TACOMA, WASH. – MLS NEXT Pro today announced its 2024 regular-season schedule, a campaign that sees each of its 29 teams play 28 matches over the course of 30 weeks. Tacoma Defiance opens its third MLS NEXT Pro season on the road with a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Semifinals against 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup champion Austin FC II on March 15 at Parmer Field. The contest is one of three matches being showcased on MLS NEXT Pro’s Opening Night. Defiance then hosts Colorado Rapids 2 on March 24 at Starfire Stadium in its home opener.
The majority of regular-season matches, plus all Decision Day matches, playoff matches and MLS NEXT Pro Cup, are available to watch live on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. Available in more than 100 countries and regions, MLS Season Pass can be viewed on billions of devices through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, game consoles and online at https://tv.apple.com. The remainder of regular season matches will stream live on mlsnextpro.com.
Following its home opener, Tacoma begins the defense of its consecutive Pacific Division titles on the road against LA Galaxy II on March 31 before hosting LAFC 2 the following week on April 7 at Starfire Stadium. Defiance travels to Galaxy II again on May 31 before hosting the club on August 18. Tacoma also hosts LAFC2 on July 21 before a road match against the Southern California side on August 30.
Tacoma’s additional divisional fixtures include a home match against Cascadia rival Whitecaps FC 2 on April 21 before two road matches against the Canadian side on July 14 and September 21. Defiance also faces Earthquakes II on April 25 at Starfire Stadium before road fixtures on June 16 and August 25. Tacoma faces off against its other Cascadia rival, Timbers2, at Providence Park on May 10 before hosting the club on June 30 and September 8. Finally, Defiance hosts Real Monarchs on June 26 and September 13 and heads to Zions Bank Stadium on August 11.
Other highlights from Defiance’s 2024 regular-season slate include a Decision Day matchup against St. Louis CITY SC 2 on Sunday, October 6 at CITYPARK. Tacoma faces Houston Dynamo 2, a playoff opponent each of the last two years, on the road on May 26 and at Starfire Stadium on September 29. For the third consecutive year, all of Tacoma’s regular-season matches are against Western Conference opponents.
Information regarding ticket on-sale information for all Tacoma Defiance home matches will be unveiled at a later date. Like years prior, all proceeds from ticket sales will benefit RAVE Foundation, Sounders FC’s charitable arm.
The 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs feature the return of the “pick-your-opponent” format that debuted during the 2023 postseason and quickly garnered widespread attention. This year features more teams qualifying for the playoffs, more teams making selections and more knockout matches being played.
Eight teams qualify for the playoffs from each conference (16 total), with the top four seeds in each conference hosting and selecting their opponents in the first round. In the second round, the highest remaining seed in each conference selects an opponent from the remaining three teams. This year’s postseason has 15 total matches, including MLS NEXT Pro Cup.
Complete information on the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro schedule, playoff format and new league rules can be found here.
Under the direction of new Head Coach Hervé Diese, Defiance is currently amid preseason preparations for the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro season. Tacoma finished the 2023 campaign with a 14-5-9 regular-season record, finishing second in the Western Conference and capturing the Pacific Division title for the second consecutive year.
