The USL has released its 2016 league schedule! The league’s 29 teams will play 30 games over the course of 27 weeks — a season which will run from March 25 to September 25.
Saint Louis FC, who spent its maiden season in the league’s Eastern Division, will join 14 other teams in the league’s Western Division.
The club’s 2016 season will kick off on Saturday, March 26, away to Real Monarchs SLC in Salt Lake City, Utah. Saint Louis FC will play 4 games away from home before returning to St. Louis for its home opener against the Tulsa Roughnecks on Saturday, April 16. Kick-off is set for 7:30 pm.
Starting the season away from home comes as no surprise as the club and its ownership group, St. Louis Scott Gallagher, LLC, are rebuilding the club’s home — World Wide Technology Soccer Park. This past December, flooding of the Meramac River left the facility and portions of its offices underwater. The flooding has caused an estimated $1 million in total damages. (You can make a tax-exempt donation to the recovery effort here.)
Saint Louis FC will maintain its rivalry with Louisville City FC. The rivalry, cleverly dubbed the “Fleur de Louis Derby,” will take place over two legs. The first match-up takes place on May 14, in Louisville. The return leg will be held in St. Louis on Saturday, September 17. The Derby is a competition both on the field and in the stands. The St. Louligans and the Coopers — one of Louisville’s (many) supporters groups — started the Derby for bragging rights. The supporters group whose team aggregates more points over the course of the derby matches wins the Derby and its trophy. Although the Saint Louis FC and Louisville split the series in 2015, the Coopers won the trophy on Louisville’s superior goal differential.
Saint Louis FC will also be looking towards new rivalries. One such rivalry will be against 2016 USL newcomers, Swope Park Rangers KC — an organization operated by Sporting Kansas City. The teams will face off 4 times over the course of the season; the first matchup will be played in St. Louis on Saturday, May 7.
The team will look to continue its dominance over teams from Oklahoma. In 2015, Saint Louis FC finished with a collective 2-0-1 record against Oklahoma City Energy and Tulsa Roughnecks. The 2016 season will feature four encounters with each of these two Oklahoma teams. Saint Louis FC will first face OKC away on Saturday, April 9 before kicking off its home campaign against Tulsa.
As Saint Louis FC moves west, it will also encounter new foes such as 2014 USL Champions Sacramento Republic, Portland Timbers 2, Seattle Sounders 2, and Vancouver Whitecaps 2.
The complete 2016 Saint Louis FC schedule can be found here. Time to start planning some road trips!
In addition to the above-mentioned schedule, Saint Louis FC will feature in the 2016 U.S. Open Cup. The team’s 2015 cup run was very memorable. The team won games against the Des Moines Menace and MLS-bound Minnesota United before losing 1-0 away from home to eventual champions Sporting Kansas City.
Make sure to make it out to the park to cheer on Saint Louis FC. For all ticketing questions, please contact Saint Louis FC’s ticket office at (636) 860-0997, via email at tickets@saintlouisfc.com, or online at saintlouisfc.com. As always, we look forward to seeing everyone at the park in 2016, whether you’re standing with us in the corner or you’re out around the grounds. Show Up. Make Noise. Have Fun. #ThisIsSilly #PWICB #AllFleurOne
