FC Edmonton announced the club’s 2014 preseason training plans today, and as in previous years, the Rabbits will be making a sojourn to British Columbia for a host of friendlies.
Starting on Wednesday, March 19th, the Rabbits will take on the CIS' Trinity Western Spartans at Rogers Field. Then on Saturday, they’ll head up the mountain to take on the reigning GNAC Champion Simon Fraser Clan at Fox Field on the 22nd.
The following Wednesday, on March 26th, the Rabbits will kick off against the Fraser Valley Cascades, probably at Chilliwack Exhibition Park, although the Cascades have yet to set a venue for the 2014 season.
Michael Cox, then of FC Edmonton, takes on UBC at Thunderbird Stadium on 29 March 2013.
They’ll finish up their British Columbian adventure with a pair of matches in Vancouver, first against UBC at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday, March 29th, and then again against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Tuesday, April 1st.
All times are to be determined.
The last match will be sandwiched between two league matches for Vancouver, who host the Houston Dynamo on March 29th, and Colorado Rapids SC on April 5th.
Because of this, the Caps are expected to field a reserve line up. But that should be enough, given their record against the Rabbits. In all, the Whitecaps have taken the field five times against FC Edmonton, winning all five by a combined score of 14-5. Four of them were in the Cup, while one was a friendly.
With Edmonton needing to defeat both Ottawa Fury FC and the reigning Champion Montreal Impact, and Vancouver needing to dispatch the resurgent Toronto FC, this should be the only meeting between these sides.
In a curious twist of fate, both Vancouver and Edmonton’s first home matches will be against opposition from New York. Vancouver host the Red Bull on Saturday, March 8th, while Edmonton see the Cosmos on Saturday, April 19th.