Tuesday, December 2, 2008

FC Dallas’ first game of 2009 season will be at home

By Pegasus News wire

Major League Soccer announced today that FC Dallas will open the 2009 regular season against the Chicago Fire on Saturday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT at Pizza Hut Park. This marks the 13th time in the League’s 14th seasons that Dallas has opened a season with a home game. It is also the fourth time that Dallas has hosted the Chicago Fire in a home-opener.

Dallas has posted a record of 6-3-4 in season openers, and 7-3-3 in home openers. The only season in which Dallas began on the road was in 2006, when FCD tied Real Salt Lake 2-2 in Utah. FCD is undefeated over its last six home openers.

All-time, Dallas is 17-10-2 in regular season play versus the Chicago Fire, which includes a record of 11-2-1 at home. FCD is 9-1-1 over the last 11 games against the Fire, and has not lost in the last six meetings. The teams play for the Brimstone Cup, the trophy awarded to the supporters of the team that wins the regular season series. After losing the 2001 series, the first year that the trophy was awarded, FCD has held the Brimstone Cup for the past seven seasons.

MLS also announced today that the New England Revolution will host FC Dallas in its home-opener on Saturday, April 4 (time TBD) at Gillette Stadium. The complete 2009 schedule, including local and national broadcast details, will be announced by early February 2009.

Each of the 15 MLS teams will play a 30-game regular season in 2009. Seven teams will be in the Eastern Conference and eight will be in the Western Conference, where expansion-side Seattle Sounders FC is the newest addition. Each team will play every other MLS team once at home and once away, for a base of 28 games. Two additional games against intra-conference rivals will complete each team’s 30-game schedule. The regular season ends on Oct. 25.

Source: FC Dallas Communications

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