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COLONIAL CONFERENCE OPENS WITH FC OMEGA DEBUTING AGAINST 2021 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

Published May 16, 2022
Written By:   Samantha Patterson
              East Region Contributor


With the WPSL’s 24th season underway, the Colonial Conference is set to kick off its 2022 campaign as FC Omega debuts against the Washington Dutch Lions in the conference opener.  After a tight race to the top last season, with the top seeds claimed at the end of the wire, the Colonial Conference competition is sure to strengthen even tighter with a new expansion team entering in the standings.

 

Established in 2020, FC Omega joins the conference as part of the league’s 2022 expansion class. FC Omega announced Aron Bassoff will lead the WPSL squad as head coach for its inaugural season. Bassoff comes to the WPSL after his first season as Blue Mountain College women’s soccer head coach in Mississippi. Bassoff has had tremendous success as a collegiate coach in NCAA Division II and III as well as the NAIA with eleven winning seasons and three conference championships.

 

Despite being the latest expansion of the Colonial Conference, FC Omega has a strong opportunity to prove its competitive edge in the 2022 season. The WPSL witnessed six new expansion teams win their conference or division in their first season including the Washington Dutch Lions FC in 2021.

 

Last season, Washington Dutch Lions FC joined the Colonial Conference as an entity of the Dutch Lions organization who has five additional teams in the league. Washington is coming off its debut season with a successful record of 6-1-1 and an exciting win to claim the 2021 Colonial Conference Championship title.

 

Despite being the newest expansion in the conference for the 2021, the club produced five All-Conference honorees including Maddy Oliver, who was also recognized as the Colonial Conference Offensive Player of the Year. The Dutch Lions took the 1-0 win against SJEB FC with a finish from Priya Nair in the 83rd minute of the game, securing the conference title.

 

With FC Omega hoping to produce similar success in its first season and Washington looking to defend its title, the Colonial Conference will have many competitive match-ups throughout the season. The May 20th matchup is set to kick off at 12:00pm ET at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland.