CARSON, Calif. – The countdown to the MLS regular season is officially on.
We’re just weeks away from the Galaxy’s season opener against D.C. United on March 6 at StubHub Center. The match will be Los Angeles’ first game as they look to win a sixth MLS Cup championship.
As we get ready for the upcoming season, LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano has picked his top five rivalry matches he's excited watch in 2016.
5) FC DALLAS AT STUBHUB CENTER - Sunday, Oct. 23
Could we be witnessing the rebirth of a rivalry when FC Dallas take on the LA Galaxy on the final day of the 2016 regular season?
Decision Day matches are loaded with excitement, and LA’s match against the defending Western Conference regular season champion is expected to be the same. Dallas is a burgeoning power in the Western Conference with youth and speed which provides a contrast to the experience and poise of Bruce Arena’s outfit.
The league’s end-of-the-year scheduling promises to make the game even more heated as LA will host Dallas just three weeks after traveling to Toyota Stadium.
4) DC UNITED AT STUBHUB CENTER – Saturday, March 6 (UniMas)
The league’s oldest cross-country rivalry kicks off the 2016 season on March 6 when D.C. United head to Southern California to take on the LA Galaxy.
Consistent rivals for the MLS Cup since the league’s foundation, each side has aspirations to compete for a title. Ask long-time supporters of either side, and each will tell you that no one has forgot D.C. United’s dramatic victory over the Galaxy in the inaugural MLS Cup back in 1996.
The shared history isn’t the only connection between the two teams, as LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena shares a friendly rivalry with his protégé Ben Olsen.
3) PORTLAND TIMBERS AT PROVIDENCE PARK - Saturday, July 23 (ESPN)
The LA Galaxy and the Portland Timbers may not have a fierce rivalry just yet, but expect a pair heated matches between the two teams this year, but none more intense than LA’s trip to Bridgetown in the summer.
The Timbers will host the Galaxy on July 23 at a raucous Providence Park in a meeting between the last two MLS Cup champions. The Timbers Army gets up for every game, but there’s always a special buzz around the Rose City when the Galaxy take the field in Portland.
Contests between the two sides are always dramatic affairs, as three of the last four matches at Providence Park have been decided by stoppage-time goals. If the script follows in 2016, we might have another great rivalry on our hands.
2) SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC AT STUBHUB CENTER – Sunday, Sept. 25 (ESPN)
The LA Galaxy host Seattle Sounders FC for the only time at StubHub Center on Sept. 25 in a match that promises to be loaded with playoff implications.
The two sides have arguably the league’s most contentious rivalry in recent years, and Seattle’s lone trip to StubHub Center in 2016 is expected to be yet another fierce game. Both teams head into 2016 with dreams of lifting MLS Cup, which should make their three regular season matches even more intense.
The competitiveness of the contest will only be magnified by the star power on the field for both sides, as Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and company will take on a Galaxy side led by Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and Giovani dos Santos.
1) SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES AT STANFORD STADIUM - Saturday, June 25 (UniMas)
Matches between the Galaxy and Seattle are incredibly heated, but no rivalry game holds a candle to the California Clásico.
The league’s greatest rivalry will be at full throttle on June 25 when Los Angeles makes their only trip to Northern California of the 2016 campaign to take on the San Jose Earthquakes. Whether it’s Alan Gordon’s stoppage-time winner for the Quakes in 2013 or Gyasi Zardes’ slick finish a year later, fireworks are always on tap when LA heads to Stanford.
San Jose promises to be an improved side this season with several key offseason acquisitions, but the record books are always thrown out the window when the two teams meet.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
