Chattanooga Football Club announced their schedule within the Southeast Conference of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) on Monday.

The 2010 Southeastern Conference will once again feature five teams, but it will look a little different than it did last season. Due to some financial difficulties, the Atlanta-based Saturn FC withdrew from the field. Following the withdrawal, there were off-season rumors regarding new teams in Nashville and Knoxville, but neither materialized.

Still in need of a fifth team in the Southeastern Conference, the NPSL quickly granted the request of FC Tulsa to fill the final spot.

Chattanooga FC will kick off its much-anticipated second season May 22 on the road, visiting perennial power Atlanta FC. In last year's games with Atlanta, Chattanooga lost the inaugural opener at Finley Stadium, 3-1, but later pulled out a difficult win at Atlanta's home stadium, 1-0. "They were a very physical and well organized team," said Assistant Coach Jimmy Weekley reflecting on last year's match-ups with Atlanta. "They didn't have any weaknesses in their line up, so this will be a perfect first match for us. We'll know where we stand after that game."

Some other highlights in this year's conference schedule include:

June 5th- Chattanooga FC's 2010 home opener will feature Pumas FC from Birmingham. In the first match-up between the two clubs in 2009, Pumas hammered Chattanooga, 3-0. Chattanooga returned the favor when Pumas visited an electric Finley Stadium on July 4th. Over 3,000 fans cheered Chattanooga FC on to a 4-0 victory.

June 12th- Chattanooga hits the road on a long journey to Tulsa, Oklahoma to play FC Tulsa.

July 4th- FC Tulsa visits Chattanooga FC for the first time. Due to the long travel needed for the match, Tulsa requested a Sunday night game instead of the normal Saturday night slot. This may benefit Chattanooga, as they were able to draw the largest NPSL crowd in history on July 4th of last season.

July 17th- Reigning champs, Rocket City United of Huntsville, visit Finley Stadium for the final game of the regular season, in what could be equivalent to the Southeastern Conference championship. The winner of the conference receives an automatic bid to the semi-finals of the national championship, which will be hosted in Huntsville this July.

While there are only four NPSL home matches again this season, Chattanooga FC organizers are currently working on filling in the schedule with a few more "friendly" matches with teams outside of the NPSL. "One of the things we heard many times during the off-season from supporters was that they wanted more home games," remarked co-founder Sheldon Grizzle. "We only have four home conference games, so we are doing our best to identify possible exhibition matches with other teams as well."

Grizzle mentioned that there has been a verbal agreement to play a weekday game in May against a perennial power in the United Soccer League's Second Division. "Playing a team from the USL, and doing well of course, would add a lot of credibility to the club. With the quality team we have, and the passionate support of our fans, this city could really become known as a 'soccer town' on the national stage! Nothing would excite us more."

Organizers say that as other exhibition matches are scheduled, they will be added to the Chattanooga FC website, as well as announced via Twitter and Facebook. For now, though, their eyes are fixed on May 22 when they kick off the season in Atlanta.

About Chattanooga Football Club

Chattanooga FC provides quality soccer matches and a family friendly environment at the region's largest sports venue, Finley Stadium, with the goal of attracting spectators from the area's widely diverse cultural community to enjoy the world's favorite sport. The team is comprised of high-level players holding amateur status to maintain collegiate eligibility, and will serve as an engine to develop great players and as a showcase for professional coaches.