M.L.S. and Red Bulls Release 2014 Schedule For the first time, Major League Soccer has announced the schedule for its next season before the completion of its current one. On Monday, the league, whose championship game between host Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake will be played Dec. 7, unveiled a 2014 regular-season schedule that will run from early March until late October, with a two-week break in June during the first round of the World Cup. In previous years, the release of the M.L.S. schedule often dragged late into January. But now, with most of the league's 19 teams playing in their own stadiums, organizing the schedule is easier. That said, schedule-makers still must contend with official FIFA international dates (of which there are only a few before the World Cup), dates for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the Concacaf Champions League and assorted dates for international friendlies that usually occur in the summer. Once again, M.L.S., with its odd number of teams, will play an unbalanced schedule (90 percent of games will be on weekends). Each team plays 34 matches; 17 home and 17 away. The nine Western Conference teams will face one another three times. The 10 Eastern Conference teams will play seven intraconference opponents three times each and two conference opponents twice each. Eastern and Western Conference teams will play one another once. The unbalanced schedule is certain to carry over to the 2015 season when two teams, New York City and Orlando City, will become the league's 20th and 21st clubs. M.L.S. plans to expand to 24 teams by the end of the decade. For 2015, it is likely M.L.S. will again rejigger the conference lineup, what with New York and Orlando likely to end up in the Eastern Conference. That could mean one or two teams (probably Houston and/or Kansas City) would be shifted to the Western Conference. In 2014, the Red Bulls will have the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area to themselves, at least in M.L.S., before a new team, owned by Manchester City of England and Major League Baseball's Yankees, begins play. The Red Bulls will again open the season on the West Coast, playing at the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, March 8. The Red Bulls opened the 2013 season with two games on the West Coast: at Portland and at San Jose. The team's home opener will be against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, March 15, at 4 p.m., and it will be televised by NBC Sports Network. The Red Bulls are scheduled to play three weekday home games: Wednesday, April 16, versus Philadelphia; Friday, June 27, versus Toronto; and Wednesday, Sept. 10, versus D.C. United. The Red Bulls will also play four away games on weekdays, including a game at Kansas City on Tuesday, May 27, only three days after a home game against Portland on May 24. Six of the Red Bulls" first nine games will be on the road; and six of nine games to finish the regular season will be at home. The team will have a 20-day break during the group stage of the World Cup, facing New England at home on June 7 and not playing a league match again until June 27 against visiting Houston. Red Bulls" schedule (all times Eastern): Saturday, March 8 at Vancouver, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15 vs. Colorado, 4 p.m. Sunday, March 23 at Chicago, 3 p.m. Sunday, March 30 vs. Chivas USA, 3 p.m. Saturday, April 5 vs. Montreal, T.B.A. Saturday, April 12 at D.C. United, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 16 vs. Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at Columbus, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 4 at Dallas, 3 p.m. Saturday, May 10, vs. Chicago, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 17 at Toronto, TBA Saturday, May 24 vs. Portland, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 27 at Kansas City, 9 p.m. Saturday, June 7 vs. New England, 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 27 vs. Toronto, 8 p.m. Friday, July 4 at Houston, 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 12 vs. Columbus 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 16 at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. Saturday, July 19 vs. San Jose, 7 p.m. Sunday, July 27 vs. Houston, 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 30 at Salt Lake, 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2 vs. New England, TBA Sunday, Aug. 10 at Chicago, 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 vs. Montreal 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31 at D.C. United, 2:20 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 vs. Kansas City, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10 vs. D.C. United, 8 p.m. 13 at Philadelphia, 3 p.m. 20 vs. Seattle, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28 at Los Angeles, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4 vs. Houston, 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 vs. Toronto, 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19 vs. Columbus, 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26 at Kansas City, 8:30 p.m. NOTES The Red Bulls on Monday announced that they had declined the options for defenders Brandon Barklage and the Australian veteran David Carney.