Decatur FC gears up for second season

Decatur FC has their first match of the season on May Photo via decaturfc With the popularity of Atlanta United Atlanta s selection as a FIFA World Cup host city and its role as the new home for the U S Soccer Federation headquarters it s clear Atlanta has soccer on the brain Things will heat up even more this weekend when Decatur FC a semi-professional women s soccer unit begins its second season on May Last summer Decatur FC made a triumphant debut in the Women s Premier Soccer League WPSL ending the season ranked second in the Southeast division with a - - record The association shattered the WPSL attendance records and was also named Franchise of the Year Gang owner Gareth O Sullivan has built a lineup of Division One soccer players mostly from metro Atlanta The roster features four players from Georgia Southern University two from Auburn University and the rest from various NCAA teams including University of Virginia and University of Mississippi Coach Campbell Chapman is confident in the club s strong roster and has a close relationship with numerous members of his group including his daughter Emma Chapman Last week was our first time getting back together But training has been good It s been very consistent Chapman declared We had a scrimmage last week against the SSA USL crew that was prosperous for us We had a lot of good moments a lot of good highlights Returning Decatur FC defender Micah Bryant is thrilled by the society assistance and is excited to begin the season We got a big turnout last year I mean that was more than we even expected she mentioned So this year we re just shooting for a bigger number We want more fans We consistently want more fans Defender Jazmin Ferguson also commented on how special the Decatur FC fans are and how different of an experience it is from playing in college even at the SEC level Ferguson played at Louisiana State University I feel like this is more like a close knit public You know more people in the stands and more people want to interact with the people on the organization and on the field Ferguson mentioned At school you may see them in passing on campus or something but it s not like here where I can interact with the little kids and I might see them again one day Off the field Decatur FC is working to build opportunities for young girls in the society through initiatives like the crew s new Wednesday Night Lights operation Lately promoted General Manager Joel Gould noted that throughout the season Decatur FC players will conduct free soccer clinics for girls ages to We think this Wednesday Night Lights plan is one of our big efforts to create a bigger funnel in the beginning Gould noted We look at our home games as a tool to keep young girls engaged in soccer longer Decatur FC will host Birmingham s Union FC in the season opener on May at p m at Decatur High School its home pitch The crew will have five home games this season Union FC May UFA May AFU June GA Impact June Chattanooga June This season we re going to try to play the best brand of football that we can play We will play in a way that is one appealing to the fans and two obviously to get results Chapman commented At the end of the day we do want to win and have a product on the field that is prosperous Decatur FC tickets can be purchased online The post Decatur FC gears up for second season appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta