Seattle's Inaugural Game on March 19 Highlights First Kick Weekend
The 2009 MLS regular season kicks off Thursday, March 19 with a spirited and historic match – the inaugural game of Seattle Sounders FC. In front of an anticipated capacity crowd at Qwest Field, U.S. goalkeeping great Kasey Keller and Sounders FC will host the MLS Cup 2008 finalist New York Red Bulls, led by striker Juan Pablo Ángel, in a game aired live in high definition on ESPN2.
Today MLS and its national broadcast partners announced the entire regular season schedule for 2009, the League's 14th season.
The complete schedule is listed below. Throughout the year, the most up-to-date version and the team-by-team schedules are available at
www.MLSnet.com.
Each of the 15 teams in MLS will play 30 regular season games for a total of 225 games. Fans can watch any of the 225 games live via the national broadcast partners, regional telecasts, the Direct Kick television package or MLSnet.com. Regional broadcast schedules will be announced by the teams as they are finalized.
The 15 MLS clubs will face each other twice for a base of 28 games per team. The two remaining games for each team will be against intra-conference opponents, with a priority on rivalry matchups.
This year 90 percent of MLS games will be played on weekends (Friday, Saturday or Sunday), compared to about 84 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2007. MLS reduced the volume of games on or around Aug. 12, Sept. 5 and Oct. 10 – all World Cup Qualifying dates. Teams will have occasional bye weeks because of the odd number of teams in MLS this season. An effort was made to schedule byes during international competitions for the teams competing in CONCACAF Champions League (Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New York Red Bulls and Houston Dynamo) and SuperLiga (Chicago Fire, New England Revolution, Kansas City Wizards and Chivas USA).
First Kick, presented by Dick's Sporting Goods, is the opening weekend of the MLS season and features seven games. After Seattle's inaugural game, Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español bring fans an exciting, live Saturday night doubleheader on March 21: First, the past two MLS Cup champions – Houston Dynamo and Columbus Crew – square off, then the Colorado Rapids visit Chivas USA in a Western Conference showdown. Concluding the opening week of MLS action is a match between the two winningest clubs in MLS history, as the LA Galaxy host D.C. United on TeleFutura on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m.
Most games on ESPN2 will be offered in high definition with the polished play-by-play of JP Dellacamera and expert insight of U.S. national team great John Harkes. Seven games on ESPN2 will air in an extended 2 1/2-hour window. One regular season game, Seattle at Chicago on July 25, will be broadcast on ESPN. All MLS games on ESPN2 will be simulcast on ESPN360 and ESPN Deportes. In this, the third year of an eight-year agreement, MLS and ESPN have mutually agreed to schedule select matches outside the Thursday night window. Thirteen of the 27 games on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will air on weekends (Friday, Saturday or Sunday).
TeleFutura's MLS broadcasts return to their Sunday afternoon timeslot, usually between games from Mexico's Primera Division, the most successful sports programming on Univision's family of networks. TeleFutura's knowledgeable tandem of Jorge Perez Navarro and Diego Balado will add information, analysis and excitement to the Spanish-language network's 24 regular season games.
Fox Soccer Channel is again scheduled to broadcast its complete slate of 33 regular-season games with on-site 30-minute pre- and post-game shows for a live three-hour programming window called "MLS Saturday on FSC," featuring Max Bretos (play-by-play), Christopher Sullivan (color analyst) and Todd Grisham (host) along with sideline reporters including Mark Rogondino, Christian Miles, Brian Dunseth and Steve Bell for thorough, fan-friendly coverage. Most Fox Soccer Channel MLS games are also scheduled to air live in Spanish in two-hour programming windows on sister network Fox Sports en Español, with some airing on a tape-delayed basis.
MLS is in discussions with HDNet to continue broadcasting games on the first all-high definition national television network. HDNet has partnered with MLS since 2003.
The regular season concludes Sunday, Oct. 25 with two games: Houston at Chivas USA on TeleFutura and the New England Revolution at Columbus. Eight teams will qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, which begin Oct. 29 and culminate in MLS Cup 2009 on the weekend of Nov. 21-22 at a site to be announced at a later date.
2009 MLS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
Schedule subject to change. All times eastern.
Thursday, March 19 Time TV New York Red Bulls at Seattle Sounders FC 9 p.m. ESPN2 / Deportes Saturday, March 21 Columbus Crew at Houston Dynamo 8 p.m. Fox Soccer Channel (FSC) / Fox Sports en Español (FSE) Chicago Fire at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Kansas City Wizards 8:30 p.m. Colorado Rapids at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m. FSC/FSE New England Revolution at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m. Sunday, March 22 D.C. United at Los Angeles Galaxy 3 p.m. TeleFutura WEEK 2 Saturday, March 28 Toronto FC at Columbus Crew 4 p.m. Chicago Fire at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. New England Revolution at New York Red Bulls 7:30 p.m. FSC/FSE Kansas City Wizards at Colorado Rapids 9:30 p.m. Houston Dynamo at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Seattle Sounders FC 10:30 p.m. Sunday, March 29 Chivas USA at FC Dallas 3 p.m. TeleFutura
WEEK 3
Thursday, April 2 Columbus Crew at Real Salt Lake 9 p.m. ESPN2 / Deportes Saturday, April 4 Seattle Sounders FC at Toronto FC 4 p.m. FSC / FSE Houston Dynamo at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. FC Dallas at New England Revolution 7:30 p.m. San Jose Earthquakes at Kansas City Wizards 8:30 p.m. Colorado Rapids at Los Angeles Galaxy 10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 5 New York Red Bulls at Chicago Fire 3 p.m. TeleFutura Columbus Crew at Chivas USA 8 p.m.
