On Saturday, August 26 the FC Wisconsin U17 and U18 ECNL teams continued their pre-season training with a friendly against the University of Wisconsin - Parkside Women's Soccer Team.

The U17s played the first 45 minutes, where six goals were scored between the two sides, while the U18s played the final 45 minutes where another 4 goals were scored between the two teams.  In the end, it was a great experience for both teams as they finalize their preparations for the fall season.

"This match was a fantastic opportunity for our players," said Christian Lavers.  "To be able to compete against college athletes is a little intimidating at first for the players, but that is part of the purpose.  Once they get beyond that, which is a good mental challenge alone, the matches are always positive and provide a great assessment to see where our players are in their ability to execute our game model."

"Their were some really good moments in possession for both age groups," said Andy Lee.  "It was good to see that the players have a better and deeper understanding of our attacking concepts; there certainly has been a lot of progress in that area.  On the flip side, there were too many mistakes in possession that conceded big chances, and our urgency to defend in the box still needs a big boost.  That is an area that will need to improve really quickly for the teams to get the results everyone wants."

The FC Wisconsin ECNL teams will move into their 5th week of pre-season training today.  In total, the players will have 6 weeks of pre-season and more than 20 sessions before their first ECNL games in St. Louis on September 9.  This six-week period is incredibly important to provide a safe and thorough build-out of intensity to the season, in-line with the principles of periodisation of renowned world expert Raymond Verhiejen of World Football Academy.  It also allows a thorough implementation of the club's game model prior to the first game of the season.