The Quakes, along with the rest of MLS, announced their schedule for the 2018 regular season on Thursday morning. Here are a few interesting notes about the schedule:
- The schedule is very road-heavy at the start of the season. In fact, eight of the first 13 matches will be played away from the friendly confines of Avaya Stadium with back-to-back road contests on three different occasions during that span. San Jose will certainly have to weather the storm that comes with life on the road in MLS.
- Avaya Stadium will be busy starting in late July. Wednesday, July 25 vs. Seattle Sounders FC kicks off a stretch where the Earthquakes will be home for nine of the final 15 matches of the season. Those points will be critical to reaching the postseason for the second consecutive season.
- Saturday, June 9 marks the team’s first-ever match against expansion-side LAFC. The match will take place at Avaya Stadium, with the road contest set for Saturday, Sept. 22.
- The Clasico returns to Stanford Stadium for the eighth consecutive season on Saturday, June 30 at 7 p.m. Can attendance for the match surge above 50,000 for the seventh straight year?
- Atlanta United FC comes to San Jose for the first time ever on Wednesday, Sept. 19.
- Decision Day will take place on Sunday, Oct. 28 against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The Quakes will have the challenge of closing out their season on the road for the fourth time in the last five years. We all know how important it was to host the game in 2017.
