Before the Legacy have to head back up to New England, the newest National Women’s Soccer League team is going to enjoy a few more weeks of warm weather.
On Friday, Boston announced plans for five preseason scrimmages, ahead of the inaugural season opener on March 14 at Gillette Stadium.
The first of the scrimmages will take place at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida where the squad has been training for the past three weeks. Boston will host the Washington Spirit in that match on Saturday, Feb. 7.
“They’re obviously going to come into the scrimmage tomorrow with a game plan and how they want to play, but they won’t really know what we’re going to throw at them,” Legacy forward Sammy Smith said of Washington. “The first minutes are probably going to be so hectic, but once we all settle, get control of what we want to do, I think that the way we’re gonna play is going to be fun to watch and hard for teams to play against.”
The Legacy will then take a trip to Spain to continue training and scrimmages against both NWSL and European clubs. On Feb. 15 Boston will play Chicago in Murcia, Spain, the first-ever scrimmage abroad between NWSL teams.
Four days later Boston will play Molde FK, a Norwegian club, in Alicante, Spain.
The Legacy’s trip to Spain will conclude with a scrimmage against Alhama, CF of Spain’s first division on Feb. 27 in Murcia.
“There’s a real excitement in taking the field together for the first time and beginning to shape what Boston Legacy will look and feel like,” Legacy general manager Domè Guasch said in a statement. “This preseason is our chance to build our game, but also the trust, habits, and connections that will define who we are.”
“Training at IMG Academy in Florida and Pinatar Arena Football Center in Spain gives us two top-class environments to do that work and establish a clear identity in how we want to play. The matches will be just as valuable: facing NWSL opponents and international teams will challenge us in different ways, expose us to different styles and game situations, and accelerate our preparation so we’re ready to compete from day one.”
When Boston returns to the United States, it will play a fifth and final preseason scrimmage with a date and opponent to be announced.
