Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

Fredericksburg, Va. - The FC Fredericksburg Lady Gunners will begin their 2nd season of competition with a home game against defending W-League Champions Washington Freedom on Saturday, May 24th (location and time TBD).  The game is the first of 14 for the Lady Gunners, which will include 7 home games against new opponents in the Northeast Division.  The Lady Gunners competed in the Atlantic Division in 2007.

In addition to the Lady Gunners and Freedom, the division consists of the Boston Renegades, Northern Virginia Majestics, Long Island Rough Riders, Jersey Sky Blue, Connecticut, and the New York Magic.  

Lady Gunners’ Head Coach Gerry Austin said of the schedule, "The bracket is going to be tough for us, but we could not have asked for a better start to our season as we take on the champions at home.  All of the teams are going to be tough and there won’t be an easy game in the bunch."

The challenge for FC Fredericksburg will be difficult, but General Manager Brian Shumate added "The tougher competition is only going to enhance our 2008 program and lead to an increased level of play for our teams and for our fans to watch."

The playoffs will begin after the July 20th regular season finales with a midweek divisional playoff round. The three Conference Championship tournaments will be held July 25-27. The W-League Championship Tournament will be held August 1 and 3. The W-League Championship host is determined via a bid process with the host team receiving a bye to the W-League Semifinals August 1.

The schedule for the 2008 Lady Gunners is as follows (home games in bold, location and times of home games TBD):

Sat May 24 Washington Freedom at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 

Sat May 31 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at New Jersey Wildcats 

Sun Jun 1 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at Long Island Rough Riders

Sat Jun 7 Boston Renegades at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 

Sun Jun 8 Connecticut at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 

Sat Jun 14 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at Boston Renegades

Sun Jun 15 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at Connecticut 

Fri Jun 20 Northern Virginia Majestics at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 

Sun Jun 22 Jersey Sky Blue at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 

Sat Jun 28 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at Northern Virginia Majestics

Sun Jun 29 Long Island Rough Riders at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners 

Sat Jul 12 New York Magic at Fredericksburg Lady Gunners

Sun Jul 13 6:00 pm Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at Washington Freedom

Sun Jul 20 Fredericksburg Lady Gunners at New York Magic