FC Edmonton has inked former Ottawa Fury defender Adrian Leroy to a contract. Leroy, who was on trial with the NASL club for the past two weeks, was offered the deal late last week, but the paperwork was sorted out as of Monday.

Alex Surprenant’s audacious chip and a last-second diving stop from Rein Baart were the two defining moments of FC Edmonton’s 1-0 win over the Atlanta Silverbacks in NASL action Saturday. FC Edmonton is now 2-0-0 in its first season of Div-2 soccer, and will go for a sweep of its three-game road trip Wednesday when the club visits the Carolina RailHawks.

FC Edmonton has announced the 18-man roster for its next two matches, Saturday against the Atlanta Silverbacks and Wednesday in Cary, N.C. against the RailHawks.

Wednesday will be cut-down day for FC Edmonton coach Harry Sinkgraven. Well, sort of. The team spent a week in Florida with its full roster complement of 23 players — and trialists Kyle Porter and Adrian Leroy — ahead of Saturday’s NASL-opening 2-1 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

It’s hard to use the term “business as usual” for a club that played it’s first NASL game on Saturday, but FC Edmonton coach Harry Sinkgraven continues to put his team through the paces in Florida, away from the Alberta cold, as it prepares to try and make it two wins a row this Saturday against the Atlanta Silverbacks. The furthest thing from the minds of the club’s brass — and the players — is the current dispute between the Alberta Soccer Association and the Canadian Soccer Association. “No one from any body has contacted us,” said FCE spokesman Andreas Morse.

FC Edmonton wants to prove all the naysayers wrong. The club made an impressive statement Saturday, going on the road and beating the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-1 in their NASL opener. Substitute Dan Antoniuk scored the winner off a scramble in the box. “We’re confident, we’re a little bit cocky,” said midfielder Shaun Saiko, who scored on a 25-yard screamer to draw FCE level in the second half.

Program the PVR. Make sure your Internet connection is fast enough to allow for multiple streams. This weekend marks a landmark in Canadian soccer. Four professional clubs are in action; FC Edmonton and the Montreal Impact kick off their NASL campaigns Saturday with road games in Florida. And MLS? Toronto FC visits the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night. And the Vancouver Whitecaps head to Texas to take on the Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Of the weekend’s action, only Montreal and FC Edmonton overlap.

FC Edmonton and the Montreal Impact both start the NASL season on the road this Saturday — and their fans will be able to stream those games, for free.

Eddy Sidra has the date circled on his calendar. April 27. FC Edmonton vs. Toronto FC. Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The newest member of FC Edmonton can’t escape the negative feelings associated with his recent trial with Toronto FC. “I won’t lie. I didn’t like how it went,” said Sidra from FCE’s training camp in Sunrise, Fla. “I won’t say I’m bitter, but I certainly won’t say that I was happy. There was a lack of information that was passed on to me.”

FC Edmonton may have left the city for a week-long camp in Florida, but the front office keeps rolling. The club added fullback and local product Eddy Sidra, who had an unsuccessful trial at Toronto FC, on Saturday. The team also brought in a new assistant coach, Edwin Petersen, from the Dutch U-15 program.