:30 PM at the Mustang Soccer Complex in Danville, CA. TEPCO Mareeze’s roster is highlighted by Japanese National Team striker Karina Maruyama. The team regularly faces off with WPS internationals Aya Miyama and Homare Sawa during regular season competition in Japan’s J1 league.
The Pride will take on the University of San Francisco Dons on Thursday, March 25 at 7:30 PM at Negoesco Stadium in San Francisco.
The team will close out its preseason competition with a match against the Santa Clara Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium on Thursday, April 1 at 7 PM. The Broncos completed their 2009 campaign with a 14-7-2 record. Their success earned them a third-round appearance of the 2009 NCAA College Cup tournament. All three exhibition matches are open to the public, admission is free.
The Pride will open the team’s 12-game regular season home schedule on Saturday, April 17 at 7 PM against Natasha Kai, Heather O’Reilly and defending WPS Champion Sky Blue FC.
