Major League Soccer has released its 2013 schedule and it has a new wrinkle this season: Rivalry Week.
Eight of the nine matches in Week 3 (March 16 weekend) will pit regional rivals against one another, with the NBC Sports Group on board to air three live matches that weekend showcasing some of the league’s premier rivalries.
Rivalry week games include:
- Seattle v Portland
- New York Red Bulls v D.C. United.
- Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids
- Montreal Impact v Toronto
- FC Dallas v Houston Dynamo.
- Philadelphia Union v New England Revolution
- LA Galaxy v Chivas
Each of the League’s 19 clubs will play 34 matches, 17 at home and 17 away, over 35 weeks during the 2013 season, which officially kicks off on March 2, the earliest start date in league history. Within each conference, each club will play the same number of in-conference and out-of-conference games, following the same competition format as 2012, with inter-conference matches switching venues.
More than 90 percent of this year’s regular-season games are on weekends or holidays, and none will overlap directly with FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. During the summer months, most games will kick off no earlier than 4 pm local time in an effort to reduce the impact of hot weather.
The 2013 regular season concludes Sunday, Oct. 27, with five games, followed by the MLS Cup Playoffs. Only two clubs will reach MLS Cup 2013, and the one with a better regular-season record will host the championship game on Dec. 7 or 8, with details to be announced at a later date.