Union’s 2018 regular season schedule announced

The first sign of the 2018 season being close to kickoff is here! Today, MLS dropped the regular season schedules for all of their teams, but since we’re a Union-based blog, let’s just talk about the Union’s slate of games.

Importantly, the Union have four of their first five at home, with a pair of two-game home stands broken up by a fixture against the Rapids in the middle. For an organization with a lot to prove at just about every stop, those first five games provide a big chance to impress with their quality of play on the field.

Because of the World Cup, the Union will have more than two weeks off in mid-June. Their home game against Toronto FC on June 8th will be their last before the break, and they’ll return to play with another home game against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Union close the season with a pair of matches against the New York clubs, hosting the New York Red Bulls before traveling to Yankee Stadium

This is a really odd schedule. Usually teams play conference opponents two times a season, but in order to fill out the schedule, teams have to take on the same opponent three times. Usually, those extra conference games go to teams that are considered rivals. In 2017, the Union played the Red Bulls, D.C. United, and the Montreal Impact three times. This year they’ll only have two three-game series by virtue of the addition of Los Angeles FC. The Union will meet the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution on three occasions this season, starting in March.