On Thursday, MLS dropped the 2016 schedule on the hoards of eagerly awaiting fans across the league and there was much rejoicing (that is, if you want to go to Florida in August). With the announcement of opponents and dates coming from the league, speculation about difficulty and the toughest stretches was sure to follow.
MLSsoccer.com did some data gymnastics and, by calculating 2015 points per game taken at home or on the road, determined that the Sounders are set to play the third-most difficult schedule in 2016 behind the LA Galaxy and Colorado Rapids.
While it might be expected that the Rapids, who finished 2015 at the bottom of the Western Conference, would have a tough season ahead in 2016, MLS chalks the difficulty of the Galaxy schedule up to the fact that Bruce Arena's club has to visit Seattle not once, but twice in the coming season. Given the Sounders' 11-4-2 record at home in 2015 (second-best home Western Conference home record), the league has reason to question the mettle of visiting sides to CenturyLink Field.
Seattle's ranking on the list can be attributed to trips to face 2015's top-two Eastern Conference finishers - D.C. United and New York Red Bulls - while also taking two trips to Dallas, the club that advanced past Seattle in the Western Conference Semifinals just a few months ago.
The list does not account for are factors such as a one-week stretch where the Rave Green will play three MLS matches and the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League semifinals should the team advance past Club América in the quarterfinals. On top of that, two of those league matches pit Seattle against Cascadia rival and defending MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers. Time will tell whether the numbers hold up to reality.
