RENO, Nev. – The 2018 USL Championship schedule is finally here.

Reno 1868 FC is set to begin its third season of professional soccer on March 9 at home in a 2018 playoffs rematch with Orange County SC.

That season opener is just one of several marquee games on the 2019 schedule for Nevada’s top pro soccer team.

Here are five takeaways from Wednesday’s schedule release:

New Faces

 

Reno will face three new opponents this year: Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC and New Mexico United. All three are expansion teams and have already loaded up on talent in the offseason. Reno will play Austin March 26 and Sept. 15, El Paso April 27 and Oct. 5 and New Mexico April 20 and Sept. 20. With the addition of Austin and El Paso, four of Reno’s opponents now hail from the Great State of Texas.

Rivalry Month

 

The month of June will be prime time at Greater Nevada Field as Reno will host two of its biggest rivals: Sacramento Republic FC and Las Vegas Lights FC. Reno and Sacramento have played the regular season series, dubbed the “Donner Pass Derby” a total of five times with Reno holding a narrow 3-2 lead. Reno also hosts its bitter rival from the South, Las Vegas Lights FC on June 1. Reno took the inaugural series against the (interesting?) club from the South remaining undefeated in three meetings and claiming the Silver State Cup trophy.

Another Fruitful July?

 

The midseason tends to be the hottest for the club from the Biggest Little City, especially during the month of July. Over the past two seasons, Reno has scored 25 goals in that month. That’s roughly under a quarter of the club’s total goals scored (132). Looking at 2019’s slate of opponents, Reno has scored at least three goals in contests against all of its foes in July (Orange County, Rio Grande Valley FC, OKC Energy FC, LA Galaxy II and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC). Could that spell another July with a ton of goals ?

We Meet Again

 

Reno’s opener against Orange County will not only be a rematch of the Western Conference semifinals, it will also be the third meeting with the Southern California club in the past four matches for Reno 1868 FC. Reno capped off the 2018 regular season with a 3-1 win over OC at home before heading into its playoff match against Real Monarchs SLC. Reno won its first playoff match before being knocked out by OC the next week. Now, the two teams will meet again in a familiar setting. March 9 will be the second season opener that pits the two clubs against one another. Orange County won the first meeting 2-0 on March 25, 2017 with both goals scored by Duke Lacroix, who returns in 2019 as a defender…for Reno 1868 FC.

An Early Chance for Firsts

 

Reno’s dominance has been well-noted over the past two years with back-to-back Top 5 finishes in the Western Conference. The club has accomplished that feat by beating just about every team in the conference at least once. However, Reno is still looking for a win against two conference foes. Reno has a shot to do just that against Fresno FC (March 23) and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (April 13) early into the 2019 season. If Reno can manage against those two clubs and the three newcomers, it will have recorded at least one win against Western Conference opponents.