Portland Timbers announce inaugural MLS season schedule

Major League Soccer (MLS) today unveiled the full 34-game schedule for the Portland Timbers as the team kicks off its inaugural season in MLS. After their season-opening, three-game road trip, the Timbers, who play one home and one away match against each of the other 17 teams in the league, return to Portland to open up a renovated PGE Park on ESPN2 against the Chicago Fire on Thursday, April 14, at 8 p.m. (Pacific).

The Timbers play the first game in the history of the MLS franchise on Saturday, March 19, on the road against the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids at 6 p.m. (Pacific). The match is also a homecoming for head coach John Spencer, who was inducted into the Rapids’ Gallery of Honor in 2009 after four years as a player (2001-04).

The home opener against the Fire is one of three nationally televised matches currently scheduled for the Timbers in 2011. The Timbers will play host to Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday, July 10, at 2 p.m. (Pacific), live on ESPN. The two rivals will also be featured on ESPN2 on Saturday, May 14, at 8 p.m. (Pacific) when they square off in Seattle.

— Excerpt from portlandtimbers.com; click below for full schedule