WPS Unveils 2010 Schedule Highlighted By Fox Soccer Channel' WPS Sunday

Boasting an expanded game schedule, an increase in the number of teams in the league, and a drastic reduction in week-day games, the Women’s Professional Soccer unveiled its 2010 WPS season schedule on Thursday.

The announcement by the league also included the schedule of Fox Soccer Channel’s WPS Sunday on FSC nationally-televised broadcasts.

The 2010 WPS schedule will expand to 24-games in which each of the eight WPS teams will host 12 home games and play the other seven teams in the league either three or four times each based mostly on regional rivalries.

The season will commence on the weekend of April 10-11 with a full slate of four games—the first time four WPS games will be played on one weekend—with a regular season of 96 total games running through Sunday, Sept 12.

WPS will take a break on the weekend of May 22 for national team commitments and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying games.

Games are mostly featured on Saturday and Sunday evenings with 12 midweek games scheduled on Wednesday nights starting in early June.

The national television schedule on Fox Soccer Channel will kick off at 6pm ET on Sunday, April 11 with 2009 WPS Champion Sky Blue FC taking on the Chicago Red Stars at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J.

All eight WPS teams will be shown during the first month of the season and seven of the eight WPS venues will be featured on television in the first nine weeks of the regular season.

Other television highlights for WPS Sunday on FSC include:

• Four-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Marta, debuting with her new team, FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), during a special Saturday, May 1 timeslot at 6pm ET against Sky Blue FC.
• The national television debut of WPS expansion team Philadelphia Independence, as they travel to Boston to take on the Boston Breakers at 6pm ET on April 18.
• The opening of the first-ever stadium built specifically for a WPS team with the Atlanta Beat hosting Sky Blue FC on Sunday, May 9 in their home opener.
• San Francisco Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride hosting their first national television game at Pioneer Stadium on the campus of California State University, East Bay on June 27.
• A new mid-season WPS All-Star Game presented by U.S. Coast Guard on June 30.
• Open dates on Sept 5 and 12 will be flex television games in order to broadcast match-ups with playoff implications.

The WPS Playoffs will follow the same format used during the WPS Inaugural Season. The No. 3 seed will host the No. 4 on Sunday, Sept 19 at 2pm ET/11am PT in the WPS First Round featured nationally on Fox Sports Net. The No. 2 seed will host the winner of the WPS First Round on September 22/23 in the WPS Super Semifinal on Fox Soccer Channel.

As the No. 1 seed, the winner of the regular season will play host to the winner of the Super Semifinal in the 2010 WPS Championship on September 26 at 2pm ET/11am PT, broadcast nationally on Fox Sports Net. Seedings will be based on the final 2010 WPS Regular Season standings in a single, eight-team table.

2010 WPS Season Schedule
Subject to change // home team listed first // all kick-off times listed in EST// Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) and Fox Sports Net (FSN)

Week 1

Saturday, April 10
Washington Freedom vs Boston Breakers        7pm

Sunday, April 11
Saint Louis Athletica vs FC Gold Pride            4pm
Philadelphia Independence vs Atlanta Beat        6pm
Sky Blue FC vs Chicago Red Stars            6pm (FSC)

Week 2

Saturday, April 17
Chicago Red Stars vs Saint Louis Athletica        8pm
FC Gold Pride vs Sky Blue FC                10pm

Sunday, April 18
Washington Freedom vs Atlanta Beat            4pm
Boston Breakers vs Philadelphia Independence        6pm (FSC)

Week 3

Saturday, April 24
FC Gold Pride vs Atlanta Beat                10pm

Sunday, April 25
Philadelphia Independence vs Washington Freedom    6pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Boston Breakers        6pm (FSC)
Chicago Red Stars vs Sky Blue FC            6pm

Week 4

Saturday, May 1
Boston Breakers vs Chicago Red Stars            6pm
Sky Blue FC vs FC Gold Pride                6pm (FSC)
Philadelphia Independence vs Atlanta Beat        6pm
Washington Freedom vs Saint Louis Athletica        TBD

Week 5

Saturday, May 8
Washington Freedom vs Boston Breakers        7pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Philadelphia Independence    8:10pm
FC Gold Pride vs Chicago Red Stars            10pm

Sunday, May 9
Atlanta Beat vs Sky Blue FC                7pm (FSC)

Week 6

Friday, May 14
Boston Breakers vs FC Gold Pride            7:30pm

Saturday, May 15
Chicago Red Stars vs Philadelphia Independence        7pm

Sunday, May 16
Saint Louis Athletica vs Sky Blue FC            4pm
Atlanta Beat vs Washington Freedom            6pm (FSC)

Week 7

Saturday, May 29
Atlanta Beat vs Saint Louis Athletica            7pm
Sky Blue FC vs Boston Breakers            7pm
Chicago Red Stars vs FC Gold Pride            8pm

Sunday, May 30
Washington Freedom vs Philadelphia Independence    6pm (FSC)

Week 8

Saturday, June 5
Boston Breakers vs Saint Louis Athletica        6pm
FC Gold Pride vs Washington Freedom            10pm

Sunday, June 6
Philadelphia Independence vs Sky Blue FC        6pm
Chicago Red Stars vs Atlanta Beat            6pm (FSC)

Week 9

Wednesday, June 9
Saint Louis Athletica vs FC Gold Pride            8:10pm

Saturday, June 12
Saint Louis Athletica vs Atlanta Beat            5:45pm
Washington Freedom vs Chicago Red Stars        7pm

Sunday, June 13
Boston Breakers vs Sky Blue FC            4pm
Philadelphia Independence vs FC Gold Pride        6pm (FSC)