WEEK 4 Saturday,
April 11 FC Dallas at Toronto FC 3:30 p.m. Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes 4 p.m. TeleFutura D.C. United at Real Salt Lake 6 p.m. Colorado Rapids at Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. New York Red Bulls at Houston Dynamo 8:30 p.m. FSC / FSE Kansas City Wizards at Seattle Sounders FC 10:30 p.m. Chivas USA at Los Angeles Galaxy 10:30 p.m. ESPN2/Deportes WEEK 5 Friday, April 17 New England Revolution at D.C. United 7 p.m. ESPN2 / Deportes Saturday, April 18 Real Salt Lake at New York Red Bulls 7:30 p.m. Kansas City Wizards at Chicago Fire 8:30 p.m. FSC / FSE Seattle Sounders FC at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m. Los Angeles Galaxy at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 19 Colorado Rapids at Houston Dynamo 3 p.m. TeleFutura Toronto FC at FC Dallas 7 p.m. WEEK 6 Wednesday, April 22 Chivas USA at Toronto FC 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23 New York Red Bulls at Kansas City Wizards 8 p.m. ESPN2 / Deportes Saturday, April 25 Chicago Fire at Columbus Crew 7 p.m. FSC / FSE New England Revolution at Real Salt Lake 9 p.m. Los Angeles Galaxy at Colorado Rapids 9:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m. San Jose Earthquakes at Seattle Sounders FC 10:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26 D.C. United at New York Red Bulls 3 p.m. TeleFutura Kansas City Wizards at Toronto FC TBD WEEK 7 Saturday, May 2 Columbus Crew at Toronto FC 4 p.m. FC Dallas at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. FSC / FSE Seattle Sounders FC at Chicago Fire 8:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids 9:30 p.m. New York Red Bulls at Los Angeles Galaxy 10:30 p.m. Chivas USA at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 3 Houston Dynamo at New England Revolution 3 p.m. TeleFutura WEEK 8 Wednesday, May 6 D.C. United at Kansas City Wizards 8:30 p.m. Los Angeles Galaxy at Real Salt Lake 9:00 p.m. Friday, May 8 San Jose Earthquakes at New York Red Bulls 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9 Kansas City Wizards at Columbus Crew 7 p.m. FSC / FSE Toronto FC at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. New England Revolution at Chicago Fire 8:30 p.m. FC Dallas at Houston Dynamo 9 p.m. ESPN2 / Deportes Real Salt Lake at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m. Sunday, May 10 Los Angeles Galaxy at Seattle Sounders FC 3 p.m. TeleFutura WEEK 9 Saturday, May 16 Chicago Fire at Toronto FC 4 p.m. Colorado Rapids at New England Revolution 7:30 p.m. Houston Dynamo at New York Red Bulls 7:30 p.m. Seattle Sounders FC at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m. Kansas City Wizards at Real Salt Lake 9 p.m. D.C. United at Chivas USA 11 p.m. FSC / FSE Sunday, May 17 Columbus Crew at Los Angeles Galaxy 3 p.m. TeleFutura WEEK 10 Saturday, May 23 New England Revolution at Toronto FC TBD Real Salt Lake at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles Galaxy at FC Dallas 8:30 p.m. San Jose Earthquakes at Houston Dynamo 8:30 p.m. Chivas USA at Kansas City Wizards 8:30 p.m. FSC / FSE Seattle Sounders FC at Colorado Rapids 9:30 p.m. Sunday, May 24 Chicago Fire at New York Red Bulls 3 p.m. TeleFutura WEEK 11 Wednesday, May 27 San Jose Earthquakes at Columbus Crew 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28 Chicago Fire at Chivas USA 10:30 p.m. ESPN2/Deportes Saturday, May 30 D.C. United at New England Revolution 7:30 p.m. Colorado Rapids at New York Red Bulls 7:30 p.m. Toronto FC at Houston Dynamo 8:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake at San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m. Columbus Crew at Seattle Sounders FC 10:30 p.m. FSC/FSE Kansas City Wizards at Los Angeles Galaxy 10:30 p.m. Sunday, May 31 FC Dallas at Chicago Fire 3 p.m. TeleFutura
WEEK 12 Thursday, June 4 New York Red Bulls at D.C. United 7:30 p.m. ESPN2 / Deportes Friday, June 5 Houston Dynamo at Chicago Fire 9 p.m.
Tags: MLS 2009 Schedule
