COLUMBUS – Major League Soccer today announced that Columbus Crew SC will begin the 2018 season on the road, facing 2017 MLS Cup Champion Toronto FC at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday March 3 at BMO Field.
Following a re-match of the 2017 Eastern Conference Championship to open 2018, Crew SC returns home to host the Montreal Impact on Saturday, March 10 at 1 p.m. ET for its home opener as MAPFRE Stadium welcomes supporters for its 20th season and the Black & Gold's 23rd overall campaign in MLS.
A complete 2018 MLS schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. 2018 local broadcast information for Crew SC will also be announced at a later date.
Tickets for the March 10 match are available by purchasing 2018 Season Ticket Memberships, a 10-Match Plan or a 3-Match Holiday Bundle.
Each 3-Match Holiday Bundle includes one ticket to Opening Match and two additional matches of choice, all starting at $72. Additional information for purchasing single-match tickets for all Crew SC regular-season home matches will be released at a later date.
In 2017, Crew SC returned to the postseason for the third time in four years and reached the Eastern Conference Championship for the second time in four seasons under Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. A complete 2018 Crew SC preseason schedule will be available in the near future.
There will be six other matches across MLS on March 3, including Western Conference finalist Houston Dynamo’s home opener at BBVA Compass Stadium against Atlanta United. Among the four matchups scheduled for Sunday, March 4 is LAFC’s first-ever regular season game – the home opener for 2017 MLS Cup finalists Seattle Sounders FC. LAFC will again face Seattle with the opening of Banc of California Stadium on Sunday, April 29 – the first home game in club history, and the final home opener of the 2018 MLS season.
Week 2 features several intriguing matchups, including Atlanta United’s home opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against D.C. United on Sunday, March 11. The following weekend, the Impact play their home opener against Canadian rivals Toronto FC at Olympic Stadium on Saturday, March 17.
While Audi Field, the new soccer stadium for D.C. United, is being completed, the club will play its first two home games at venues to be announced in the coming weeks by the team. With renovations underway at Providence Park, the Portland Timbers’ home opener is April 14.
MLS is coming off a 2017 season highlighted by the debut of two new clubs (Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC), two new stadiums (Orlando City Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta), an influx of talented young players, and records set for attendance, broadcast ratings and social media engagement. Following the pioneering introduction of video review and crowning of Toronto FC as MLS Cup champions in 2017, the 2018 campaign promises to be another exciting season, with every team within reach of capturing MLS Cup, as over the past 11 seasons, the league has had nine different champions.
During the 2018 MLS regular season, each club will play 34 games, including 17 home games and 17 away games. Teams will face each of their conference opponents (10 in the East, 11 in the West) twice during the season with one game at home and one game away. Western Conference teams will play one additional intra-conference game and Eastern Conference teams will play two. All teams will face each non-conference opponent once.
