Sounders 2 USL schedule announced

Here’s the word from the club:

USL today unveiled its 2016 regular season schedule, a campaign that sees each of its 29 clubs play 30 matches. Sounders FC 2 begins its second season on March 25 and concludes the campaign on September 24. S2 enters its second USL season with a five-match homestand, starting with the season-opener against Sacramento Republic FC on Friday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. PT at Starfire Stadium.

"We're excited to begin S2's second campaign in the USL," said Sounders FC General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey. "One of the things we tried to do for 2016 was to schedule more S2 home matches following First Team contests, which gives our younger players at the MLS level better opportunities across both teams. Aligning the schedules further implements our vertical integration approach, which we believe is critical to our player development process."

The 2016 campaign sees six clubs enter the league, including three additions to the USL Western Conference in Rio Grande Valley FC, San Antonio and Swope Park Rangers. S2 is set to face each Western Conference addition twice in the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Orlando City B, FC Cincinnati and Bethlehem Steel FC are set to join the Eastern Conference in 2016.

S2 is facing both of the other Cascadian sides, Portland Timbers 2 and Whitecaps FC 2, four times each in 2016, twice home and away. The Rave Green's first two fixtures against Timbers 2 are both on the road, before hosting Portland at Starfire Stadium on July 24 and August 29. Starfire's first Cascadia match of 2016 comes against WFC2 on June 9 before the two sides face-off in consecutive matches - home and away - on September 2 and September 5. The club will conclude its 2016 season with four matches on the road, including a season-ending road clash against Swope Park Rangers on Saturday, September 24.

"We believe the new schedule format will provide more flexibility for players to earn minutes at both," said Sounders FC 2 General Manager Andrew Opatkiewicz. "It's an exciting time for the organization as we look forward to building off a successful S2 inaugural campaign in 2015 and develop more players to contribute to the First Team."

Once again, each Sounders FC 2 game is being live-streamed on SoundersFC.com. The 2016 schedule can be viewed in its entirety below or via the following link: SoundersFC.com/S2/Schedule.

The 2016 season marks the second season of a formal partnership between MLS and the USL. The team with the best record across both conferences earns the 2016 USL regular season title, while the top eight teams in each conference advance to the 2016 USL Playoffs.

2015 S2 season ticket packages, starting at $9 per match, and customizable eight-match ticket packages for $100 are currently available via SoundersFC.com/S2/Tickets, or by calling 877-MLS-GOAL. Single-match tickets and group package details are being made available in the weeks ahead.

2016 SOUNDERS FC 2 USL REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE

Friday March 25 Sacramento Republic FC 7:30 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Wednesday March 30 Arizona United 7:30 p.m.Starfire Stadium

Sunday April 3 San Antonio 5:00 p.m.Starfire Stadium

Tuesday April 12 Rio Grande Valley FC 7:30 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Sunday April 17 Colorado Springs 7:00 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Tuesday April 26 Real Monarchs 6:00 p.m. Rio Tinto Stadium

Sunday May 1 Oklahoma City Energy FC 7:00 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Sunday May 8 Tulsa Roughnecks FC 7:00 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Saturday May 14 Sacramento Republic FC 7:30 p.m. Bonney Field

Sunday May 22 LA Galaxy II 5:00 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Thursday May 26 Portland Timbers 2 7:00 p.m. Providence Park

Saturday June 4 Orange County Blues FC 7:00 p.m. Anteater Stadium

Thursday June 9 Whitecaps FC 2 7:30 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Tuesday June 14 Portland Timbers 2 7:00 p.m. Merlo Field

Sunday June 26 Swope Park Rangers FC 5:00 p.m.Starfire Stadium

Saturday July 2 Sacramento Republic FC 8:00 p.m.Bonney Field

Wednesday July 6 St. Louis FC 5:00 p.m. World Wide Technology Soccer Park

Sunday July 10 Colorado Springs 5:00 p.m. Starfire Stadium Saturday

July 16 Arizona United 7:30 p.m. Peoria Sports Complex

Sunday July 24 Portland Timbers 2 5:00 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Monday August 1 Real Monarchs 7:30 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Saturday August 6 Whitecaps FC 2 3:00 p.m. Thunderbird Stadium

Saturday August 13 Rio Grande Valley FC 5:30 p.m. RGVFC Stadium

Saturday August 20 San Antonio 5:30 p.m. Toyota Field

Monday August 29 Portland Timbers 2 7:30 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Friday September 2 Whitecaps FC 2 7:30 p.m. Starfire Stadium

Monday September 5 Whitecaps FC 2 TBD TBD

Sunday September 11 Oklahoma City Energy FC 4:00 p.m. Taft Stadium

Saturday September 17 Colorado Springs 6:00 p.m. Switchbacks Stadium Saturday

September 24 Swope Park Rangers FC 5:00 p.m. Children's Mercy Victory Field

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Sounders 2 USL schedule announced."