Lynx Unveil 2003 Schedule
Published on January 23, 2003 under USL First Division (USL-1)
Toronto Lynx News Release
JANUARY 23, 2003 (TORONTO, ON) â The Toronto Lynx will open their 2003 A-League season on Saturday, May 3 at 7:35 PM in Pittsburgh against the Riverhounds, one week before the club kicks off their home schedule at Centennial Park Stadium against the Montreal Impact at 4:00 PM. The Saturday, May 10th home opener is one of fourteen home matches for the Lynx in 2003, as part of the A-League schedule released today by the United Soccer Leagues (USL). Nineteen teams will make up the A-League roster this season, with the addition of Syracuse to the Northeast Division, joining the Lynx, Impact, Riverhounds and the Rochester Raging Rhinos. Changes for 2003 include the El Paso Patriots switching to the Central Division from the Pacific Division, and the Hampton Roads Mariners changing their name to the Virginia Beach Mariners to reflect their home city rather than their region. The Milwaukee Wave United take over the franchise rights in Milwaukee relinquished by the 2002 champion Rampage, whose ownership was unable to continue due to health and financial concerns.
The Lynx will battle each division rival 4 times, twice at home and twice on the road and also play a home-and-away series against both Western Canadian teams, Vancouver and Calgary. A home-and-away series against four of the five Southeast Division teams makes up the remainder of the Lynx' schedule.
The popular School Day, one of the highlights of the Lynx' schedule, is set to take place at 12:00 noon on Wednesday May 14 against the to-be-named Syracuse franchise. Other highlights on the schedule include early-evening matches on two holiday Mondays: Victoria Day, May 19 at 6:00 PM versus Rochester and the Civic Holiday, Monday August 4 at 6:00 PM versus the Charlotte Eagles. The Lynx will play a summer matinee on Wednesday, July 23 at 12:00 noon against Atlanta for their annual Youth Day. The home schedule wraps up on Sunday, August 31 at 6:00 PM as the Virginia Beach Mariners visit on Fan Appreciation Night with the annual Lynx Award Presentations. The A-League playoffs commence the following weekend.
" We think our fans will be very pleased with our schedule this season since we were able to provide exclusively weekend or holiday dates with the exception of the two special matinee matches", says Nicole Hartrell, owner and Chief Operating Officer. In all, the Lynx will play three matches on Friday nights, two on Saturdays, five on Sundays, and two on holiday Mondays. The 2003 A-League television schedule is expected to be announced next week.
2003 PLAYOFF FORMAT
The A-League also announced the playoff format for 2003. Only eight teams will qualify for the post-season in 2003, down from 12 in 2002. The top two teams in each of the League's four divisions will qualify and face each other in the first round of the playoffs, in a two-game, home-and-away total goals Divisional Championship. The two Divisional Champions from each conference will face each other in the second round of the playoffs, once again a two-game home-and-away series. The two Conference Champions will then meet on Saturday September 20 in a one-game A-League Championship match.
USL First Division Stories from January 23, 2003
- Mariners Open A-League Season on April 18 - Virginia Beach Mariners
- Thunder Announce 2003 A-League Schedule - Minnesota Thunder
- Lynx Unveil 2003 Schedule - Toronto Lynx
- Sounders 2003 Schedule Released - Seattle Sounders
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