Today at 2 pm EST, MLS unveiled every team's 2022 schedule. The Union's schedule came out and showed that Philly will play 34 matches in 2022. 26 of those matches will be games against the teams in the eastern conference, and eight will be against the western conference teams. The Union's 2022 schedule is now out, let's take a look at it and break it down!
Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union via Twitter
Union's 2022 Schedule
https://twitter.com/PhilaUnion/status/1471196796613537800
The Union will play 22 different teams in 2022. They'll play every team in the east twice, showing the importance of getting points from the teams fighting Philly for playoff seeding. Philly will also play four western conference teams at home and four on the road. This is getting back to a normal style of schedule as 2020, and 2021 were influenced heavily by the pandemic and were mainly intra-conference matches. Five of the Union's 34 matches will be on national tv, with two matches on ESPN and FS1 respectively, and one on UniMas. Here's a list of the full schedule for a closer look at who Philly will play.
DATE
OPPONENT
TIME (EST)
Broadcast
Sat., Feb. 26
Minnesota United FC
1 pm
TBD
Sat., March 5
@ CF Montreal
4 pm
TBD
Sat., March 12
San Jose Earthquakes
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., March 19
@ New York City FC
1 pm
TBD
Sat., April 2
Charlotte FC
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., April 9
Columbus Crew
6 pm
TBD
Sat., April 16
@ Toronto FC
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., April 23
CF Montreal
3 pm
TBD
Sun., May 1
@ Nashville SC
4 pm
ESPN
Sat., May 7
@ LAFC
11 pm
TBD
Sat., May 14
New York Red Bulls
7:30 pm
TBD
Wed., May 18
Inter Miami CF
7:30 pm
TBD
Sun., May 22
@ Portland Timbers
10 pm
FS1
Sat., May 28
@ New England Revolution
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., June 18
FC Cincinnati
7:30 pm
TBD
Sun., June 26
New York City FC
6 pm
FS1
Wed., June 29
@ Chicago Fire FC
8 pm
TBD
Sun., July 3
@ Columbus Crew
7:30 pm
TBD
Fri., July 8
D.C. United
8 pm
ESPN
Wed., July 13
@ Inter Miami CF
8 pm
TBD
Sat., July 16
New England Revolution
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., July 23
@ Orlando City SC
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., July 30
Houston Dynamo FC
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., Aug. 6
@ FC Cincinnati
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., Aug. 13
Chicago Fire FC
7:30 pm
TBD
Wed., Aug. 17
@ FC Dallas
9 pm
TBD
Sat., Aug. 20
@ D.C. United
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., Aug. 27
Colorado Rapids
7:30 pm
TBD
Wed., Aug. 31
Atlanta United FC
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., Sept. 3
@ New York Red Bulls
7 pm
TBD
Sat., Sept. 10
Orlando City SC
7:30 pm
TBD
Sat., Sept. 17
@ Atlanta United FC
3:30 pm
UniMas
Sat., Oct. 1
@ Charlotte FC
7 pm
TBD
Sun., Oct. 9
Toronto FC
TBD
TBD
The Union's 2022 season, is one where Philly could truly compete for an MLS Cup. That is the logical next step for this team. The club will need significant improvements for the attack, but the midfield, defense, and goalkeeping are already at a high level. Let's look at how important the matches are against the rest of the east in 2022.
Home and Away vs all eastern conference teams
https://twitter.com/BrotherlyGame/status/1471198830595039240
Over the last two seasons, the Union has had their two best years in franchise history. In those two years, the Union has played the majority of their games against the eastern conference. In 2022, the scales tip back to a more normal type of schedule. This means that the Union will only play two matches against every eastern conference opponent. One match home; one match away.
This will be a true test for the Union. In years past they had the opportunity to play teams three, four, even five times in a season. Having a team's number and beating them that many times in a season can produce a real boost in the standings. In 2022, they only have the opportunity to take a maximum of six points from an eastern conference opponent. It jacks up the intensity when playing an intra-conference opponent, and makes every eastern conference match even more important. With that being said, there are also eight games against teams from the western conference.
Four home & four away vs west
https://twitter.com/samstejskal/status/1471198737523486733
The Union gets to play four matches at home vs Minnesota, San Jose, Houston, and Colorado; Philly also plays four matches away vs Nashville, LAFC, Portland, and Dallas. These eight games make for some interesting opportunities to take some "bonus" points against teams from the opposite conference. The home games are especially important as it's a chance to beat a team that rarely comes into the fortress that is Subaru Park. The away matches will be tougher.
Late kickoff times and hostile environments await Philly on the road in 2022. Philly kicks off against Dallas at 9 pm EST, Portland at 10 pm EST, and LAFC at 11 pm EST; they will also be the first team to enter Nashville's new stadium. These are tough places to play, but it will test the metal of this Union team and of their coach Jim Curtin who has come up with good away results in tough places to play over the past few years.
More in-depth breakdowns to come later
https://twitter.com/Tim_Lovenguth/status/1471196171855183877
There are only 11 weeks until MLS' 2022 campaign begins. As we get closer to the start of the season, and the dust settles on teams transfers, we'll do an in-depth breakdown of every team the Union faces in 2022. It'll be a true season preview in a multi-article series coming this February!
Be on the lookout for that, and in the meantime take your time going through this schedule, planning your away trips to see the boys in blue, and predict how many wins/points the Union should take from a schedule like this!
Be sure to come back to Philly Sports Network for more Philadelphia Union and other soccer content!Follow our Union team on Twitter:
Tim Lovenguth | Justin Friedberg | El Parcero PhillyZach LoBasso | Steve Beavon | Liam Jenkins
Doop on Union fans!
Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union via Twitter
