Sky Blue announces pre-season schedule

Want to catch the Sky Blue FC in action before the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season starts? SBFC fans will have four chances to catch the team during its pre-season camp. And the matches are spread out geographically so all Sky Blue FC fans can get a glimpse of their 2015 season.

Sky Blue FC will face Scotch Plains-Fanwood High at 2 p.m. on March 14 and the University of North Carolina at 3 p.m. March 21 at Mercer County Community College in West Windsor.

On March 25, Sky Blue will move to southern New Jersey to host Penn State University with an 8 p.m. kickoff at Net Sports Complex in Palmyra. The last warmup with be against Rutgers University on March 29 with a 7 p.m. kickoff.  The match will be played in Piscataway with exact field location announced later.

The St. John's and Rutgers matches will be free to the public. Tickets for the UNC match are $10 and can be purchased at the gate. Tickets for Penn State are $8 online or $10 at the gate.

"We are fortunate in that our location allows us to play against some top teams in the preseason," said Jim Gabarra, Sky Blue FC technical director and head coach. "We continue to have annual matches with Penn State and North Carolina. To also add two top local teams in St. John's and Rutgers creates a really good preseason for us. We only have a short period of time to get ready for our regular season, and having these opponents in our local market helps to build the overall excitement for the upcoming year."

Sky Blue FC will open its official pre-season camp tomorrow at the Atlantic Club in Manasquan. The season kicks off on April 12 in Kansas City. The Sky Blue FC plays its home opener the following Saturday, April 18, at 7 p.m. at Yurcak Field on the Rutgers University Piscataway campus.