2023 Real Salt Lake schedule released

2023 is nearly here, and with the ticking over of the year, the MLS schedule surely couldn’t be far behind. So it is that we’re here today, because that schedule has officially been released.

Some highlights include:

• Feb. 25 at Vancouver Whitecaps to open the campaign
• March 11 vs. Austin FC, RSL’s first home match of 2023
• March 25 vs. St. Louis City SC, the first time we’ll play against the debutants — who, notably, are using “SLCSC” as their abbreviation. We will very likely see “RSL vs. SLC” everywhere, which will confuse absolutely nobody, I’m sure. Anyway, we hate them now.
• April 8 vs. Charlotte FC, who are visiting in their first-ever match against RSL
• Oct. 21 at Colorado Rapids, which should be a fun way to end the season, I guess
• Dec. 9: MLS Cup 2023. So we’re back to December, which is just a blast. The playoffs now range from Oct. 28 to Dec. 9, with a good, old-fashioned FIFA international window in the middle. Just great fun, really.

There are three instances of back-to-back home games:

• April 22/29 vs. San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders
• May 13/17 vs. LAFC, Portland Timbers
• Sept. 20/23 vs. FC Dallas, Vancouver Whitecaps

And, of course, we’ve got the Leagues Cup to contend with. We’re no longer just a showcase team, because now, the tournament takes up an entire month of MLS action. So if you loved watching Real Salt Lake in August at home — well, RSL will have to progress in the Leagues Cup group stage.

A full list of matches follows. I’m not including times — you can get that from a calendar better than this site right now, with months remaining before the start of the season. (Note: There are only two months. That’s wild.)

• Feb. 25, Vancouver vs. RSL
• March 4, Seattle vs. RSL
• March 11, RSL vs. Austin FC
• March 25, RSL vs. St. Louis City SC
• April 1, Columbus Crew vs. RSL
• April 8, RSL vs. Charlotte FC
• April 15, FC Dallas vs. RSL
• April 22, RSL vs. San Jose Earthquakes
• April 29, RSL vs. Seattle Sounders FC
• May 6, Houston Dynamo vs. RSL
• May 13, RSL vs. Los Angeles FC
• May 17, RSL vs. Portland Timbers FC
• May 20, Colorado Rapids vs. RSL
• May 27, Minnesota United vs. RSL
• May 31, RSL vs. LA Galaxy
• June 3, Austin FC vs. RSL
• June 10, RSL vs. New York City FC
• June 17, D.C. United vs. RSL
• June 21, St. Louis City SC vs. RSL
• June 24, RSL vs. Minnesota United
• July 1, Toronto FC vs. RSL
• July 8, RSL vs. Orlando City SC
• July 12, Sporting Kansas City vs. RSL
• July 15, RSL vs. New York Red Bulls
• August 20, LA Galaxy vs. RSL
• August 26, RSL vs. Houston Dynamo
• August 30, Portland Timbers vs. RSL
• September 2, RSL vs. Colorado Rapids
• September 16, San Jose Earthquakes vs. RSL
• September 20, RSL vs. FC Dallas
• September 23, RSL vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
• Oct. 1, LAFC vs. RSL
• Oct. 7, RSL vs. Sporting Kansas City
• Oct. 21, Colorado Rapids vs. RSL