2016 LA Galaxy season

The 2016 LA Galaxy season was the club's twenty-first season of existence, their twenty-first in Major League Soccer and their twenty-first consecutive season in the top flight of American soccer.

LA Galaxy

2016 season
Owner	Philip Anschutz (AEG)
Coach	Bruce Arena
Stadium	StubHub Center
MLS	Conference: 3rd Overall: 6th
U.S. Open Cup	Semifinal
CONCACAF Champions League (15–16)	Quarterfinals
MLS Cup Playoffs	Conference Semifinal
Top goalscorer	League: Giovani dos Santos (15 goals) All: Giovani dos Santos (16 goals)
Highest home attendance	27,167 (Four times)
Lowest home attendance	3,409 (vs. Seattle Sounders FC – July 20)
Average home league attendance	21,883
Home colors Away colors
← 2015 2017 →

The Galaxy finished the MLS regular season third in the Western Conference, but were knocked out by the Colorado Rapids in the Conference Semifinals of the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs. They also continued their campaign in the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Santos Laguna. The team also reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup before being knocked out by FC Dallas.

On September 8, Landon Donovan came out of retirement and signed with the Galaxy, his former club.^[1]

Players

Squad information

Players at the end of the season. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Dan Kennedy 3 DF  ENG Ashley Cole 5 MF  USA Jose Villarreal (HGP) 6 MF  BIH Baggio Husidić 7 FW  IRL Robbie Keane (DP & Captain) 8 MF  ENG Steven Gerrard (DP) 9 FW  USA Alan Gordon 10 FW  MEX Giovani dos Santos (DP) 11 FW  USA Gyasi Zardes (HGP) 12 GK  USA Brian Rowe 14 DF  USA Robbie Rogers 15 FW  CRC Ariel Lassiter 18 FW  USA Mike Magee 17 MF  USA Sebastian Lletget 20 DF  GUM A. J. DeLaGarza 21 MF  USA Jeff Larentowicz 22 DF  BRA Leonardo 24 FW  GHA Emmanuel Boateng 25 MF  USA Rafael Garcia 26 FW  USA Landon Donovan 27 DF  USA Dave Romney 31 GK  FRA Clément Diop 34 MF  NED Nigel de Jong 36 DF  USA Oscar Sorto (HGP) 37 DF  BEL Jelle Van Damme 38 FW  USA Bradford Jamieson IV (HGP) 40 MF  MEX Raúl Mendiola (HGP) 44 DF  USA Daniel Steres

Transfers

Transfers in

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
GK	Dan Kennedy	FC Dallas	Acquired in exchange for the second and third round selections in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.	December 15, 2015	[2]
GK	Clément Diop	LA Galaxy II	Sign	December 16, 2015	[3]
DF	Daniel Steres	LA Galaxy II	Sign	December 17, 2015	[4]
MF	Jeff Larentowicz	Chicago Fire	Free agent	January 6, 2016	[5]
FW	Mike Magee	Chicago Fire	Free agent	January 14, 2016	[6]
FW	Emmanuel Boateng	Helsingborgs IF	Sign	January 14, 2016	[7]
DF	Josh Turnley	Georgetown Hoyas D.C. United U-23	Selected in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft with the 42nd pick.	January 19, 2016	[8]
DF	Jelle Van Damme	Standard Liège	Sign	January 26, 2016	[9]
DF	Ashley Cole	Roma	Sign	January 27, 2016	[10]
MF	Nigel de Jong	Milan	Sign	February 3, 2016	[11]
FW	Ariel Lassiter	LA Galaxy II	Sign	March 5, 2016	[12]
FW	Jack McBean	LA Galaxy II	Sign	June 22, 2016	[13]
FW	Landon Donovan		Sign. Returning from retirement.	September 8, 2016	[14]

