STATESBORO, Ga. – South Georgia Tormenta FC has announced a preseason schedule of five friendlies as the USL League One champion gears up for its title-defending season in 2023. Tormenta FC’s preseason schedule sees it take on three local NCAA Division I programs in Georgia Southern University, Georgia State, and Stetson University. In addition, South Georgia will also have two preseason matches against USL Championship sides, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and the Charleston Battery.
The League One squad will begin training at Tormenta FC Training Ground on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in preparation for its upcoming friendlies and regular-season opener on the road at North Carolina FC on March 18.
“Pre-season provides an opportunity to forge new ideas and concepts that will be the bedrock of our campaign to fight for another championship. Those ideas and team dynamics need to be stress tested and this schedule will help us do that.”
Ian Cameron, Head Coach, Tormenta FC
For Tormenta FC, the 2023 preseason will be the first as the defending champion. Therefore, it will be critical to find chemistry early to start the title-defending season in the best way possible.
Tormenta FC opens up its preseason against Georgia Southern from Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m. ET. In a historic game for both programs, Georgia Southern will play its first game under newly appointed Head Coach Lee Squires as the program prepares for the spring season in the coming weeks.
Seven days later, Tormenta FC hosts Georgia State of the Sun Belt Conference, with the friendly being played from Tormenta Stadium. Of note, Tormenta FC Academy alum Stephen O’Hearn returns to Statesboro to play against Tormenta FC.
“The college teams we play are all in different stages of their development. Brett Surrency and his staff have built Georgia State into perennial winners. Emmett Rutkowski has a large returning class of young guys ready to do something special in the Fall. Lee Squires enters our own market to lead our partners Georgia Southern in one of the best college soccer conferences in the country having enjoyed success wherever he has coached.”
Ian Cameron, Head Coach, Tormenta FC
South Georgia then takes on two USL Championship sides, the Rowdies, and the Battery. South Georgia welcomes Tampa Bay to Tormenta Stadium on Feb. 25. This fixture will mark the first time a USL Championship side is set to play at Tormenta Stadium.
Charleston and Tormenta FC meet again after the South Georgia side eliminated the Battery in the Second Round of the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. This time around, under a new coaching staff, the Battery now test themselves in the first few stages of its rebuilding season under Ben Pirmann. The preseason friendly will take place from Charleston, South Carolina, at Patriots Point Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The preseason friendly will be closed to the public.
“The challenges of Charleston and Tampa speak for themselves. They are coached respectively by the last two USL Championship Coaches of the Year, so our young staff is eager to learn from how they set their teams up and navigate in match scenarios. Likewise, our players will no doubt be excited at the prospect of showing their capabilities to compete with the very best.”
Ian Cameron, Head Coach, Tormenta FC
The last preseason friendly will be on March 11 at Tormenta Stadium against Stetson University, with the intended kickoff time being 1 p.m. ET.
All home preseason games at Tormenta Stadium will be open to the public, with general admission tickets starting at $5 for student/youth tickets (18 and under; a valid student ID) and $10 for adults. Preseason games are not included in Tormenta FC Season Ticket packages, so make sure to purchase your tickets through the link below to watch the reigning champion take the field for the first time in 2023.
Fans should stay tuned for more player updates in the coming weeks. Additionally, Tormenta FC fans can secure their seats at the new Tormenta Stadium ahead of 2023, with Season Tickets now available for purchase.
For additional information and scheduling interviews, call (301-237-0539) or email epintor@tormentafc.com.
PRESEASON SCHEDULE*
All games played at Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia, except for the lone road game against the Charleston Battery
- Feb. 11 | 4 p.m. ET | Georgia Southern University
- Feb. 18 | 4 p.m. ET | Georgia State University
- Feb. 25 | 3 p.m. ET | Tampa Bay Rowdies
- March 4 | 7 p.m. ET | Charleston Battery | Patriots Point Stadium, Charleston, South Carolina
- Mar. 11 | 1 p.m ET | Stetson University
*Schedule subject to change
