Major League Soccer has released its schedule for the upcoming 2013 season. As previously known, this year sees the MLS season kick off at its earliest data ever of March 2nd. Additionally, many of you will notice that the 2013 schedule follows the same unbalanced schedule of 2012. This means three games played against Western Conference rivals and only one against Eastern Conference clubs.

Here's the full schedule:

March, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Portland New York ESPN2 2013 MLS First Kick Portland Montreal Seattle Portland NBC Sports Colorado Portland

April, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Portland Houston Portland San Jose NBC Sports San Jose Portland UniMas Sporting KC Portland

May, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Portland New England FC Dallas Portland Portland Chivas USA UniMas Vancouver Portland D.C. United Portland

June, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Chicago Portland Portland FC Dallas ESPN Los Angeles Portland Portland Colorado NBC Sports

July, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Columbus Portland Portland Los Angeles NBC Sports Philadelphia Portland San Jose Portland

August, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Portland Vancouver Portland FC Dallas Portland Real Salt Lake Seattle Portland ESPN2 Real Salt Lake Portland NBC Sports

September, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Portland Toronto FC Chivas USA Portland Portland Colorado NBC Sports Portland Los Angeles NBC

October, 2013

Date Home Team Away Team Vancouver Portland Portland Seattle ESPN Portland Real Salt Lake Chivas USA Portland

As you can see, retaining the Cascadian Cup trophy through 2013 is looking a bit more challenging than in 2012 with only two home games total for the series, one against the Seattle Sounders on October 11th and the other against the Vancouver Whitecaps on August 3rd.

The flip side of the coin is that teams the Portland Timbers often struggle against, like the LA Galaxy, and Colorado Rapids, are now reversed from 2012 where we'll host them each twice in Portland in 2013. It should make for an overall easier ride throughout the season, if nothing else.

Other notes:

The Portland Timbers have 13 nationally televised games this year, 11 if you don't include UniMas.

The Timbers will be aired on ESPN for home games against FC Dallas and the Seattle Sounders.

The Timbers will be aired on NBC for one of our home games against the LA Galaxy.

All in all it would appear to me that MLS and the television networks highly value the Portland Timbers and the atmosphere we create here.

Schedule Breakdown:



Home Dates by Day of the Week:

Wednesday (1), Thursday (1), Friday (1), Saturday (8), Sunday (6)

Road Dates by Day of the Week:

Wednesday (2), Friday (1), Saturday (10), Sunday (4)



Home Dates by Month:

March (2), April (2), May (2), June (2), July (1), August (3), September (3), October (2)

Road Dates by Month:

March (2), April (2), May (3), June (2), July (3), August (2), September (1), October (2)



Western Conference Opponents Played Twice at Home:

Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake



Western Conference Opponents Played Twice Away:

Chivas USA, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC



Eastern Conference Opponents at Home:

Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC



Eastern Conference Opponents Away:

Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Sporting Kansas City, Philadelphia Union – Timbers do not travel to an Eastern Conference opponent after July 20.



National TV Matches (13):

ESPN (2), ESPN2 (2), NBC (1), NBC Sports Network (6), UniMás (2)

Were there any surprises for you in the schedule?