Excite to Kick Off Pre-Season Saturday!

(Cleveland, OH-October 18, 2006) The Cincinnati Excite, the defending American Indoor Soccer League champions, will open its 2006-07 pre-season this Saturday morning, when it takes on the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Detroit Ignition in a "closed-door" scrimmage at 11AM. The game will be held at High Velocity Sports in Canton, MI.

"This will be a great way to see where we are at," said Excite head coach Terry Nicholl. "We have been practicing for about three weeks and are ready to test ourselves against another opponent."

The Ignition is the newest team in the MISL, having officially joined the league last April. The club is coached by long-time indoor veteran Mark Pulisic, and will play its home opener on November 4th, when it hosts the MISL’s defending champion, the Baltimore Blast, at the Compuware Sports Arena in Plymouth, MI.

After the match in Detroit, the Excite will hold its annual Red-Black Intrasquad Benefit Match at the team’s new home, the Game Time Training Center in Fairfield on Saturday October 28th. Admission to the game, which will kick off at 7PM, is a donation to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. After the game, there will be a silent auction for the player’s jerseys, as well as other donated items. The Excite players will be available for photographs and autographs after the game and will pass out Halloween candy.

The Excite will open its 2006-07 season on November 11th at 7:30PM when it hosts the Rockford Thunder at the Game Time Training Center. The first 500 kids through the turnstiles will receive an Excite soccer patch. For more information, call the Excite at (513) 682-1117, or visit the team’s website at www.cincinnati-excite.com.

The American Indoor Soccer League will open its fourth season on November 11th with the defending AISL champion Cincinnati Excite hosting the Rockford Thunder. The league has offices in West Springfield, MA (Administrative) and Cleveland, OH (Media Relations). For more information on the AISL, contact commissioner Paul LaPointe at (413) 569-0088 or director of media relations Rich Paschette at (216) 741-4144. Information on the league can also be found on the AISL's official website, www.aisl.org.