Galaxy Shoots Again at United in ’97 Opener
Having ended its inaugural Major League Soccer season 20 minutes shy of a championship, the Los Angeles Galaxy will set about trying to right that mistake March 29.
That’s when the team opens its second season, taking on Washington D.C. United at 7:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl in one of six Saturday home games on the Galaxy’s 32-game schedule announced Tuesday.
The 10-team league opens the season a week earlier, on March 22, with the San Jose Clash playing the New York/New Jersey MetroStars at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.
MLS has lengthened its season by three weeks to schedule more weekend games. Of the 160 games on the league schedule, 149, or 93%, will be played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The MLS All-Star game is set for Wednesday, July 9 at Giants Stadium, and the MLS championship game will be played Oct. 26 at RFK Stadium in Washington.
In last season’s final, the Galaxy squandered a 2-0 lead in the final 20 minutes and lost, 3-2, to D.C. United. That made the rematch against Washington a logical season-opener for the Galaxy.
Of the team’s 16 home games, six are on Saturdays, six on Sundays, three on Fridays and one on a Thursday. Ten of the home games are at 7:30 p.m., with the rest afternoon matches.
The schedule includes all the other MLS teams and features a home game July 4 against the New England Revolution.
The league will open spring training in the last week of January at Boca Raton, Fla., and a collegiate draft will be held there during the college all-star game. Several teams plan on preseason camps or games in Mexico.
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1997 Galaxy Schedule
All Times Pacific
* MARCH: 29--Washington, 7:30.
* APRIL: 5--At Kansas City, 5:30. 12--At San Jose, 7:30. 18--Coloroado, 7:30. 26--Dallas, 7:30.
* MAY: 2--At Washington, 4:30. 4--At New York-New Jersey, noon. 10--At Kansas City, 5:30. 18--San Jose, 4:30. 25--Columbus, 7:30. 31--Kansas City, 7:30.
* JUNE: 8--At New England, noon. 15--Tampa Bay, 4:30. 21--At Colorado, 6; 28--At Tampa Bay, 4:30.
* JULY: 4--New England, 7:30. 9--All-Star game. 12--Washington, 7:30. 20--At New York-New Jersey. 25--At Dallas, 5:30. 27--At Colorado, noon.
* AUGUST: 2--Columbus, 7:30. 9--At Washington, 4:30. 14--At New England, 4:30. 17--San Jose, 4:30. 23--Colorado, 7. 30--At Columbus, 7:30.
* SEPTEMBER: 4--New York-New Jersey, 7:30. 7--Tampa Bay, noon. 14--At Dallas, noon. 19--Dallas, 7:30. 21--At San Jose, noon. 28--Kansas City, 5.