Transfers out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
DF	Todd Dunivant	None	Retired	October 29, 2015	[15]
MF	Mika Väyrynen		Option declined	November 20, 2015	[16][17]
FW	Edson Buddle		Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
DF	Tommy Meyer	Later he signed with the Swope Park Rangers.	Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17][18][19]
GK	Brian Perk		Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
GK	Donovan Ricketts		Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
FW	Charlie Rugg		Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
MF	Kenney Walker	FC Cincinnati	Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17][20]
GK	Andrew Wolverton		Option declined	December 7, 2015	[17]
DF	Omar Gonzalez	Pachuca	Undisclosed fee	December 22, 2015	[21]
MF	Juninho	Tijuana	Undisclosed fee	December 24, 2015	[22]
DF	Dan Gargan		Waived	February 29, 2016	[23]
FW	Ignacio Maganto		Waived	February 29, 2016	[23]
DF	Josh Turnley	LA Galaxy II	Sign	March 21, 2016	[24]
FW	Jack McBean	Coventry City	Loan	August 19, 2016	[25]
MF	Nigel de Jong	Galatasaray	Contract mutually terminated	August 31, 2016	[26]

Competitions

Preseason

The first preseason match was announced on November 23, 2015.^[27]

LA Galaxy v FC Shirak

January 30	LA Galaxy	2–1	FC Shirak	Carson, California
19:00 PT	Villareal 54', 80' Maganto  90'	Report	Ayvazywan 75' Kouakou  76'	Stadium: StubHub Center

LA Galaxy v Toronto FC

February 6	LA Galaxy	2–3	Toronto FC	Carson, California
PT	Keane 4' Rogers 41'	Report	Giovinco 2', 45' Babouli 52'	Stadium: StubHub Center Complex

LA Galaxy v Tijuana

February 9	LA Galaxy	0–0	Tijuana	Carson, California
19:00 PT	Van Damme  37'	Report	Jiménez  57'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 14,543 Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero

LA Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes

February 13	LA Galaxy	1–0	San Jose Earthquakes	Las Vegas, Nevada
19:00 PT	Zardes 27'	Report		Stadium: Cashman Field

LA Galaxy v Seattle Sounders FC

February 17	LA Galaxy	0–4	Seattle Sounders FC	Carson, California
19:00 PT		Report	Ivanschitz 22', 57' Marshall 27' Dempsey 47'	Stadium: StubHub Center

Major League Soccer

Main article: 2016 Major League Soccer season

Standings

Overall

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
4	New York City FC	34	15	10	9	62	57	+5	54
5	Toronto FC	34	14	9	11	51	39	+12	53	CONCACAF Champions League
6	LA Galaxy	34	12	6	16	54	39	+15	52
7	Seattle Sounders FC (C)	34	14	14	6	44	43	+1	48	CONCACAF Champions League
8	Sporting Kansas City	34	13	13	8	42	41	+1	47

Source: MLS
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored;
(C) MLS Cup Champion

Western Conference

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Dallas	34	17	8	9	50	40	+10	60	MLS Cup Conference Semifinals
2	Colorado Rapids	34	15	6	13	39	32	+7	58
3	LA Galaxy	34	12	6	16	54	39	+15	52	MLS Cup Knockout Round
4	Seattle Sounders FC	34	14	14	6	44	43	+1	48
5	Sporting Kansas City	34	13	13	8	42	41	+1	47

Source: MLS

Regular season

LA Galaxy v D.C. United

March 6 1	LA Galaxy	4–1	D.C. United	Carson, California
19:00 PT	Steres 54' Magee 64', 87' Keane 83' (pen.)	Report	Neagle 5',  48' Franklin  59' DeLeon  86'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,667 Referee: Kevin Stott

Colorado Rapids v LA Galaxy

March 12 2	Colorado Rapids	1–0	LA Galaxy	Commerce City, Colorado
16:00 PT	Burch  45' Watts  89' Doyle  90+1' Pappa 90+5'	Report	Gerrard  43' Steres  50' Van Damme  72' Boateng  82'	Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 17,474 Referee: Fotis Bazakos

LA Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes

March 19 3	LA Galaxy	3–1	San Jose Earthquakes	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Magee  11' Van Damme  21' de Jong  22' Zardes 56', 62' Keane 90+1' (pen.) Gordon  90+3'	Report	Imperiale  41' Dawkins  45+3' Alashe  52' Wynne  56' Wondolowski 89'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,667 Referee: Ismail Elfath

Vancouver Whitecaps FC v LA Galaxy

April 2 4	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	0–0	LA Galaxy	Vancouver, British Columbia
19:00 PDT	Laba  28'	Report	Steres  17' Van Damme  24'	Stadium: BC Place Attendance: 27,038 Referee: Jair Marrufo

