Orlando City’s 2019 schedule released, All-Star Game confirmed for July 31

The full schedule for Orlando City’s fifth MLS season has been released, with some new wrinkles when compared to previous seasons. 

All teams will play their conference opponents twice (home and away) and will play all nonconference opponents once. Each team gets 17 home games and 17 away games. 

The switch in the schedule means Orlando City plays rivals like NYCFC and Atlanta United twice, instead of three times like it did last season. The Lions face the Five Stripes, who are the reigning MLS Cup champions, on May 12 away and during Rivalry Week on Aug. 23 in Orlando City Stadium. 

The 2019 regular season runs from March 2 until Oct. 6. The Lions start their regular season at 2:30 p.m. on March 2 against NYCFC in Orlando City Stadium. 

Orlando City hosts the MLS All-Star Game, one of the league’s marquee events, on July 31. It’s close to the Aug. 1 date of the 2018 All-Star Game, which drew a record crowd of 72,317 to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. 

Unlike last season, there aren’t any particularly brutal road stretches in Orlando City’s schedule. At one point in the 2018 season, the Lions played games in New York, Miami (U.S. Open Cup), Vancouver and Montreal in the span of 11 days. Orlando City then traveled to the Maryland SoccerPlex for a game against D.C. United in the U.S Open Cup. 

There isn’t anything quite so bad in the 2019 schedule for the Lions. Orlando City plays three consecutive league games on the road just once, and there’s a break between the first game against the Montreal Impact on June 1 in Saputo Stadium and the final two — a midweek game against D.C. United on June 26 and a June 29 match against Columbus Crew SC. 

Other notable games include a trip to Minnesota United’s new stadium, Allianz Field, on Aug. 17, Orlando City’s first league match against expansion side FC Cincinnati in Orlando City Stadium May 19 (the Lions travel to Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29), and L.A. Galaxy superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s trip to Orlando City Stadium on May 24. 

Here’s the full schedule (home games in bold)