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  • Minnesota United FC’s 2019 Schedule: By The Numbers

    Bill Stenross

    January 7, 2019
    News, The Angle
    Minnesota United FC’s 2019 Schedule: By The Numbers

    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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