LA Galaxy v Portland Timbers

April 10 5	LA Galaxy	1–1	Portland Timbers	Carson, California
18:30 PDT	de Jong  73' Borchers 84' (o.g.)	Report	Borchers  17' Adi 52' Grabavoy  88' Chará  90+2'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,667 Referee: Allen Chapman

Houston Dynamo v LA Galaxy

April 15 6	Houston Dynamo	1–4	LA Galaxy	Houston, Texas
16:00 PDT	Horst 1'	Report	Giovani 4', 31' Husidić 21' Zardes 49' Cole  56' Steres  89'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 20,563 Referee: Mark Geiger

LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake

April 23 7	LA Galaxy	5–2	Real Salt Lake	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Zardes 19',  38' Magee 26' Boateng 41' Giovani 45' Van Damme  67' Gerrard 90+1'	Report	Beckerman  13' Martínez 16' Beltran  57' Olave  60' Morales 70' (pen.)	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,867 Referee: Edvin Jurisevic

Sporting Kansas City v LA Galaxy

May 1 8	Sporting Kansas City	1–1	LA Galaxy	Kansas City, Kansas
17:00 PDT	Davis 30' Opara  82'	Report	Giovani 42' Cole  69'  70' Villareal  90+4'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 19,431 Referee: Chris Penso

LA Galaxy v New England Revolution

May 8 9	LA Galaxy	4–2	New England Revolution	Carson, California
12:30 PDT	Keane 13', 45+1' Giovani 24' DeLaGarza  90+1' Gerrard 90+3'	Report	Watson  58' Rowe 67' Agudelo 70'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 21,237 Referee: Hilario Grajeda

Philadelphia Union v LA Galaxy

May 11 10	Philadelphia Union	2–2	LA Galaxy	Chester, Pennsylvania
16:00 PDT	Nogueira 4' Rosenberry 63'	Report	Rogers 15',  70' Magee 47' Kennedy  82'	Stadium: Talen Energy Stadium Attendance: 17,985 Referee: Sorin Stoica

LA Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes

May 22 11	LA Galaxy	1–1	San Jose Earthquakes	Carson, California
16:00 PDT	Wynne 83' (o.g.)	Report	Quintero  23' Alashe 87'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 27,167 Referee: Kevin Stott

Montreal Impact v LA Galaxy

May 28 12	Montreal Impact	3–2	LA Galaxy	Montreal, Quebec
15:00 PDT	Piatti 26' Ontivero 56' Bernier  68' Drogba 90+4',  90+5'	Report	Giovani 8' Magee 58' Gordon  90+2' Steres  90+4'	Stadium: Saputo Stadium Attendance: 20,801 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

LA Galaxy v Sporting Kansas City

June 2 13	LA Galaxy	0–0	Sporting Kansas City	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Larentowicz  39' Steres  49'	Report	Dwyer  51'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 19,651 Referee: Hilario Grajeda

Toronto FC v LA Galaxy

June 18 14	Toronto FC	1–0	LA Galaxy	Toronto, Ontario
16:30 PDT	Moor 76'	Report	DeLaGarza  28'	Stadium: BMO Field Attendance: 30,025 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

LA Galaxy v Colorado Rapids

June 22 15	LA Galaxy	0–0	Colorado Rapids	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	DeLaGarza  82' Van Damme  82'	Report	Sjöberg  15' Castillo  50' Azira  75'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 21,884 Referee: Chris Penso

San Jose Earthquakes v LA Galaxy

June 25 16	San Jose Earthquakes	1–1	LA Galaxy	Santa Clara, California
19:00 PDT	Barrett 90'	Report	Van Damme  45+1' Giovani 69',  89' Cole  90+6'	Stadium: Stanford Stadium Attendance: 50,816 Referee: Kevin Stott

LA Galaxy v Vancouver Whitecaps FC

July 4 17	LA Galaxy	2–0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Keane 12' Larentowicz 47' de Jong  74'	Report	Laba  67'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 27,167 Referee: Robert Sibiga

Seattle Sounders FC v LA Galaxy

July 9 18	Seattle Sounders FC	0–1	LA Galaxy	Seattle, Washington
12:00 PDT		Report	Keane 15' Romney  69'	Stadium: CenturyLink Field Attendance: 40,813 Referee: Baldomero Toledo

