LA Galaxy vs. D.C. United: Winners and Losers from MLS

The LA Galaxy stormed back from a one-goal deficit at halftime to defeat D.C. United 4-1 in the final contest of Sunday's 10-game slate across Major League Soccer.  Mike Magee was the catalyst of the comeback as he scored twice, earned an assist and set up Robbie Keane's 83rd-minute penalty.  The win came without major contributions from LA's big-name stars in attack like Steven Gerrard, Giovani dos Santos and Keane. One headliner who was a difference-maker at the StubHub Center was Ashley Cole, who produced a stellar second half.  United, who went ahead in the fifth minute on a strike from Lamar Neagle, had no answer for the Galaxy once the hosts got going in the second half.  Here's a look at our winners and losers from LA's season-opening win over D.C. Begin Slideshow

LA Galaxy vs. DC United: Live Score, Highlights from MLS

Major League Soccer--StubHub Center, Carson, Calif.  LA Galaxy 4-1 DC United  Goals: Lamar Neagle (DC) 5'; Daniel Steres (LA) 54'; Mike Magee (LA) 64', 87'; Robbie Keane (LA) 83' pen LA Galaxy: Kennedy (Rowe 20'), Rogers, DeLaGarza, Steres, Cole, Zardes, De Jong, Dos Santos (Magee 46'), Gerrard, Lletget (Husidic 80'), Keane  DC United: Dykstra, Kemp, Boswell, Birnbaum, Franklin, Rolfe (Aguilar 72'), Sarvas, DeLeon, Nyarko (Espindola 46'), Acosta (Buescher 75'), Neagle    Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Ultimate Guide to MLS Weekend: MLS Cup Rematch Headlines Opening Slate

Almost three months have passed since the Portland Timbers hoisted the MLS Cup at Mapfre Stadium with a win over the Columbus Crew.  When the 2016 Major League Soccer season opens on Sunday, the two sides will meet in one of the marquee fixtures of the 10-game slate at Providence Park in Portland.  During an offseason in which many clubs across the United States and Canada adjusted their rosters in an attempt to make 2016 a more prosperous year than 2015, the two participants from December's final only made minor alterations.  The most important of those moves came at left-back for Portland as the Timbers brought in Chris Klute through a trade with Columbus to replace Jorge Villafana, who left for Santos Laguna in Liga MX in the days following the MLS Cup. A month after Klute traded in Columbus gold for Portland green, the Crew sent forward Jack McInerney to the Timbers in a trade.  Columbus replaced McInerney on the depth chart with Ola Kamara and Conor Casey, both of whom will back up leading scorer Kei Kamara. Corey Ashe, Amro Tarek and Emil Larsen were the three other names brought in by the Crew to join one of the most talented squads in ...

50 Players to Watch in MLS in 2016

The 21st season of action in Major League Soccer is expected to be as wild and unpredictable as years past with almost all of the 20 teams set to contend for the postseason.  Each of the clubs in MLS enters 2016 with plenty of promise thanks to certain players who are poised to have breakout campaigns over the next nine months.  With that in mind, we selected 50 players across the league to watch in 2016. Some of the players are rookies looking to make a statement, while others are working their way back from injury and hoping for a big 2016.  There are also a few superstars of the league on this list who are somehow going to try and top their spectacular 2015 campaigns. In additions to the first three types of players mentioned, a fourth group of athletes attempting to recover from disastrous 2015 seasons are included in this list.  Continue reading to see who are our 50 players to watch in MLS in 2016. Begin Slideshow

Outlook Bleak for MLS Clubs in CONCACAF Champions League 2nd Legs

The quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League opened on Tuesday and Wednesday with a quartet of disappointing results for the four MLS teams left in the competition.  Even though D.C. United, Seattle, Real Salt Lake and the L.A. Galaxy all showed signs of promise at certain points of their respective matches, they all displayed the qualities of clubs still working their way through the preseason.  Now as the four teams enter the return legs of their fixtures with clubs from Mexico, the outlook for an MLS side to remain in the competition is bleak at best.  D.C. United set the unfortunate tone for MLS in the knockout round in the opening quarterfinal clash against Queretaro. The Black and Red, who fielded most of their first-team squad, held firm for 70 minutes before they were undone by Yerson Candelo's magnificent strike from the right side of the pitch. A second goal from Edgar Benitez and the failure to score on the road put D.C. in a precarious position heading into Tuesday's contest at RFK Stadium.   Seattle showed plenty of promise on its home turf against Club America, but a few lapses led to a pair of away goals that will be hard to get ...

Can the Seattle Sounders Be MLS Title Contenders Without Obafemi Martins?

