The North American Soccer League released its 2013 spring schedule Thursday, revealing that the Atlanta Silverbacks will host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on Saturday, April 13 to open their 2013 season.
The upcoming season will be the NASL’s first under a new split-season format – a system used by the majority of South American and Central American professional soccer leagues. The winner of the spring season schedule, which was released today, will play the winner of the fall schedule in the 2013 NASL Soccer Bowl in November.
The New York Cosmos, which is new to the league this year, and the Puerto Rico Islanders, which is undergoing a reorganization of team operations, will only compete in the fall season. The seven-team, 14-week spring schedule will see each team play six home games and six away games between April 6 and July 4. Each team will receive a pair of bye weeks.
The Silverbacks will have a bye the first week of the season before opening up their 2013 schedule at home against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers on April 13. The Silverbacks’ complete schedule for the spring season is as follows:
- Saturday, April 13 vs. Fort Lauderdale Strikers – Atlanta Silverbacks Park
- Saturday, April 20 @ Tampa Bay Rowdies – Al Lang Stadium
- Saturday, April 27 vs. Minnesota Stars FC – Atlanta Silverbacks Park
- Saturday, May 4 @ San Antonio Scorpions – Toyota Field
- Sunday, May 12 @ FC Edmonton – Clarke Stadium
- Saturday, May 18 vs. Carolina RailHawks – Atlanta Silverbacks Park
- Saturday, May 25 vs. San Antonio Scorpions – Atlanta Silverbacks Park
- Saturday, June 8 vs. FC Edmonton – Atlanta Silverbacks Park
- Saturday, June 15 @ Fort Lauderdale Strikers – Lockhart Stadium
- Saturday, June 22 vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies – Atlanta Silverbacks Park
- Saturday, June 29 @ Carolina RailHawks – WakeMed Soccer Park
- Thursday, July 4 @ Minnesota Stars FC – NSC Stadium
All Silverbacks home games will kick off at 7:30 p.m. To view the 2013 NASL spring schedule in its entirety, visit nasl.com.