(April 23, 2002)                                                                                              Hot News Main Page 

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Saturday Will Be The Day Of Champions 
At Spartan Stadium

SAN JOSE CA (April 23, 2002) Saturday will be the Day of Champions at Spartan Stadium: the WUSA champion San Jose CyberRays and world champion U.S. Women's National Team playing a doubleheader and NCAA women's soccer champion Santa Clara Broncos being honored.

It will be a special day and you'll want to be there early because the first 5,000 fans admitted to Spartan Stadium will receive free CyberRays schedule magnets.

First on the schedule will be the 2002 Hyundai Cup, a men's five-a-side world championship tournament. The U.S. portion of this competition began with 110 local tournaments followed by regional playoffs in Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. These regional winners play for the national
championship on the San Jose State soccer fields across 10th Street from Spartan Stadium beginning at 8 a.m. (there's no admission to watch). A special celebrity game of players - including current San Jose Earthquakes general manager Johnny Moore - from four decades of San Jose pro soccer will play at 1:45 p.m. followed by the Hyundai national championship at 3:30 p.m. The winner of this tournament
travels to Korea to play winners from 11 other world regions for the Five-A-Side World Finals that will take place during this summer's FIFA World Cup.

There will also be a giant Hyundai soccer ball for fans to sign that will be sent to the World Cup.

Former U.S. national team star Michelle Akers, who will work ESPN2's telecast of the USA-Finland match, will be on hand to sign autographs from 3:30-4 p.m. at the merchandise tent at the south end of the stadium, and there will be plenty of CyberRays merchandise with our new logo available if you're looking for the perfect item to be signed.

Remember that Spartan Stadium along with all major U.S. sports venues has instituted new security procedures this season. Backpacks, purses and bags larger than 12 inches by 12 inches by 6 inches will not be permitted inside the stadium nor will coolers of any size.

Go to http://www.sjcyberrays.com/tickets/tix_stadiuminfo.html for a detailed
list of contraband items.

The CyberRays vs. Carolina Courage WUSA match will kick off at 4:30 p.m. At halftime of the match, players from Santa Clara's 2001 NCAA championship team will be honored on the field. Between games of the doubleheader they will be available at merchandise stands for autographs.

Kick off of the USA-Finland match will be 7 p.m. Some members of the 1999 U.S. World Cup championship team will receive their rings at halftime of this game.  Because of the doubleheader, there will be some logistical changes that will affect fans, the most noticeable of which concerns post-game autographs.

WUSA players will not sign autographs following the CyberRays-Carolina match. Instead, there will be a combined autograph session following the USA-Finland match involving all players. The autograph area on Stadium Way at the north end of Spartan Stadium will be enlarged to accommodate the larger crowds of fans and players. You'll need to exit through the East or West Gates and walk to the north end to get to the autograph area.

Also, the CyberRays post-game party at Stoddard's in Campbell will not be held following the doubleheader but will resume after our next home match May 12 when the San Diego Spirit comes to Spartan Stadium.

[Source: Jody Meacham, Director of Public Relations, San Jose CyberRays, 408 / 261-7724 office, 408 / 690-9362 cell, jmeacham@sjcyberrays.com]