Portland Timbers release 2024 MLS Schedule
Highlights include away days to Columbus, NYC, and Charlotte (for the first time) and... Decision Day in Seattle.
With just about two months before the 2024 MLS season gets under way, we have a schedule. The Portland Timbers 2024 slate of games has been released — and oh man the beginning of the season is tough.
Portland starts with two straight home dates. Phil Neville will make his Portland touchline debut on February 24, when Portland squares off against the Colorado Rapids, who will be sporting a new coach of their own in Chris Armas. A week later Portland hosts D.C. United, who will also have a new coach — but at time of writing that person hasn’t been, um, hired yet.
After that though, Portland faces a rough gauntlet of seven out of their next nine games on the road. That stretch includes games in hard-to-win places such as Houston and Kansas City, as well as a visit to the newly minted MLS Cup Champions, the Columbus Crew. That early season away day stretch concludes with Portland traveling to face Charlotte FC for the first time in club history on May 4.
After that, the season settles into somewhat of a normal and more manageable flow of games. However, the table does seem to be set for another spring of struggle for the Timbers in the opening months of the season.
As for Portland’s matchups against their Cascadia rivals, the Timbers will face both the Whitecaps and Sounders three times in 2024, just as it was in 2023. They host the Whitecaps once on June 22, and travel up to BC Place for two games on March 30 and September 28. Portland will host the Sounders twice in the upcoming year, squaring off against Seattle on May 12 and August 31 in Providence Park.
Portland makes the trip up to Seattle just once this year, but goodness is it at a heck of a time: Decision Day. The Timbers will make the journey up I-5 on October 19 for the final game of the 2024 regular season at Lumen Field. Looking at Portland’s past two Decision Days, and how the Timbers have needed a result to make the postseason and failed to do so on both occasions… the stakes are likely going to be somehow even higher than the usual Portland-Seattle fare.
In addition to Columbus and Charlotte away and D.C. at home, the Timbers will face three other Eastern Conference teams next year: the Philadelphia Union (home), Nashville SC (home), New York City FC (away). Portland will face each of the non-Cascadia Western Conference team two times during 2024, once home and once away.
The Leagues Cup is back for 2024, with league play pausing on July 26 for the intercontinental tournament to proceed and culminate in the final on August 25.
After missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, the Timbers are entering a new era. And with the schedule now out, we now know the path that the new era will wind down.
You can see the full schedule breakdown for yourself here.
What do you think, Rose City? How will the Timbers fare in their 2024 batch of games? Which game(s) are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments!
I don't think I could deal with a third year in a row of "it's the last day of the season and the Timbers need to win to get into the playoffs". The fact that that game this season will be in Seattle is extra icing on that particularly disgusting cake, but hopefully by then the Timbers' fate will already be decided, one way or the other.
Luis Suarez to Miami confirmed. Lol. Retirement league.