FORMER AND FUTURE PRO CLUB SET TO COME TO RICHMOND
Rams will host Washington Freedom for final tune-up before the season

RICHMOND, Va.—Prior to commencing its 2008 season, the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s soccer team will welcome a new challenge to SportsBackers Stadium. The Rams will host former and future professional franchise, the Washington Freedom, to Richmond on Saturday.

The Freedom was one of the original teams in the WUSA, the first professional soccer league for women in the United States. Featuring U.S. national team stars Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach and WUSA All-Stars such as Jennifer Grubb, Carrie Moore and Siri Mullinix, the Freedom won the Founders Cup III, the 2003 WUSA Championship. The Freedom will again become a professional club when the new Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league begins play in 2009. The team is owned by John Hendricks, the founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, the broadcasting and film production company which owns the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet cable networks, among other ventures.

With the WUSA's announcement that the league was suspending operations in September 2003, the Freedom competed in a series of exhibition events in 2004 and 2005 under the moniker "Freedom Reserves." In 2006, the Freedom took the field as an "Associate" member of the USL W-League playing a regular schedule through the summer. The following year, the Freedom became full members of the W-League going on to win the North American Title. The Freedom will continue to play in the W-League in 2008 and attempt to defend its 2007 championship.

VCU returns nine starters off of last year’s team that advanced to the CAA Championship. In the first season under the direction of co-head coaches Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak and Tim Sahaydak, the Rams finished 11-8-3. VCU opens the 2008 regular season Friday, August 29 at cross-town rival Richmond.