RSL opens 2015 season at Portland on March 7 as MLS announces home openers

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In front of the roaring Timbers Army and across the pitch from Nat Borchers and likely Will Johnson.

That's where Real Salt Lake will commence its 2015 Major League Soccer season. The league on Friday morning announced home openers for all 20 MLS clubs, and once again, RSL is starting another campaign on the road. RSL and Portland will meet on Saturday, March 7, at Providence Park to kick off the season. There, RSL will see recently-dealt Borchers — who was traded to the Timbers on Dec. 8 in exchange for allocation money — and possibly Johnson who is currently rehabbing a fractured right leg suffered on Sept. 28 in Toronto.

A week later, RSL will host the Philadelphia Union in its 2015 home opener at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, March 14. The match is slated to kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Sandy. The league continues to work on finalizing its full season schedule for all of its clubs. According to a source, the full schedule is expected out at the start of the new year in January.

The first match of the season will come on Friday, March 6, when the defending MLS Cup champions L.A. Galaxy host the Chicago Fire at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Other notable home openers include Jason' Kreis New York City FC trekking to the Sunshine State to face fellow 2015 expansion side Orlando City on Sunday, March 8, at the Citrus Bowl. The match will be televised on ESPN2 at 3 p.m.

News of the 2015 schedule being pieced together follows one of the busiest — and newsworthy — weeks in the club's recent history. Since the day after the 2014 season concluded, RSL has been in the news turning over much of its roster, and even front office. Along with Borchers' departure to Portland, Ned Grabavoy, Chris Wingert and Sebastian Velasquez have become part of NYCFC and Robbie Findley was taken by Toronto FC in the Re-Entry Draft.

The club re-acquired former center back Jamison Olave last week in wake of the slew of deals and are expected to sign Jamaican international Demar Phillips, who is currently out of contract in Norway, pending approval of a P1 Visa.

On Monday, news broke that longtime RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey was headed to Seattle. While the move hasn't officially been confirmed by Lagerwey or the Sounders, RSL promoted assistant coach Craig Waibel to the post of technical director on Wednesday.

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Dates and matchups for the 2015 home openers are below (home teams listed first).

WEEK 1

Friday, March 6

» LA Galaxy vs. Chicago Fire (StubHub Center) – 8 p.m. MDT, Unimas

Saturday, March 7

» D.C. United vs. Montreal Impact (RFK Stadium) – 1 p.m. MDT, RDS1

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Toronto FC (BC Place) – 4 p.m. MDT, TSN1 and RDS2

» Houston Dynamo vs. Columbus Crew SC (BBVA Compass Stadium)

» Philadelphia Union vs. Colorado Rapids (PPL PARK)

» Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake (Providence Park)

» FC Dallas vs. San Jose Earthquakes (Toyota Stadium)

Sunday, March 8

» Orlando City SC vs. New York City FC (Orlando Citrus Bowl) – 3 p.m. MDT, ESPN2

» Sporting Kansas City vs. New York Red Bulls (Sporting Park) – 5 p.m. MDT, FOX Sports 1

» Seattle Sounders FC vs. New England Revolution (CenturyLink Field) – 7:30 p.m. MDT, FOX Sports 1

WEEK 2

Saturday, March 14

» Chicago Fire vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Toyota Park)

» Real Salt Lake vs. Philadelphia Union (Rio Tinto Stadium)

» Columbus Crew SC vs. Toronto FC (Columbus Crew Stadium)

Sunday, March 15

» New York City FC vs. New England Revolution (Yankee Stadium)

WEEK 3

Saturday, March 21

» New England Revolution vs. Montreal Impact (Gillette Stadium)

» Colorado Rapids vs. New York City FC (Dick's Sporting Goods Park)

Sunday, March 22

» New York Red Bulls vs. D.C. United (Red Bull Arena)

» San Jose Earthquakes vs. Chicago Fire (Avaya Stadium)

WEEK 4

Saturday, March 28

» Montreal Impact vs. Orlando City SC (Olympic Stadium)

WEEK 10