MLS Schedule Shorter, Sweeter

By GRAHAME L. JONES

Dec. 8, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Major League Soccer released its 2001 schedule Thursday, reducing the number of regular-season games from 32 to 28 per team and sharply decreasing conflicts with the U.S. national team’s World Cup qualifying schedule.

The season will be two weeks shorter than this year’s, beginning April 7 and ending Sept. 16, and 83% of the games will be played on weekends or holidays, when attendance traditionally has been higher.

One reason for the shorter season is financial, MLS claiming to have lost $250 million in its first five seasons. Even so, expansion is planned for 2002 and at least three cities--Los Angeles, Chicago and New York--have stadium plans on the drawing board.

The league’s championship game, MLS Cup 2001, will be played Oct. 21 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The MLS All-Star game is scheduled July 28 at a site to be determined.

The Galaxy will open its sixth season at the Rose Bowl on April 7 against the San Jose Earthquakes, with its final game set for Sept. 16 at San Jose.

The team plays four games against each of the other Western Division teams, the Earthquakes, the Colorado Rapids and the defending champion Kansas City Wizards, and home-and-home series against the eight other teams.

Of the Galaxy’s 14 home games, 10 will be played on Saturdays at 7 p.m., two on Saturdays at 1 p.m. and two on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Implementation of a global calendar by FIFA means there will be only five or fewer occasions when Galaxy players such as Cobi Jones, Greg Vanney and Luis Hernandez may have to miss games because of national team commitments.

“The league was very good about trying to avoid [club versus country] conflicts,” said Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid, pointing out that several Galaxy playing dates had been changed for that reason.

As it did last spring, the league will hold a preseason training camp for all 12 teams in Florida in March.

The Galaxy is currently training for the eight-team CONCACAF Champions Cup, to be played at Cal State Fullerton and the Coliseum Jan. 16-21. Los Angeles plays Real Espana of Honduras in the quarterfinals at Titan Stadium on Jan. 16.

The winner and runner-up in that tournament, which also features Washington D.C. United of MLS, will qualify for the second FIFA World Club Championship in Spain July 30-Aug. 12. Should the Galaxy qualify, it will have to reschedule its first three MLS games in August.

“That’s definitely a problem we want to have,” Schmid said.

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Galaxy 2001 MLS Schedule

All Times Pacific

Saturday, April 7: SAN JOSE 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 14: at Kansas City 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 21: COLORADO 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 28: at Colorado 6 p.m.

Saturday, May 5: KANSAS CITY 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 12: at NY/NJ 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 19: DALLAS 7 p.m.

Saturday May 26: NEW ENGLAND 7 p.m.