St Louis CITY2 Announces 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Schedule

St Louis CITY2’s second season in MLS NEXT Pro will kick off with a rematch of the 2022 Western Conference Finals as the team hosts Tacoma Defiance on Sunday, March 26, scheduled to be televised on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. The club will play 28 matches in the regular season highlighted by visits from cross-town rivals Sporting KC II on May 21 and Youth Soccer Night against Salt Lake City on August 6 at CITYPARK.

“It’s so special to see the support we continue to get from the St. Louis fans,” said Lutz Pfannenstiel, St. Louis CITY SC Sporting Director. “We are honored to represent a city with such an incredible soccer history. As I have said before, MLS NEXT Pro is the ideal platform to connect the player pathway, and so it’s our goal is to continue developing and providing opportunities for young players to achieve their dream of playing at the next level.”

CITY2 will play their home matches at CITYPARK, giving fans an additional opportunity to watch professional soccer at the new state-of-the-art stadium in Downtown West. The stadium will be General Admission with only seats in the lower bowl section on the east side of the stadium available for ticket purchases. A limited number of concession stands will be available on matchday. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, March 16 at 10 a.m. on SeatGeek.com.

In last season’s inaugural campaign, CITY2 took the league by storm, winning the Western Conference and just missing out on an MLS NEXT Pro Cup championship after falling to Columbus Crew 2 in the final.

“We want to build on the strong foundation set by last year’s team,” said Bobby Murphy, St Louis CITY2 Head Coach. “The energy of soccer among our fanbase is palpable. I believe this is a great opportunity for our fans to come to CITYPARK and see both our young pros and top Academy players.”

The majority of regular season matches, plus all Decision Day matches, playoff matches and MLS NEXT Pro Cup, will be available to watch live and on-demand with MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. The remainder of regular season matches will stream live on mlsnextpro.com. MLS Season Pass is the subscription service from Apple and Major League Soccer that is home to all MLS and Leagues Cup matches and hundreds of MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT matches.

With the addition of seven new clubs this season, the Western Conference will consist of 14 clubs, while the Eastern Conference will have 13. Three of the four divisions will feature seven clubs each, while the Northeast will have six. St Louis CITY2 will play in the Western Conference and the Frontier Division.

NEW PLAYOFF FORMAT

The 2023 season will feature an expanded playoffs format which includes a pick-your-opponent element in the first two rounds.

Within each conference, the two division champions and the five clubs with the next highest points (seven clubs total) will advance to the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. The Playoffs will consist of three rounds followed by MLS NEXT Pro Cup, taking place over four consecutive weeks beginning the weekend of September 29. The club with the most regular season points in each conference (#1 seed) will earn a first-round bye, automatically advancing to the Conference Semifinals.

Conference Quarterfinals:

The next two teams with the most points in each conference (#2 and #3 seeds) will choose their opponent and host their match (one of two teams must be the other division champion)
The two remaining teams that are not selected will play each other, with the higher seeded team hosting

Conference Semifinals:

The team with the most overall points in the conference (#1 seed) will choose its opponent from the remaining two lowest seeded teams and host the match
The second highest seed will host the remaining team

Conference Finals:

The team with the most regular season points (higher seed) will host the team with the lowest points (lower seed)

MLS NEXT Pro Cup:

The team with the most regular season points (higher seed) will host MLS NEXT Pro Cup

Mick Lite

Mick Lite served for 12 years in the military and is now an entrepreneur and photographer. Has worked as the official scorer and social media manager for the River City Rascals, Statistician for the Missouri Monsters and St. Louis Attack arena football teams, and as the Team Photographer and social media consultant for the St. Charles Chill, SLU Hockey, St. Louis Slam, and Gateway Grizzlies.

St Louis CITY2 Announces 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Schedule

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