LA Galaxy v Houston Dynamo

July 15 19	LA Galaxy	1–0	Houston Dynamo	Carson, California
20:00 PDT	Giovani  55' Larentowicz  64' Gerrard 66'	Report	Warner  24'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,667 Referee: Mark Geiger

Portland Timbers v LA Galaxy

July 23 20	Portland Timbers	1–2	LA Galaxy	Portland, Oregon
12:30 PDT	Valentin 41'	Report	Keane 7' Zardes 11'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 21,144 Referee: Alan Kelly

Seattle Sounders FC v LA Galaxy

July 31 21	Seattle Sounders FC	1–1	LA Galaxy	Seattle, Washington
13:00 PDT	Roldan 49'	Report	Van Damme  65' Lletget 78'	Stadium: CenturyLink Field Attendance: 48,458 Referee: Drew Fischer

LA Galaxy v New York Red Bulls

August 7 22	LA Galaxy	2–2	New York Red Bulls	Carson, California
18:30 PDT	Magee 80' Cole 89' Hušidić  90+3'	Report	Muyl  61' Verón 68' Davis 74' Lawrence  90+2'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,671 Referee: Hilario Grajeda

LA Galaxy v Colorado Rapids

August 13 23	LA Galaxy	1–1	Colorado Rapids	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Steres 62' de Jong  86'	Report	Gashi 51' Azira  87'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,667 Referee: Juan Guzman

New York City FC v LA Galaxy

August 20 24	New York City FC	1–0	LA Galaxy	New York City, New York
12:30 PDT	David Villa 6'	Report	DeLaGarza  90+3'	Stadium: Yankee Stadium Attendance: 35,509 Referee: Jair Marrufo

Chicago Fire v LA Galaxy

August 24 25	Chicago Fire	2–2	LA Galaxy	Bridgeview, Illinois
17:30 PDT	Álvarez 34' Accam 39' (pen.),  90+3'	Report	Zardes 31' Van Damme  38' Giovani 69' Lletget  71' Hušidić  76'	Stadium: Toyota Park Attendance: 16,179 Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero

LA Galaxy v Vancouver Whitecaps FC

August 27 26	LA Galaxy	0–0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Rogers  53'	Report	Aird  27'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,667 Referee: Alan Kelly

LA Galaxy v Columbus Crew SC

September 3 27	LA Galaxy	2–1	Columbus Crew SC	Carson, California
19:30 PDT	Hušidić 78' Giovani 82'	Report	Jahn 90+2'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 24,693 Referee: Kevin Stott

Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy

September 7 28	Real Salt Lake	3–3	LA Galaxy	Sandy, Utah
18:30 PDT	Wingert  2' Beckerman  17' Olave  27' Plata 53' (pen.), 67' Mulholland  62' Martínez 90+4'	Report	Boateng 6' Larentowicz  25' Giovani 57', 64',  90+5'	Stadium: Rio Tinto Stadium Attendance: 20,266 Referee: Chris Penso

LA Galaxy v Orlando City SC

September 11 29	LA Galaxy	4–2	Orlando City SC	Carson, California
16:00 PDT	Giovani 35', 45' (pen.) Gordon 38' Garcia  45+2' Cole  55' Keane 70' Mendiola  75'	Report	Molino 20' Rocha  48' Mateos  60' Shea 90+2'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 27,167 Referee: Ismail Elfath

Sporting Kansas City v LA Galaxy

September 18 30	Sporting Kansas City	2–2	LA Galaxy	Kansas City, Kansas
10:00 PDT	Peterson 50' Dwyer 69'	Report	Gordon 7' Larentowicz  44' Donovan 76'	Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Attendance: 19,480 Referee: Ricardo Salazar

LA Galaxy v Seattle Sounders FC

September 25 31	LA Galaxy	2–4	Seattle Sounders FC	Carson, California
13:00 PDT	Keane 20', 85' (pen.),  59'	Report	Van Damme 35' (o.g.) Morris 63', 73' Valdez  66' Alonso 78' Lodeiro  81' Torres  86'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 25,819 Referee: Armando Villarreal

FC Dallas v LA Galaxy

October 1 32	FC Dallas	1–0	LA Galaxy	Frisco, Texas
18:00 PDT	Zimmerman 39' Acosta  71' Figueroa  90'	Report	DeLaGarza  12' Van Damme  87'	Stadium: Toyota Stadium Attendance: 15,968 Referee: Drew Fischer

