Match Preview | #FRDvVB

Virginia Beach City FC enters the weekend traveling to take on FC Frederick on Saturday, May 21 at 2:30 p.m. ET at Urbana High School; a long time Conference rivalry renewed in the 2022 National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Regular Season.

How Can I Follow The Match?

The match can be viewed by supporters on Virginia Beach City FC's  profile on elevensports.com in English. Fans can also follow Twitter for live play-by-play updates or Instagram for stories with live highlights.

VB City FC News

Virginia Beach City FC is coming off an opening weekend draw against Conference newcomers Alexandria Reds. They will now turn their attention to long time Conference rivals FC Frederick. FC Frederick and Virginia Beach City FC are the two longest tenured teams in the NPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference, Virginia Beach City FC being the oldest having been competing since 2014. As mentioned in last week’s preview, VB City FC returns in 2022 retooled with a new European philosophy, leadership with veteran experience, and an injection of youth. The new squad will now travel together, building better chemistry on the road trip as players begin to get to know each other.

“I thought it was a good first showing with a mix of veteran players and youth. It looked like for most of the game we were going to get chances and come away with the three points. But, just in the final third, we couldn’t get things done. With the new guys and the old guys, they still have to learn each other’s tendencies and gel them together, and put the ball away when we need to put it away,” said Virginia Beach City FC Assistant Coach Jimmy McCabe.

“We are working a lot in training on build-up and finishing play when we counter or finding the right moments to take a risk. This is instead of taking a risk every time and losing the ball.”

Though the season is underway, the team is still being built every night at training. Virginia Beach City FC has over thirty players attending training; some with hopes of seeing minutes this season and others with the intention to staple their name on the bulletin board for future seasons.

“Most of the extra guys coming out are guys that are alumni of the youth program, friends of alumni of the youth program, or from a local college. They know they might not be ready to seriously play with us just yet but they want to in the future,” McCabe stated. “This just makes our sessions a little more intense.”

McCabe closed the interview with stating the players and staff appreciated the turn out from the fans on Saturday.

“We hope to see it grow. We want to pack Powhatan and have all the Academy and youth kids watching the First Team and understand that it could be them one day. They can put on the First Team jersey and represent the club, their city, and the area.”

FC Frederick Notes

FC Frederick is entering 2022 having been the only team to finish worse than Virginia Beach City FC in 2021 in the standings. Frederick’s 2-7-1 record was good enough for the wooden spoon, the 2-6-2 VB City FC narrowly missing the "honor" by one extra tie. Frederick will be led by new Head Coach Rob Ryerson. Ryerson has a ton of soccer experience having been a longtime collegiate coach and US Soccer Scout.

Per the club’s website, ” I look forward to working with FC Frederick to provide another opportunity for players to grow, learn and competitively compete on the field as the NPSL season begins,“ Ryerson said.