SEATTLE, WASH. – Seattle Sounders FC is set to open the 2021 MLS regular season at home on Friday, April 16 against Western Conference side Minnesota United FC at Lumen Field (6:30 p.m. PT / FS1), Major League Soccer announced today. The matchup pits the two defending Western Conference finalists against each other, after the Rave Green earned a 3-2 comeback win in last year’s conference championship fixture. Full dates and broadcast details of the 2021 MLS season schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
This marks the first time that Sounders FC has opened its regular season against Minnesota. Seattle is 6-0-1 all-time against the Loons in MLS action (including postseason), most recently meeting in the 2020 Western Conference Final in December. After Minnesota carried a 2-0 lead into the final 15 minutes of play, Seattle stormed back with three late goals from Will Bruin, Raúl Ruidíaz and Gustav Svensson, clinching the club’s fourth MLS Cup Final berth since 2016.
The Rave Green are 7-5-0 all-time in MLS regular-season openers, including a 2-1 home win over Chicago in 2020. This also marks the 12th time in 13 seasons that Seattle has hosted its season opener.
The 2021 opening weekend marks the first time all five national broadcast partners showcase MLS matches on their over-the-air networks, including ABC, FOX, and Univision’s UniMás in the U.S., as well as CTV and TVA in Canada. In the U.S., ESPN+ will stream all regional broadcasts nationally, out-of-market, including 17 club home openers. Any nationally televised matches not aired by a national English-language network will be streamed live in English on Twitter.
