WUSA Announces 2003 Schedule

December 19, 2002 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) News Release


ATLANTA (Thursday, December 19, 2002) - The Women's United Soccer Association's third season will kick off April 5 as dates and matchups for the league's 2003 campaign were announced today by WUSA Commissioner Tony DiCicco. The WUSA's schedule will feature 80 percent of the league's matches on weekends or holidays.

All eight teams will kick off their season on April 5 as the Atlanta Beat hosts the New York Power, the Boston Breakers travel to Torero Stadium to take on the San Diego Spirit, and the San Jose CyberRays host the Philadelphia Charge. The highlight of the weekend will be a rematch of WUSA Founders Cup II as Mia Hamm and the Washington Freedom travel to meet Birgit Prinz and the WUSA Champion Carolina Courage at SAS Stadium in Cary, NC.

All games during the first 10 weeks of the 2003 season will be played on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. The first weekday match will be Wednesday, June 11 when Atlanta hosts San Jose, Carolina travels to Washington and Philadelphia takes on New York at Mitchel Athletic Complex.

Each team will play a 21-game schedule, with Atlanta, Boston, Carolina and San Diego playing 11 home matches and 10 road games. New York, Philadelphia, San Jose and Washington will play 10 home games and 11 road contests. Each club that has 11 home games in 2003 had only 10 home matches in 2002.

The 2003 WUSA All-Star Game is tentatively scheduled for midseason. The site and time will be announced in the near future. The Inaugural WUSA All-Star Game took place on September 21, 2002 at PGE Park in Portland, OR. The South All-Stars, lead by Hyundai All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Abby Wambach, defeated the North All-Stars 6-1.

The WUSA's national television schedule will be announced in the near future.

A breakdown of WUSA scheduling for each of the league's three seasons follows:

Year Weekend or Holiday Games Weekday Games # of Games # of Weeks
2003 67 (80%) 17 (20%) 84 19
2002 70 (83%) 14 (17%) 84 18
2001 60 (71%) 24 (29%) 84 18

NOTE: Weekends include Saturdays, Sundays and Fridays. There were two Friday matches in 2001. There were no holiday matches in 2001. The WUSA had one holiday match in 2002, a July 4 game at Carolina. Weekends in 2003 are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The WUSA has one holiday game in 2003, a July 4 match at Carolina. -MORE-

The following is a look at noteworthy items detailing the 2003 WUSA schedule:

* The 2003 WUSA regular season kicks off April 5 and ends August 10.

* All eight teams will play a 21-game regular season schedule.

* Four teams - Atlanta, Boston, Carolina and San Diego -- play 11 home matches and 10 road games. New York, Philadelphia, San Jose and Washington have 10 home games and 11 road contests.

* A rematch of WUSA Founder's Cup II takes place on April 5, when the Carolina Courage hosts the Washington Freedom.

* The WUSA schedule is targeted toward families, as 80 percent of the league's games in 2003 will take place on weekends and holidays.

* WUSA teams will once again play according to FIFA rules. During the regular season, matches will consist of two 45-minute halves. If the match is tied at the end of regulation during the regular season, it remains a draw and both teams receive 1 point. During the WUSA Playoffs, if the match is tied at the end of regulation, the game goes to sudden-death overtime for two 15-minute halves. If the match remains tied after the two 15-minute overtime periods, the match will be decided by penalty kicks.

* The 2003 WUSA All-Star Game is tentatively scheduled for mid-June. The site and time will be announced in the near future.

* WUSA Founder's Cup III will take place on the weekend of August 23. The site and time will be announced in the near future.


The 2003 league and team schedules are available online at www.wusa.com. The master schedule for the 2003 WUSA regular season follows.

Media members can request individual team schedules by contacting Paul Dodson, Manager of Sports Communications for the WUSA - pdodson@wusa.com.

Featuring the best women's soccer players in the world, WUSA athletes include Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Tiffeny Milbrett, Briana Scurry, Julie Foudy and dozens of international stars. The eight WUSA teams are the Atlanta Beat, Boston Breakers, Carolina Courage, New York Power, Philadelphia Charge, San Diego Spirit, San Jose CyberRays and the Washington Freedom. The league will kick off its third season on April 5, 2003.

WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 2003 NOTE: Nearly 50 WUSA players are expected to compete in the 2003 Women's World Cup in China from September 24 to October 11, 2003. A total of 16 teams will compete in Shanghai, Hongkou, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu.

2003 WUSA REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern ) (Schedule and times subject to change)

Saturday, April 5 Time ET
New York at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Washington at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
Boston at San Diego 9:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Jose 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 12
Boston at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
New York at Washington 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 19
Boston at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
San Diego at New York 7:00 p.m.
Washington at San Jose 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 26
Atlanta at Washington 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston 7:00 p.m.
New York at Carolina 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 27
San Jose at San Diego 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 3
San Jose at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
New York at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 4
San Diego at Boston 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 10
San Diego at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Boston at New York 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at San Jose 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 17
Carolina at Washington 5:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 18
Boston at San Diego 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 24
San Diego at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
Washington at New York 7:00 p.m.
San Jose at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 25
Atlanta at Boston 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 31
San Jose at Boston 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Atlanta at San Diego 9:00 p.m.




Saturday, June 7
Carolina at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Diego 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 8
Boston at Washington 4:00 p.m.
New York at San Jose 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 11
San Jose at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Washington at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at New York 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 14
Atlanta at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
San Jose at New York 7:00 p.m.
San Diego at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.

Mid-June
2003 WUSA ALL-STAR GAME (tentative)

Saturday, June 21
Carolina at Boston 7:00 p.m.
New York at San Diego 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 22
San Jose at Washington 4:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Atlanta 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 25
New York at Boston 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at San Jose 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 28
Washington at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Boston at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at New York 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 29
San Jose at San Diego 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, July 3
Washington at Boston 7:00 p.m.

Friday, July 4
Atlanta at Carolina 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 5
San Diego at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
San Jose at New York 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 9
San Diego at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 12
Washington at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
New York at Carolina 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 13
Philadelphia at Boston 6:00 p.m.
San Diego at San Jose 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 16
Atlanta at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Washington at San Diego 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 19
New York at Washington 5:00 p.m.
Atlanta at Boston 7:00 p.m.
San Diego at Carolina 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 20
Philadelphia at San Jose 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 23
Washington at Boston 7:30 p.m.
New York at San Diego 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, July 26
Atlanta at New York 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
San Diego at Washington 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 27
Boston at San Jose 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, July 30
San Jose at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
Friday, August 1
Boston at New York 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 2
Atlanta at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
San Jose at Washington 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 3
Carolina at San Diego 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, August 6
Carolina at Boston 7:00 p.m.
Washington at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Atlanta at San Jose 10:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 9
New York at Atlanta 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Carolina 7:00 p.m.
Washington at San Diego 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 10
Boston at San Jose 6:00 p.m.

- END OF REGULAR SEASON - - four teams with the highest point totals qualify for the WUSA Playoffs


WUSA PLAYOFFS
Weekend of August 16
WUSA Playoff Semifinals (top four teams)

Weekend of August 23
WUSA Founder's Cup III (location and time TBD)



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from December 19, 2002


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