Week 10

Saturday, June 19
Sky Blue FC vs Philadelphia Independence        7pm
Atlanta Beat vs Chicago Red Stars            7pm
FC Gold Pride vs Boston Breakers            10pm

Sunday, June 20
Saint Louis Athletica vs Washington Freedom        6pm (FSC)

Week 11

Wednesday, June 23
Atlanta Beat vs Philadelphia Independence        7:30pm

Friday, June 25
Boston Breakers vs Chicago Red Stars            7:30pm

Saturday, June 26
Philadelphia Independence vs Washington Freedom    6pm

Sunday, June 27
FC Gold Pride vs Saint Louis Athletica            6pm (FSC)

WPS All-Star Game presented by U.S. Coast Guard
Wednesday, June 30                    TBD (FSC)

Week 12

Saturday, July 3
Atlanta Beat vs FC Gold Pride                7pm

Sunday, July 4
Philadelphia Independence vs Boston Breakers        4pm
Washington Freedom vs Sky Blue FC            6pm

Week 13

Wednesday, July 7
Sky Blue FC vs Saint Louis Athletica            7pm
Chicago Red Stars vs Washington Freedom        8:30pm

Saturday, July 10
Chicago Red Stars vs Philadelphia Independence        7pm
Washington Freedom vs Saint Louis Athletica        7pm

Sunday, July 11
Boston Breakers vs Atlanta Beat                4pm
FC Gold Pride vs Sky Blue FC                6pm (FSC)

Week 14

Saturday, July 17
FC Gold Pride vs Philadelphia Independence        10pm

Sunday, July 18
Boston Breakers vs Washington Freedom        5pm (FSC)
Sky Blue FC vs Atlanta Beat                7pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Chicago Red Stars        8:10pm

Week 15

Wednesday, July 21
Boston Breakers vs FC Gold Pride            7pm
Atlanta Beat vs Chicago Red Stars            7:30pm

Saturday, July 24
Philadelphia Independence vs Sky Blue FC        6pm
Washington Freedom vs FC Gold Pride            7pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Atlanta Beat            8:10pm

Sunday, July 25
Chicago Red Stars vs Boston Breakers            4pm

Week 16

Wednesday, July 28
Sky Blue FC vs Saint Louis Athletica            7pm

Saturday, July 31
Boston Breakers vs Philadelphia Independence        6pm

Sunday, Aug. 1
Atlanta Beat vs Washington Freedom            5pm (FSC)
Sky Blue FC vs Chicago Red Stars            7pm

Week 17

Wednesday, Aug. 4
Washington Freedom vs Philadelphia Independence    7:30pm

Saturday, Aug. 7
Atlanta Beat vs Boston Breakers                7pm
FC Gold Pride vs Chicago Red Stars            10pm

Sunday, Aug. 8
Philadelphia Independence vs Saint Louis Athletica    7:30pm (FSC)

Week 18

Wednesday, Aug. 11
Sky Blue FC vs Washington Freedom            7pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Boston Breakers        8:10pm
Chicago Red Stars vs Atlanta Beat            8:30pm

Saturday, Aug. 14
Atlanta Beat vs Saint Louis Athletica            7pm
FC Gold Pride vs Washington Freedom            10pm

Sunday, Aug. 15
Philadelphia Independence vs Chicago Red Stars        6pm
Boston Breakers vs Sky Blue FC            6pm (FSC)

Week 19

Saturday, Aug. 21
Boston Breakers vs Atlanta Beat                TBD

Sunday, Aug. 22
Sky Blue FC vs Philadelphia Independence        4pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Washington Freedom        4pm
Chicago Red Stars vs FC Gold Pride            6pm (FSC)

Week 20
Saturday, Aug. 28
Atlanta Beat vs FC Gold Pride                7pm
Washington Freedom vs Sky Blue FC            7pm
Saint Louis Athletica vs Chicago Red Stars        8:10pm

Sunday, Aug. 29
Philadelphia Independence vs Boston Breakers        6pm (FSC)

Week 21

Wednesday, Sept. 1
Sky Blue FC vs FC Gold Pride                7pm

Sunday, Sept. 5 (FSC Flex TV Date)
Atlanta Beat vs Sky Blue FC                TBD
FC Gold Pride vs Boston Breakers            TBD
Chicago Red Stars vs Washington Freedom        TBD
Philadelphia Independence vs Saint Louis Athletica    6pm

Week 22

Saturday, Sept. 11
FC Gold Pride vs Philadelphia Independence        TBD
Chicago Red Stars vs Saint Louis Athletica        7pm
Sky Blue FC vs Boston Breakers            7pm

Sunday, Sept. 12 (FSC Flex TV Date)
Washington Freedom vs Atlanta Beat            TBD


About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)

Headquartered in San Francisco, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the world’s premier soccer league for women with eight teams across the United States featuring the best players from around the world. WPS completed its inaugural season in August 2009 as Sky Blue FC of New Jersey became the first-ever WPS Champions.

In 2010, eight teams will each play 24-game schedules from April 10-September 12 including six original WPS teams—Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, FC Gold Pride (Bay Area), Saint Louis Athletica, Sky Blue FC (NJ/NY), and Washington Freedom—and two expansion teams Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence.

The top four finishers in the regular season will qualify for the 2010 WPS Playoffs scheduled for September 19-26.

For more information, visit the WPS official website at www.womensprosoccer.com or follow all the news at www.twitter.com/womensprosoccer .

The previous story is printed from a press release as part of an agreement with Bleacher Report and the WPS to help promote the league. What's News is the alternate profile of writer, Todd Civin, and is used for press releases only.