Cardinals ‘Official’
Ashland Town FC Comes to Fredericksburg for RedBirds’ First-Ever Match at the Field House
Physical Friendly Gives CCFC Staff Another Opportunity to See Young Birds Fly
Interview by Jacob Moore
Article edits by: Jacob Moore
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"friendly match that started off anything but"
A new era for soccer in Fredericksburg commenced Saturday night at Fredericksburg Field House as Commonwealth Cardinals FC took the field in an official match for the first time in the club’s history. The Redbirds hosted non-league side Ashland Town FC from just north of Richmond in a friendly match that started off anything but, with two of the Reds’ goalkeepers being taken off the field in the first half with injuries.
Many of the Cardinals’ starters, including all of their European players, were not part of the lineup but, after two midweek training sessions, the match was just another opportunity for Coach Gilberto Baez and his staff to see the young birds fly. As an added bonus, the squad for Saturday night’s friendly looked far younger and far more local than it likely will when they begin USL League Two play against Northern Virginia FC in Leesburg in a few weeks.
After a fairly quiet first half and a few adjustments offensively, the Cardinals seemed to be firing on all cylinders after an abbreviated half-time, creating several chances and putting what would have been their very first goal into the back of the net before it was called back by the official on an (arguably) out-of-position man.
Ultimately, and before the Cardinals got a chance to strike themselves, the game was called with around 10 minutes remaining due to lightning from an approaching thunderstorm.
Coach Baez said he definitely noticed some Easter eggs on the night before the holiday.
“Overall they looked good,” he said. “This is the first time some of these guys have met each other. They’ve literally never played together – not even in practice. We started off a little rusty but being able to put things together that quickly at this level, to put some shots on goal…at the end of the day, we dominated the game.”
FINAL: Commonwealth Cardinals FC 0-1 Ashland Town FC Make sure to link up with us on our Facebook and Insta, and check out the Cardinals Shop to gear up before the season starts!
