The 2018 Los Angeles FC season was the club's inaugural season, and their first season in Major League Soccer, the top-tier of the American soccer pyramid. Los Angeles FC play its home games at the Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Outside of MLS play, LAFC participated in the 2018 U.S. Open Cup tournament, and qualified for the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, being eliminated in the knockout round.
It was the first year since 2014 that there were two first-division soccer clubs that played in the Greater Los Angeles Area, following the disbandment of Chivas USA in 2014.
Background The team was first announced in October 2014, following the folding of Chivas USA. It was first reported in May 2015, that LAFC had chosen a location for their stadium, which would be the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena site at Exposition Park. The environmental impact report, arena demolition and stadium construction were expected to take three years and delayed the team's debut to 2018.
On July 27, 2017, Bob Bradley was announced as the coach for the inaugural season of the club. Bradley previously coached Swansea City in the English Premier League, as well as various European and Americans clubs as well. Internationally, Bradley previously coached the United States' and Egypt's national teams.
Squad First-team roster
Name Nat Date of birth (age) Goalkeepers 1 Tyler Miller 18 0 13 Charlie Lyon 0 0 18 Quillan Roberts 0 0 22 Luis López 1 0 Defenders 2 Jordan Harvey 14 0 3 Steven Beitashour 16 2 5 Dejan Jakovic 8 0 6 Danilo Silva 0 0 25 Walker Zimmerman 14 0 27 Tristan Blackmon 7 0 44 João Moutinho 10 1 Midfielders 8 André Horta 0 0 11 Aaron Kovar 5 0 14 Mark-Anthony Kaye 17 2 16 Calum Mallace 4 0 19 James Murphy 0 0 20 Eduard Atuesta 14 1 24 Lee Nguyen 10 0 33 Benny Feilhaber 18 2 Forwards 7 Latif Blessing 18 5 9 Diego Rossi 16 6 10 Carlos Vela 13 7 12 Christian Ramirez 1 0 18 Joshua Pérez 0 0 21 Marco Ureña 8 0 28 Shaft Brewer Jr. 3 0 99 Adama Diomande 7 9
Team management
Technical Staff
Transfers
Transfers in Entry datePositionNo.PlayerFrom clubNotesRef. March 23, 2017 MF — Carlos Alvarez San Antonio FC Transfer; loaned to Orange County SC for the 2017 USL season May 5, 2017 FW — Monday Etim Montverde Academy Transfer; loaned to Orange County SC for the 2017 USL season August 10, 2017 FW — Carlos Vela Real Sociedad Free transfer on January 1, 2018 September 6, 2017 FW — Rodrigo Pacheco Lanús Loan; loaned to Orange County SC for the 2017 USL season November 18, 2017 DF — Omar Gaber Basel Loan on January 1, 2018 December 10, 2017 DF — Walker Zimmerman FC Dallas Traded for $250,000 GAM, $250,000 TAM, and No. 1 of the MLS Allocation Ranking December 12, 2017 GK — Tyler Miller Seattle Sounders FC Expansion draft December 12, 2017 FW — Latif Blessing Sporting Kansas City Expansion draft December 12, 2017 FW — Marco Ureña San Jose Earthquakes Expansion draft December 12, 2017 DF — Jukka Raitala San Jose Earthquakes Expansion draft December 12, 2017 MF — Raheem Edwards Toronto FC Expansion draft December 12, 2017 DF — Laurent Ciman Montreal Impact Traded for Raheem Edwards and Jukka Raitala December 14, 2017 FW — Diego Rossi Peñarol Transfer on January 1, 2018 December 21, 2017 MF — Calum Mallace Seattle Sounders FC Selected in Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. December 23, 2017 DF — Jordan Harvey Vancouver Whitecaps FC Free transfer on January 1, 2018 January 3, 2018 MF — Benny Feilhaber Sporting Kansas City Traded for $200,000 GAM & $200,000 TAM January 23, 2018 MF — Aaron Kovar Seattle Sounders FCLoan on January 23, 2018January 24, 2018 DF — Steven Beitashour Toronto FCFree transfer on January 24, 2018January 24, 2018 GK — Luis Lopez Real EspanaFree transfer on January 24, 2018
Transfers out Exit datePositionNo.PlayerTo clubNotesRef. December 12, 2017 DF — Jukka Raitala Montreal Impact Traded for Laurent Ciman December 12, 2017 MF — Raheem Edwards Montreal Impact Traded for Laurent Ciman December 14, 2017 MF — Carlos Alvarez Las Vegas Lights FC Option declined January 5, 2018 FW — Steeve Saint-Duc Strømmen IF Loan April 26, 2018 MF 32 Nicolás Czornomaz Orange County SC Loan May 8, 2018 FW 50 Rodrigo Pacheco Waived June 22, 2018 MF 19 James Murphy Las Vegas Lights FC Loan July 12, 2018 DF 4 Omar Gaber Pyramids FC Transfer July 13, 2018 GK 22 Luis López Orange County SC Loan August 15, 2018 DF 27 Tristan Blackmon Phoenix Rising FC Loan August 17, 2018 FW 28 Shaft Brewer Jr. Phoenix Rising FC Loan August 28, 2018 DF 23 Laurent Ciman Dijon FCO Transfer
Draft picks Round # Position Player College/Club Team Reference 1 1 João Moutinho Akron 1 3 Tristan Blackmon Pacific 2 24 Pol Calvet Pittsburgh 3 47 Jordan Jones Oregon State
Competitions Preseason
Major League Soccer Standings Western Conference
Overall
Results All times are Pacific.
MLS Cup Playoffs
U.S. Open Cup
Friendlies
Player statistics Appearances and goals Last updated on November 1, 2018
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have left the club
Top scorers PlacePositionNameTotal1FW Diego Rossi1205172FW Carlos Vela1401153FW Adama Diomande1200124FW Latif Blessing50275DF Walker Zimmerman4004MF Benny Feilhaber30147DF Laurent Ciman3003MF Lee Nguyen3003FW Christian Ramirez210310DF Steven Beitashour2002MF Mark-Anthony Kaye2002FW Marco Ureña101213MF Eduard Atuesta1001DF João Moutinho1001DF Danilo Silva0101Own goals3014Total 68 2 11 81 As of November 2, 2018.
See also 2018 Orange County SC season
References
External links Los Angeles Football Club Official Site