With the full season schedule finally released, followers of Minnesota United FC can finally start to picture what this year will look like. We’ve done a deep dive into the schedule, looking for the best away matches, home stretches, and everything else we could think of.
The schedule
| GM | DATE | OPPONENT | VENUE | TIME (CT) |
| 1 | Saturday, Mar 2 (TSN) | Vancouver | Vancouver | 5:00 |
| 2 | Saturday, Mar 9 | San Jose | San Jose | 7:00 |
| 3 | Saturday, Mar 16 | LA Galaxy | Los Angeles | 9:30 |
| 4 | Saturday, Mar 30 | New England | New England | 1:00 |
| 5 | Saturday, Apr 6 | New York Red Bulls | RBNY | 6:00 |
| 6 | Saturday, Apr 13 (ESPN2) | New York | Minnesota | 4:00 |
| 7 | Friday, Apr 19 (TSN) | Toronto | Toronto | 7:00 |
| 8 | Wednesday, Apr 24 | LA Galaxy | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 9 | Sunday, Apr 28 (FS1) | DC | Minnesota | 12:30 |
| 10 | Saturday, May 4 | Seattle | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 11 | Saturday, May 11 | Chicago | Chicago | 7:00 |
| 12 | Saturday, May 18 | Columbus | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 13 | Saturday, May 25 | Houston | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 14 | Wednesday, May 29 | Atlanta | Atlanta | 6:00 |
| 15 | Sunday, Jun 2 | Philadelphia | Minnesota | 3:00 |
| 16 | Saturday, Jun 29 (ESPN) | Cincinnati | Minnesota | 3:00 |
| 17 | Wednesday, Jul 3 | San Jose | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 18 | Saturday, Jul 6 (TVA) | Montreal | Montreal | 6:30 |
| 19 | Saturday, Jul 13 | Dallas | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 20 | Wednesday, Jul 17 | Colorado | Colorado | 8:00 |
| 21 | Saturday, Jul 20 | Real Salt Lake | Real Salt Lake | 9:00 |
| 22 | Saturday, Jul 27 (TSN) | Vancouver | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 23 | Sunday, Aug 4 (ESPN) | Portland | Minnesota | 3:00 |
| 24 | Saturday, Aug 10 | Dallas | Dallas | 7:00 |
| 25 | Wednesday, Aug 14 | Colorado | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 26 | Saturday, Aug 17 | Orlando | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 27 | Thursday, Aug 22 (ESPN) | Kansas City | Kansas City | 8:30 |
| 28 | Sunday, Sep 1 | LAFC | LAFC | 9:30 |
| 29 | Wednesday, Sep 11 | Houston | Houston | 7:30 |
| 30 | Sunday, Sep 15 | Real Salt Lake | Minnesota | 4:30 |
| 31 | Sunday, Sep 22 (ESPN) | Portland | Portland | 3:00 |
| 32 | Wednesday, Sep 25 | Kansas City | Minnesota | 7:00 |
| 33 | Sunday, Sep 29 | LAFC | Minnesota | 6:30 |
| 34 | Sunday, Oct 6 | Seattle | Seattle | 3:00 |
Thanks to Minnesota United FC for the excellent table formatting.
The numbers
League matches: 34
League matches at Allianz Field: 17
Longest road trip: 5, to start the season
Longest home stand: 3, twice
Longest stretch between league matches: 27 days, in June during the Gold Cup
Shortest stretch between league matches: 3, twice
Best away matches
These matches have been chosen because of when they fall during the week, the locale, and the history between the two clubs/cities in soccer. Most are on a Saturday which makes it easy to make a weekend trip out of traveling to watch the Loons play. The two Sunday matches have afternoon kickoffs and are some of the best places to see soccer in country.
Saturday, Mar 2 Vancouver
Saturday, Mar 9 San Jose
Saturday, Apr 6 New York Red Bulls
Saturday, May 11 Chicago
Saturday, Jul 6 Montreal
Sunday, Sep 22 Portland
Sunday, Oct 6 Seattle
Worst away matches
These matches are the worst mostly because of when they are scheduled, making it hard for fans to easily travel to see the match. I realize that the league has to schedule Wednesday matches with the new, more compact schedule, but each of these would have brought a lot more fans willing to travel if it was on a Saturday.
Friday, Apr 19 Toronto
Wednesday, May 29 Atlanta
Wednesday, Jul 17 Colorado
Thursday, Aug 22 Kansas City
Toughest stretches
Besides starting the season with five straight road matches, these are the stretches that will help determine if Heath, Lagos, and company get “passing grades” again this season.
Saturday, Apr 6 New York Red Bulls 6:00 away
Saturday, Apr 13 New York Minnesota 4:00 home
Friday, Apr 19 Toronto Toronto 7:00 away
Three of the typical powers in the Eastern conference, with two of the matches on the road. Can Minnesota start earning points on the road, particularly against top level teams? This early season stretch will set the tone for the rest of the season.
Saturday, Jul 13 Dallas home
Wednesday, Jul 17 Colorado away
Saturday, Jul 20 Real Salt Lake away
Saturday, Jul 27 Vancouver home
Sunday, Aug 4 Portland home
Saturday, Aug 10 Dallas away
Wednesday, Aug 14 Colorado home
While Colorado has not been a quality side consistently this decade, this is 7 straight matches to kick off the second half of the season against Western conference foes. Each match provides the opportunity for a 6 point swing in the standings. August has not been kind to Minnesota the past two seasons, and if they are truly going to compete for the playoffs, a strong showing in this string of matches will be vital. They won’t be able to make up ground if they are out of the playoff hunt after these matches.
What are you thoughts about the season? Any matches stick out to you as one not to miss?
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