The women of Dayton Dutch Lions FC face an arduous weekend at the outset of the Women's Premier Soccer League season. The schedule has them playing twice in less than 24 hours.
Dayton begins on the road against FC Pride on Friday at 7 PM at Pride Performance Center in Indianapolis. The Dutch Lions FC will then travel home to DOC Stadium to host Cincinnati Sirens FC on Saturday at 4:30 PM.
"The WPSL schedule presents several challenges. Back to back match days with potential travel in between," said Dutch Lions Head Coach Bradley Schluter. "To stay competitive, it'll be vital for the players to manage the game when possible to do so. As a staff, we will have some rotation within the roster to keep players fresh and healthy." With additions to the roster and coaching staff, the Dutch Lions FC look to compete for a WPSL Midwestern Conference championship in 2021.
"I expect it to be a close race in the WPSL Midwestern Conference. There are several really strong teams and quality coaches within the conference," said Schluter. "We are returning several players who trained with us last year and a large amount of players who played with each other during their youth days. I'm hoping these small factors will give us a slight advantage in those tough matches. We have a fairly young roster, but I'm incredibly happy with the talent and commitment I've seen this far. I'm hoping we can surprise the league this summer."
No matter where the Dutch Lions finish in the table, soccer fans in the Miami Valley will enjoy watching the team play. "We hope to display an entertaining style of play," said Schluter. "I typically like my teams to be comfortable while in possession. In our ideal match, we are in control of the ball, tempo and space." He said, "I hope that fans would describe us as being fast, intelligent and hardworking."