D.C. United to take on Santos Laguna in preseason friendly

D.C. United will take on Mexican Primera Division side Santos Laguna for the second leg of its 2010 preseason. The club recently completed the first portion of the preseason in Bradenton, Florida, where United trained for 17 days. On March 5, the Black-and-Red will depart for Torreon, Mexico, home of Santos Laguna. United is set to face Santos at the Estadio Nuevo Corona on March 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

“We are excited to train at Santos’ wonderful facilities in Torreon, Mexico, and we are honored to be playing a friendly against one of the top clubs in Mexico at an incredible venue,” said United General Manager Dave Kasper.

United will practice in Torreon prior to the friendly on March 10, as the club will utilize Santos’ state of the art training facilities. The match itself will be played in one of Mexico’s premier soccer venues, the Estadio Nuevo Corona. This venue opened on November 11, 2009 when Santos hosted Brazilian side Santos FC in a friendly match.

Following the Santos match, United will continue the 2010 preseason in Charleston, South Carolina, where the club will compete in the Carolina Challenge Cup. In this annual competition hosted by the Charleston Battery, D.C. is set to face MLS foes Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC, along with the tournament hosts at Blackbaud Stadium.

The Black-and-Red return to Washington permanently on March 22, where the club will make final preparations for the MLS regular season opener at Kansas City on March 27. One week later United hosts their first home match of the new season on Saturday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. against the New England Revolution.