December 19, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
FC Cincinnati 2 News Release
Major League Soccer schedule release day is a milestone of every offseason. In a sense it marks the start of a new year, despite coming just shy of January 1st itself, and creates a sense of energy and understanding for what is to come in the coming season.
It’s not a perfectly complete look at 2025 – Cup Competitions will settle themselves neatly into this calendar – but it is the most complete piece of the puzzle to be added. There is still plenty of work to be done in the offseason, but let’s look to the future for a moment for some marquee matches, themes, and interesting tidbits to pull from today’s schedule release.
Hell is Real
The first thing the eyes hunt for when a new list of fixtures is released is, of course, the biggest rivalry games.
There is no greater set of rivalry matchups in all of Major League Soccer than the two games separated along I-71. The Hell is Real derby.
Lower.Com Field will host the first match of the series in 2025, where FC Cincinnati will look to return and emerge victorious again on Saturday May, 21st. The Orange and Blue stormed into Columbus last season and snagged their first ever win on the road in Hell is Real with a 2-1 result. The matchup in Cincinnati will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at TQL Stadium on Saturday July 12th.
Of note, both matches will come as the middle game of a three game swing. The trip to Columbus in May is the second of a three game road swing that will also feature trips to Toronto and Atlanta. Whereas the home match is the middle of a three game home stand where Chicago Fire FC and Inter Miami CF will come to Cincy around the Hell is Real match.
Opening at Home
While FC Cincinnati’s first game of the year will technically come in Concacaf Champions Cup play, they will kick off MLS play at TQL Stadium for the third year in a row.
FCC will host well known Eastern Conference rivals and MLS Cup Finalists New York Red Bulls on February 22nd with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
The Red Bulls will be the most split up opponent of the season as there will be 224 days between the season opener, and the penultimate game of the season when they return to Red Bull Arena on October 4th.
First Time West Coast Visits
There are three west coast trips on the calendar this season, with two trips to cities The Orange and Blue have never before visited.
The first is to Real Salt Lake on July 19th, a repeat visit from 2022 and the third time the two clubs will…
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