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Columbus Crew SC

2017 Columbus Crew SC Schedule Revealed

January 12, 2017 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS - Major League Soccer today unveiled its 2017 regular-season schedule, a campaign that sees each of its now 22 clubs play a 34-match slate. Columbus Crew SC begins its 22nd MLS season on Saturday, March 4 at MAPFRE Stadium, hosting Conference rival Chicago Fire for Opening Match, presented by MAPFRE Insurance, in the first of 17 regular-season home matches as the club looks to return to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the third time in four years.

Individual-match tickets for home matches through May 31 are set to go on-sale today beginning at 5:00p.m. ET. Tickets to all matches on the Crew SC home schedule are available now through Season Ticket Memberships, 10-Match Plans and groups of 20 or more. Individual-match tickets for remaining home matches after May 31 will be available at a later date. Ticket information is available by calling 614-447-2739 and online. In 2016, Crew SC supporters helped set a pair of MAPFRE Stadium attendance records. Crew SC saw a record six regular-season sellouts at MAPFRE Stadium in 2016 while also setting a MAPFRE Stadium single-season total attendance record.

The Black & Gold are set to open their campaign at home for the first time since 2010, clashing against regional rival Chicago Fire, a team Crew SC has played against in season Opening Matches on four previous occasions. The Black & Gold are 6-1-5 in Opening Matches at MAPFRE Stadium over the last 11 years, dating back to 2005. The 2017 campaign is Crew SC's 19th season at MAPFRE Stadium, the first topflight soccer-specific stadium built in the United States.

The Black & Gold face three Eastern Conference opponents three times in 2017: Chicago Fire, Orlando City SC, and Toronto FC. Of those clubs, Chicago Fire and Toronto FC make two trips to Columbus, while Crew SC heads to Orlando City SC's new home twice in 2017. Crew SC faces the remaining Eastern Conference clubs - Atlanta United FC, D.C. United, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, and Philadelphia Union - with one match at home and one match away against each.

Eleven other contests featuring Western Conference opponents complete the Black & Gold's 2017 regular-season schedule. Crew SC hosts FC Dallas, LA Galaxy, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders FC and Sporting Kansas City at MAPFRE Stadium this season while the club travels westward to meet Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United FC, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Notable schedule highlights include: Opening Match on March 4 against longtime Eastern Conference rival Chicago Fire; a contest against Portland Timbers at home in a re-match of the 2015 MLS Cup Final (March 25); three meetings against Orlando City SC including a nationally televised home match (April 1) and two road matches at Orlando City SC's newly built stadium (August 19 and October 15); two visits to Columbus as part of the Trillium Cup home rivalry by Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, and Sebastian Giovinco of Eastern Conference Champions Toronto FC (April 15 and May 10); a home match against New York City FC featuring 2016 Landon Donovan MLS MVP winner David Villa (April 29); a May 6 Eastern Conference clash against the New England Revolution; and the club closes out May with a contest at MAPFRE Stadium against reigning MLS Cup Champions Seattle Sounders FC (May 31).

2017 also sees Crew SC's first-ever road match and home match against new expansion side Atlanta United FC (June 17 and July 1); a July 4 road contest against new expansion side Minnesota United FC; a visit from Alejandro Bedoya's Philadelphia Union (July 22); a second home match against Chicago Fire (August 12); a visit by 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Supporters' Shield winners FC Dallas (August 26); a home visit by LA Galaxy star Giovani dos Santos (August 23); a nationally televised home contest against Sporting Kansas City (September 10); a two match home stand against New York Red Bulls and D.C. United (September 23 and September 30); and a 2017 Decision Day contest at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC.

Crew SC is scheduled to play on national television at least two times in 2017. The Black & Gold are set to appear on ESPN (Saturday, September 10 at MAPFRE Stadium against Sporting Kansas City) as well as on UniMas (Saturday, April 1 at home against Orlando City SC). 2017 local broadcast information for Crew SC will be announced at a later date.

The first two rounds of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas are held tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. ET at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. The event is held annually by MLS. Crew SC enters the SuperDraft with the fifth and ninth picks in the First Round.

Under Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter, the 2017 MLS Preseason begins on Monday, January 23, 2017 after entrance physicals and testing. From there, the club departs to Sao Paulo, Brazil for its first preseason camp. Crew SC is slated to remain in Brazil through February 9 before returning to Columbus. The team will be in Central Ohio at SuperKick in Powell from February 8 - February 12 for the second camp of preseason. Following the time in Ohio, the club travels to Charleston, South Carolina to participate in the 2017 Carolina Challenge Cup. More information on Season Ticket Memberships for the 2017 season at MAPFRE Stadium is available at columbuscrewsc.com.

DATE DAY OPPONENT TIME (ET)

3/4 Saturday Chicago Fire* 2:00 p.m.

3/11 Saturday Houston Dynamo 8:30 p.m.

3/18 Saturday D.C. United* 7:00 p.m.

3/25 Saturday Portland Timbers 7:30 p.m.

4/1 Saturday Orlando City SC*^ 4:00 p.m.

4/8 Saturday Chicago Fire* 6:00 p.m.

4/15 Saturday Toronto FC* TBD

4/22 Saturday New York Red Bulls* 7:30 p.m.

4/29 Saturday New York City FC* 7:30 p.m.

5/6 Saturday New England Revolution* 7:30 p.m.

5/10 Wednesday Toronto FC* TBD

5/13 Saturday Montreal Impact* TBD

5/21 Sunday New England Revolution* 2:30 p.m.

5/26 Friday Toronto FC* TBD

5/31 Wednesday Seattle Sounders FC 7:30 p.m.

6/3 Saturday Colorado Rapids 9:00 p.m.

6/17 Saturday Atlanta United FC* 7:00 p.m.

6/24 Saturday Montreal Impact* TBD

7/1 Saturday Atlanta United FC* 7:30 p.m.

7/4 Tuesday Minnesota United FC 7:00 p.m.

7/22 Saturday Philadelphia Union* 7:30 p.m.

7/26 Wednesday Philadelphia Union* 7:30 p.m.

7/29 Saturday Real Salt Lake 10:00 p.m.

8/5 Saturday San Jose Earthquakes 10:30 p.m.

8/12 Saturday Chicago Fire* 7:30 p.m.

8/19 Saturday Orlando City SC* 7:30 p.m.

8/23 Wednesday LA Galaxy 7:30 p.m.

8/26 Saturday FC Dallas 7:30 p.m.

9/10 Wednesday Sporting Kansas City+ 1:00 p.m.

9/16 Saturday Vancouver Whitecaps FC TBD

9/23 Saturday New York Red Bulls* 7:30 p.m.

9/30 Saturday D.C. United* 7:30 p.m.

10/15 Sunday Orlando City SC* 3:00 p.m.

10/22 Sunday New York City FC* 4:00 p.m.

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