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NASL Announces 2014 Spring Season Schedule

December 19, 2013 - North American Soccer League (NASL) News Release


MIAMI, Fla. (December 19, 2013) - The 2014 North American Soccer League Spring Season will kick off on Saturday, April 12 and among the opening weekend highlights, the reigning-champion New York Cosmos will face the Atlanta Silverbacks opponent they beat 1-0 to win Soccer Bowl 2013.

"Winning the Soccer Bowl was a great experience for our team and a good way to start building our club back up," said Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese. "We are looking forward to building off of that victory and starting next season in front of our great supporters in New York."

The shortened nine-week spring campaign will run through June 8, to allow for a mid-season break to align with the FIFA World Cup before the Fall Season begins. The winner of the first half of the NASL season will qualify for and earn the right to host NASL Soccer Bowl 2014.

Virginia Cavalry FC's decision to defer its inaugural season until 2015 means the ten clubs participating in 2014 must each play a nine-game season, with an unavoidable uneven balance between each club's total number of home and away games. Having considered adding a tenth game and factored in several components including stadium availability, cold weather climate challenges and participation in domestic cup competitions, NASL owners agreed to the nine-week 2014 schedule.

"The owners showed short-term sacrifice in favor of consistency and respect for the global game by sticking to a one-match versus each team Spring Schedule," said Aaron Davidson, Chairman of the NASL Board of Governors and President of Traffic Sports, ownership group of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Carolina RailHawks. "We analyzed and understand the consequential imbalance of home games in the spring, but felt that it was more important to ensure the balance of the competition with everyone playing each other once rather than adding a random tenth match.

"The fact is that our Spring 2014 season will be one of the most intense and competitive competitions in global sport with nine matches determining the spring champion and host of NASL Soccer Bowl 2014. The coaches and players know that they can't play for draws whether they are playing away or at home because winning the championship will likely come down to one or two points. I'm excited to see our teams leave it all out on the field in this sprint to the Spring Championship ahead of the World Cup break."

When the campaign kicks off, NASL newcomer Indy Eleven faces a true test at home to a Carolina RailHawks club that earned a league-best 43 points from the combined seasons in 2013. Ottawa Fury FC debuts on the road at the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the Tampa Bay Rowdies welcome FC Edmonton, while the San Antonio Scorpions host Minnesota United FC.

"The NASL Owners are taking a long view to decisions that we have to make in relation to the 2014 Spring Season," said NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson. "During the course of building our league we will inevitably face scheduling challenges, but the decision to remain true to the global soccer standard of not playing during the World Cup and each team playing each other an equal number of times during the season demonstrates the vision and conviction of our owners."

Among the schedule highlights, the long-awaited NASL clash between two Canadian clubs comes on the penultimate weekend of the 2014 Spring Season when FC Edmonton travels to face Ottawa Fury FC on May 31. The clubs are also scheduled to meet in the Amway Canadian Championship in April.

Florida rivals the Rowdies and Strikers will meet at Al Lang Stadium in St Petersburg on May 24, while the two clubs playing their first season in the NASL meet on May 17 when Indy Eleven hosts Ottawa Fury FC. The legendary old NASL rivalries that returned along with the Cosmos last season see New York travel to take on the Rowdies on May 17 and return to Florida to face Fort Lauderdale two weeks later on May 31. All kickoff dates and times are subject to change.

"Of course we would we like to play a fifth home game in the spring, but we will play the schedule that is given to us, and the road games are just a challenge that we look forward to," said Atlanta Silverbacks Technical Director Eric Wynalda. "In the end, the game comes down to the two teams on the field, so we just need to get our team ready whether we're at home or on the road."

2014 North American Soccer League Schedule (All dates and kickoff times subject to change)

Date Home Team Away Team Time (ET)

Saturday, April 12 Fort Lauderdale Strikers Vs. Ottawa Fury FC 7.30pm

Saturday, April 12 Indy Eleven Vs. Carolina RailHawks 7.30pm

Saturday, April 12 San Antonio Scorpions Vs. Minnesota United FC TBC

Saturday, April 12 Tampa Bay Rowdies Vs. FC Edmonton 7.30pm

Sunday, April 13 New York Cosmos Vs. Atlanta Silverbacks 5pm

Saturday, April 19 Atlanta Silverbacks Vs. San Antonio Scorpions 7.30pm

Saturday, April 19 Carolina RailHawks Vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers TBC

Saturday, April 19 FC Edmonton Vs. New York Cosmos TBC

Saturday, April 19 Indy Eleven Vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies 7.30pm

Saturday, April 19 Ottawa Fury FC Vs. Minnesota United FC TBC

Saturday, April 26 New York Cosmos Vs. San Antonio Scorpions 7pm

Saturday, April 26 Fort Lauderdale Strikers Vs. Indy Eleven 7.30pm

Saturday, April 26 Minnesota United FC Vs. FC Edmonton TBC

Saturday, April 26 Ottawa Fury FC Vs. Carolina RailHawks TBC

Saturday, April 26 Tampa Bay Rowdies Vs. Atlanta Silverbacks 7.30pm

Saturday, May 3 Atlanta Silverbacks Vs. Ottawa Fury FC 7.30pm

Saturday, May 3 Carolina RailHawks Vs. New York Cosmos TBC

Saturday, May 3 FC Edmonton Vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers TBC

Saturday, May 3 Minnesota United FC Vs. Indy Eleven TBC

Saturday, May 3 San Antonio Scorpions Vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies TBC

Saturday, May 10 Fort Lauderdale Strikers Vs. Atlanta Silverbacks 7.30pm

Saturday, May 10 Indy Eleven Vs. FC Edmonton 7.30pm

Saturday, May 10 Ottawa Fury FC Vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies TBC

Saturday, May 10 San Antonio Scorpions Vs. Carolina RailHawks TBC

Monday, May 12 New York Cosmos Vs. Minnesota United FC 7.30pm

Saturday, May 17 Carolina RailHawks Vs. Atlanta Silverbacks TBC

Saturday, May 17 Indy Eleven Vs. Ottawa Fury FC 7.30pm

Saturday, May 17 Minnesota United FC Vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers TBC

Saturday, May 17 San Antonio Scorpions Vs. FC Edmonton TBC

Saturday, May 17 Tampa Bay Rowdies Vs. New York Cosmos 7.30pm

Saturday, May 24 FC Edmonton Vs. Atlanta Silverbacks TBC

Saturday, May 24 Minnesota United FC Vs. Carolina RailHawks TBC

Saturday, May 24 New York Cosmos Vs. Indy Eleven 7pm

Saturday, May 24 Ottawa Fury Vs. San Antonio Scorpions TBC

Saturday, May 24 Tampa Bay Rowdies Vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7.30pm

Saturday, May 31 Atlanta Silverbacks Vs. Minnesota United FC 7.30pm

Saturday, May 31 Carolina RailHawks Vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies TBC

Saturday, May 31 Fort Lauderdale Strikers Vs. New York Cosmos 7.30pm

Saturday, May 31 Indy Eleven Vs. San Antonio Scorpions 7.30pm

Saturday, May 31 Ottawa Fury FC Vs. FC Edmonton TBC

Saturday, June 7 Atlanta Silverbacks Vs. Indy Eleven 7.30pm

Saturday, June 7 San Antonio Scorpions Vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers TBC

Saturday, June 7 Tampa Bay Rowdies Vs. Minnesota United FC 7.30pm

Sunday, June 8 FC Edmonton Vs. Carolina RailHawks 4pm

Sunday, June 8 New York Cosmos Vs. Ottawa Fury FC 5pm

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North American Soccer League Stories from December 19, 2013


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