The Seattle Sounders received news over the weekend that no club wants to hear less than a month before the regular season begins. The Sounders are expected to lose their leading scorer from 2015, Obafemi Martins, to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League.  The transfer shouldn't come as a major surprise given the recent spending power of the Chinese first division and the history Martins has. Before spending three years in Seattle, Martins bounced around between six different clubs in seven seasons.  Having Martins stay in Seattle for three seasons has to be judged as a success given the player's propensity to go after a big payday. It must be noted Martins isn't officially gone as of this writing, but all signs are pointing to the transfer happening sooner rather than later.  "I can tell you that Oba is not here with us for this phase of camp," Seattle general manager Garth Lagerwey told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle. "We've had an approach from a Chinese club for his services. It could take a while to have that resolved. There's really nothing else we can add at this point, but hopefully we know more by the end of the week." With the Nigerian forward not ...

Could the Balance of Power Shift from West to East in MLS in 2016?

Major League Soccer prides itself on parity, but when the championship is determined, there is a good chance a Western Conference team will pick up the trophy.  Since the Columbus Crew captured the MLS Cup in 2008, six of the last seven MLS Cup champions and four of the seven Supporters' Shield winners have come from the Western Conference. The only Eastern Conference team to win the MLS Cup during that span was Sporting Kansas City, who now resides in the West, in 2013.  As the 2016 season approaches, the West is still seen as the better conference, but there could be a chance that the East takes over the throne if certain things fall into place.  The good news for the East entering the new season, which begins March 6, is it possesses a few teams that are capable of winning the MLS Cup.  The New York Red Bulls, who have won two Supporters' Shields in the last three years, bring back the majority of last season's Shield-winning squad. With Bradley Wright-Phillips up top and Dax McCarty leading the midfield from his spot in front of the back four, the Red Bulls have the talent to finally get over the hump and win ...

Making Sense of the LA Galaxy’s Puzzling Offseason Moves to Date

The LA Galaxy are no strangers to being in the spotlight during a transfer window, but usually the decisions made by the brass at the StubHub Center are met with praise.  But that has not been the case this offseason as two of the club's best players were sold to Liga MX, and their rumored replacements only have a few years left in their legs.  There was no doubt that head coach Bruce Arena's side was in need of a retooling after the five-time MLS Cup champions fell out of the Western Conference playoffs in the knockout round at the hands of rival Seattle Sounders. However, no one expected the change to involve the team's best center back and the rock of the midfield. During a short span in December, Omar Gonzalez left the Galaxy for Club Pachuca and midfielder Juninho transferred to Club Tijuana. The departure of the two title winners left the Galaxy with only five members of the starting 11 that helped hoist the 2014 MLS Cup.  In addition to Gonzalez and Juninho, Jaime Penedo, Stefan Ishizaki, Marcelo Sarvas and Landon Donovan have left the club for a multitude of reasons. Penedo left in the summer of 2015 due to a contract ...

Jack Harrison, NYCFC Take Roundabout Way to Draft-Day Marriage

BALTIMORE — Ten minutes before the 2016 MLS SuperDraft began inside the Baltimore Convention Center, New York City FC director of football operations Claudio Reyna didn't think he'd get the player he wanted.  After a string of trades between the clubs near the top of the draft board, the cards fell in NYCFC's favor just as commissioner Don Garber began his opening address.  “I would say 10 minutes before the first pick, we thought we had no chance of getting (Jack Harrison) to be honest," Reyna told reporters after the madness of the first round ended. "It was as close as that as far as us knowing we had an opportunity as the other trades played out between Philadelphia and Colorado, and conversations I had with Philadelphia and Chicago. It was actually when Don (Garber) started speaking when we were trying to confirm the trade with Chicago."  NYCFC and the Chicago Fire had to wait almost an hour for the deal to become official. While both sides waited for the specifics to be ironed out, No. 1 overall pick Jack Harrison stood in the waiting area next to the stage with a Chicago Fire scarf draped around his neck.  As the deal was being ...

2016 MLS SuperDraft: Winners and Losers from Baltimore Event

The latest batch of Major League Soccer players were selected on Thursday during the first two rounds of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.  The Chicago Fire chose Wake Forest's Jack Harrison with the first-overall selection, but the Englishman was later traded to New York City FC in one of the many trades that took place on the floor of the Baltimore Convention Center.  When all the dust settled, eight of the first 15 selections were acquired through a trade, including Harrison and No. 2 pick Joshua Yaro.  Forty-one players were selected in total on Thursday, and an additional 40 will be selected on January 19 during the third and fourth rounds. An entire list of Thursday's selections can be found here via MLSSoccer.com. Here's a look at our winners and losers from Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.Begin Slideshow