Houston Dynamo v LA Galaxy

October 16 33	Houston Dynamo	0–1	LA Galaxy	Houston, Texas
16:00 PDT		Report	Gordon 72'	Stadium: BBVA Compass Stadium Attendance: 21,085 Referee: Kevin Stott

LA Galaxy v FC Dallas

October 23 34	LA Galaxy	0–0	FC Dallas	Carson, California
13:00 PDT	Donovan  31'	Report	Akindele  39' Gruezo  47' Rosales  90+2'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 27,167 Referee: Chris Penso

Playoffs

See also: 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs

Knockout round

LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake

October 26 Knockout round	LA Galaxy	3–1	Real Salt Lake	Carson, California
19:30 PT	Gordon 14' Boateng 26', 34' Hušidić  62'	Report	Plata 21' (pen.) Phillips  39' Wingert  41' Sunny  71'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 18,124 Referee: Alan Kelly

Conference semifinals

LA Galaxy v Colorado Rapids

October 30 First leg	LA Galaxy	1–0	Colorado Rapids	Carson, California
14:00 PT	Van Damme  45' Giovani 55' Cole  67'	Report	Badji  12' Watts  50' Jones  60'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 24,487 Referee: Drew Fischer

Colorado Rapids v LA Galaxy

November 6 Second leg	Colorado Rapids	1–0 (a.e.t.) (1–1 agg.) (3–1 p)	LA Galaxy	Commerce City, Colorado
11:00 PT	Gashi  30', 36' Cronin  57'	Report		Stadium: Dick's Sporting Goods Park Attendance: 17,782 Referee: Mark Geiger
	Penalties
	Doyle Le Toux Pappa		Gerrard Giovani Cole Larentowicz

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2016 U.S. Open Cup

Fourth round

LA Galaxy v La Máquina FC

June 14 Fourth round	LA Galaxy	4–1 (a.e.t.)	La Máquina FC	Carson, California
19:30 PT	Villareal 15' Garcia  17' DeLaGarza  78' McBean  88' Romney 96' Lletget 105' (pen.), 115'	Report	Pineda  23' Borboa 28' Sosa  67' Orozco  88' Pinedo  90'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 4,752 Referee: Ramon Hernandez

Fifth round

Portland Timbers v LA Galaxy

June 29 Fifth round	Portland Timbers	0–1	LA Galaxy	Portland, Oregon
19:30 PT	Jewsbury  78'	Report	Mendiola 5' Larentowicz  57'	Stadium: Providence Park Attendance: 18,164 Referee: Edvin Jurisevic

Quarterfinal

LA Galaxy v Seattle Sounders FC

July 20 Quarterfinal	LA Galaxy	4–2	Seattle Sounders FC	Carson, California
22:30 ET	Gordon 17' Leonardo  31' Giovani 77' Lletget 85', 88'	Report	Farfan 4' Remick  32' Alfaro  57' Gomez 58'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 3,409 Referee: Alex Chilowicz

Semifinal

LA Galaxy v FC Dallas

August 10 Semifinal	LA Galaxy	1–2 (a.e.t.)	FC Dallas	Carson, California
19:00 PT	Garcia  80' Magee 101' (pen.)	Report	Harris  26' Ulloa  53', 120+1' Figueroa  75' Gruezo  86' Barrios  112' Hedges 116'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 6,120 Referee: Ted Unkel

CONCACAF Champions League

Main article: 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League

Quarterfinals

Main article: 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage

LA Galaxy v Santos Laguna

February 24 First leg	LA Galaxy	0–0	Santos Laguna	Carson, United States
22:00 ET	Van Damme  39' Giovani  62' Gerrard  82'	Report	González  34'	Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 18,922 Referee: Armando Castro (Honduras)

Santos Laguna v LA Galaxy

March 1 Second leg	Santos Laguna	4–0 (4–0 agg.)	LA Galaxy	Torreón, Mexico
22:00 ET	Bravo 19', 61' Dávila 23' Djaniny 36'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Corona Referee: Marlon Mejía (El Salvador)

See also

• 2016 in American soccer
• 2016 LA Galaxy II season