Worcester, MA - When the Worcester Hydra took the field for the first time in team history, no one knew what to expect. It was a team comprised of mostly college players with a handful of older, experienced players that only had two or three weeks of practice.

The Hydra split two games against the Seacoast United Phantoms and the Boston Victory to start the season. Now, 11 games and eight weeks after their first two games, the Hydra will show them what they’re all about.

Worcester (4-4-5) will play a home-and-home series against the Victory (2-9-1) starting on Saturday, and then will conclude its inaugural season by traveling to New Hampshire to take on the Phantoms (5-4-3) for the first time since their opening game.

The Hydra will play their final home game of the 2012 season Saturday at 7 p.m. at Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium against the Victory, who are also in their first year in the Premier Development League.

When the teams first met on May 12, the Hydra were coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss to Seacoast United when they outshot the Phantoms 13-2. Conversely, the Victory scored two late goals to beat CFC Azul, 2-1, in their first game.

My, how things have changed.

Worcester’s Alencar Junior led the Hydra with two goals against the Victory, who subsequently went on to lose eight of their next 10 games, scoring only two goals in those matches. The Hydra would go on to record at least one point in seven of their next eight games, thanks to their defense that has allowed two or fewer goals in all but two games.

The Hydra will face the Victory again on Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m., before playing their season finale at Portsmouth High School against the Phantoms on July 14 at 7 p.m.

by Matt Eisenberg