It’s finally here.
Earlier today, USL PRO released the 2015 schedule, which after a last-minute schedule change sees S2 beginning its inaugural season at home on Saturday, March 21 against defending champion Sacramento Republic FC.
S2 will face both T2 (Portland Timbers) and WFC 2 (Whitecaps FC) four times each this season, twice at home and twice away.
So who else will Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson and the boys in Green be facing in this new season?
Here are five matchups we are looking forward to:
March 21 vs. Sacramento Republic FC
What’s not to love? It’s the first game of S2’s inaugural season held under the lights of Starfire Stadium against the league’s defending champions. You can’t get much better than that. This game could set the tone for the entire season as some players will be getting their first chance to play in front of the loud and proud Sounders fans, and their first opportunity to show coaches why they deserve a call-up. How better to prove it than against the defending champs?
March 29 vs. Whitecaps FC 2
S2 will be getting their rivalry games in early with their first matchup against a Cascadia opponent in just their second week. Whitecaps FC 2, also brand new to USL PRO in 2015, will pay their first visit to Starfire Stadium in late March. It very well could be the beginning of what many Sounders fans are calling, ‘Cascadia Cup 2.’ It will be the first of four times S2 will square off against its northern neighbors in the regular season, and the first local derby against the affiliates of last-year’s Cascadia Cup champions is sure to deliver.
April 11 vs. Portland Timbers 2
Rivalry? Check. Home game? Check. Instant classic? Likely. Due to a last-minute schedule change keeping T2 from being the opponent in S2’s home opener, the third week of the season will be the first of four times these two teams will face off this season. The wait will only build anticipation for both players and fans as T2 visits Starfire Stadium for the first time. As Portland is also new to the league, the game will be a benchmark for both teams to judge their progression early in the season, and it will be the first time fans can see this new I-5 derby up close.
June 11 vs. LA Galaxy II
LA Galaxy II has been in the league a year longer than all other MLS-fielded squads starting in 2015, and the team didn’t waste any time making it to the semifinal where it lost to the eventual champion, Sacramento Republic FC. Almost halfway through the season, S2 will have quite a few games under its belt before they take on “Los Dos” for the first time. After the intense battle that closed out the season between Sounders FC and LA Galaxy, the fight will surely spill over into the USL PRO competition.
June 20 at Arizona United SC
In the week following the LA matchup, S2 will take a trip down to Arizona to take on a team some consider to be a dark horse in the Western Conference title race. Arizona United SC, launched in 2014, is also new to the league and just failed to make the playoffs, but made a run in the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup where they eventually lost to LA Galaxy in the fourth round. United will set its sights on making the playoffs in the new season, an achievement S2 will hope to foil when it visits Scottsdale Stadium in late June.
