# 2018 Los Angeles FC season

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

    As of July 26, 2018.
| No. | Name | Date of birth (Age) | Games | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | Tyler Miller | (1993-03-12) March 12, 1993 (age 31) | 18 | 0 |
| 13 | Charlie Lyon | (1992-04-10) April 10, 1992 (age 32) | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Quillan Roberts | (1994-09-13) September 13, 1994 (age 30) | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Luis López | (1993-09-13) September 13, 1993 (age 31) | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | Jordan Harvey | (1984-01-28) January 28, 1984 (age 40) | 14 | 0 |
| 3 | Steven Beitashour | (1987-02-01) February 1, 1987 (age 37) | 16 | 2 |
| 5 | Dejan Jakovic | (1985-07-16) July 16, 1985 (age 39) | 8 | 0 |
| 6 | Danilo Silva | (1986-11-24) November 24, 1986 (age 38) | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Walker Zimmerman | (1993-05-19) May 19, 1993 (age 31) | 14 | 0 |
| 27 | Tristan Blackmon | (1996-08-12) August 12, 1996 (age 28) | 7 | 0 |
| 44 | João Moutinho | (1998-01-12) January 12, 1998 (age 26) | 10 | 1 |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 8 | André Horta | (1996-11-07) November 7, 1996 (age 28) | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Aaron Kovar | (1993-08-14) August 14, 1993 (age 31) | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | Mark-Anthony Kaye | (1994-12-02) December 2, 1994 (age 30) | 17 | 2 |
| 16 | Calum Mallace | (1990-01-10) January 10, 1990 (age 34) | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | James Murphy | (1997-09-17) September 17, 1997 (age 27) | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Eduard Atuesta | (1997-06-18) June 18, 1997 (age 27) | 14 | 1 |
| 24 | Lee Nguyen | (1986-10-07) October 7, 1986 (age 38) | 10 | 0 |
| 33 | Benny Feilhaber | (1985-01-19) January 19, 1985 (age 39) | 18 | 2 |
| Forwards ||||||
| 7 | Latif Blessing | (1996-12-30) December 30, 1996 (age 27) | 18 | 5 |
| 9 | Diego Rossi | (1998-03-05) March 5, 1998 (age 26) | 16 | 6 |
| 10 | Carlos Vela | (1989-03-01) March 1, 1989 (age 35) | 13 | 7 |
| 12 | Christian Ramirez | (1991-04-04) April 4, 1991 (age 33) | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | Joshua Pérez | (1998-01-21) January 21, 1998 (age 26) | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Marco Ureña | (1990-03-05) March 5, 1990 (age 34) | 8 | 0 |
| 28 | Shaft Brewer Jr. | (1999-10-28) October 28, 1999 (age 25) | 3 | 0 |
| 99 | Adama Diomande | (1990-02-14) February 14, 1990 (age 34) | 7 | 9 |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Lead Managing Owner | Larry Berg |
| Co-Managing Owner | Brandon Beck |
| Co-Managing Owner | Bennett Rosenthal |
| Executive Chairman | Peter Guber |
| President | Tom Penn |
| Vice Chairman | Henry Nguyen |
| Director | Ruben Gnanalingam |
| Director | Vincent Tan |
| EVP and General Manager | John Thorrington |
| VP and Asst. General Manager | Will Kuntz |
Source: LAFC

### Technical Staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head Coach | Bob Bradley |
| Director of Soccer Operations | Mike Sorber |
| Assistant Coach | Ante Razov |
| Assistant Coach | Marc Dos Santos |
| Assistant Coach | Kenny Arena |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Zak Abdel |
Source: LAFC

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Entry date | Position | No. | Player | From club | Notes |
| 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 FC | Loan on January 23, 2018 |
| January 24, 2018 | DF | — | Steven Beitashour | Toronto FC | Free transfer on January 24, 2018 |
| January 24, 2018 | GK | — | Luis Lopez | Real Espana | Free transfer on January 24, 2018 |

### Transfers out

| Exit date | Position | No. | Player | To club | Notes |
| 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 |
| 1 | 1 | DF | João Moutinho | Akron |
| 1 | 3 | DF | Tristan Blackmon | Pacific |
| 2 | 24 | MF | Pol Calvet | Pittsburgh |
| 3 | 47 | FW | Jordan Jones | Oregon State |

## Competitions
### Major League Soccer
#### Standings
##### Western Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 65 | 40 | +25 | 62 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 2 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 59 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 3 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 68 | 52 | +16 | 57 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 4 | FC Dallas | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 57 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 5 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 54 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |

##### Overall

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 65 | 40 | +25 | 62 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 59 | |
| 5 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 68 | 52 | +16 | 57 | |
| 6 | FC Dallas | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 52 | 44 | +8 | 57 | |
| 7 | New York City FC | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 56 | |

#### Results

All times are Pacific.

### Friendlies
## Player statistics
### Appearances and goals

    Last updated on November 1, 2018
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | MLS Cup Playoffs | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | USA | Tyler Miller | 38 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | USA | Charlie Lyon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | CAN | Quillan Roberts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | USA | Jordan Harvey | 34 | 0 | 24+6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IRN | Steven Beitashour | 35 | 2 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | CAN | Dejan Jakovic | 18 | 0 | 13+2 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | BRA | Danilo Silva | 12 | 2 | 10+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | DF | USA | Walker Zimmerman | 32 | 4 | 27 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | POR | João Moutinho | 15 | 1 | 10+4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 8 | MF | POR | André Horta | 12 | 0 | 3+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | USA | Aaron Kovar | 16 | 0 | 7+5 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | CAN | Mark-Anthony Kaye | 22 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | SCO | Calum Mallace | 7 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | COL | Eduard Atuesta | 30 | 1 | 16+10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Lee Nguyen | 31 | 3 | 21+5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | USA | Benny Feilhaber | 39 | 4 | 33+2 | 3 | 2+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | GHA | Latif Blessing | 36 | 7 | 19+12 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | URU | Diego Rossi | 38 | 17 | 31+2 | 12 | 3+1 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | MEX | Carlos Vela | 32 | 15 | 27+2 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | USA | Christian Ramirez | 9 | 4 | 3+5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | USA | Joshua Pérez | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | CRC | Marco Ureña | 19 | 2 | 11+7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | FW | NOR | Adama Diomande | 22 | 12 | 15+4 | 12 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have left the club ||||||||||||
| 22 | GK | HON | Luis López | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | EGY | Omar Gaber | 7 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | BEL | Laurent Ciman | 24 | 3 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | USA | Tristan Blackmon | 11 | 0 | 5+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | USA | James Murphy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | USA | Shaft Brewer Jr. | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | FW | ARG | Rodrigo Pacheco | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Top scorers

| Place | Position | Name | MLS | MLS Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | Diego Rossi | 12 | 0 | 5 | 17 |
| 2 | FW | Carlos Vela | 14 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 3 | FW | Adama Diomande | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 4 | FW | Latif Blessing | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | DF | Walker Zimmerman | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | MF | Benny Feilhaber | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | DF | Laurent Ciman | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | MF | Lee Nguyen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | FW | Christian Ramirez | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | DF | Steven Beitashour | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | Mark-Anthony Kaye | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | Marco Ureña | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | Eduard Atuesta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | João Moutinho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | Danilo Silva | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Total | Total | Total | 68 | 2 | 11 | 81 |
As of November 2, 2018.