MLS released the 2013 schedule on Wednesday and Sounders FC will host an early match against the Portland Timbers, and will make 13 appearances on national television.
Each year, Sounders FC fans await the release of the club’s schedule with breathless anticipation, waiting to learn when they will make their big trips far and wide to support the club and when the club’s fiercest rivals will make appearances at CenturyLink Field.
On Wednesday, Major League Soccer announced the league’s 2013 schedule and the Sounders learned that they would host the Portland Timbers early in the season and would make 13 appearances on national television. Click here to download the schedule to your calendar.
Eight of those matches will be on NBC Sports, with two on ESPN2 and three on ESPN. Most of those nationally televised games fall in the second half of the season, including nine of their last 11 on the schedule.
Seattle opens with two home matches against the Montreal Impact on March 2 and the Portland Timbers on March 16, allowing a weekend off in between to accommodate the Sounders’ quarterfinal CONCACAF Champions League meeting with Tigres from Mexico. The match against the Timbers will be on NBC Sports Network.
They will follow that with consecutive matches on the road against the Supporters’ Shield winning San Jose Earthquakes and perennial playoff foes Real Salt Lake to close out the month of March.
After that first match against the Timbers, the Sounders will host their Cascadia rivals again on August 25 on ESPN2 and play at Jeld-Wen Field on October 13 on ESPN. They will face the Vancouver Whitecaps FC to complete their Cascadia Cup matches on June 8 and October 9 at CenturyLink Field and at BC Place on July 6. The match in Vancouver will be nationally televised, with NBC Sports carrying the match.
Seattle’s greatest road stretch will feature three consecutive matches away from home, facing the Colorado Rapids, Philadelphia Union and Sporting Kansas City in successive road tilts from April 20-May 8. Likewise, their longest homestand extends from July 20-August 3 with matches against Colorado, Chivas USA and FC Dallas.
The season will conclude on October 27 at CenturyLink Field with a match against the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy.
Sounders FC is accepting deposits for 2013 season tickets. To join, click here or call 800-745-3000
