The Los Angeles Galaxy have signed forward Alan Gordon on loan from the Portland Timbers of the A-League, it was announced today by Galaxy President and General Manager Doug Hamilton. A Galaxy selection in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft, the club will have the option of signing the forward on a permanent transfer at the end of the season.
The rookie striker joins the Galaxy immediately and will fill the developmental spot on the Galaxy roster vacated by the departure of Ricky Lewis, who was traded to the Colorado Rapids on August 31.
"Alan's time with the Timbers served his development well," said Hamilton. "He played in 27-plus matches, gained the confidence to finish at the professional level and will bring that confidence to the Galaxy during a critical time in our season."
Gordon finished tied with Dante Washington for the goal-scoring title during the recently completed 2004 A-League regular season, earning first all-league honors. The first-year sniper registered 17 goals in 27 games and led the Timbers to the best regular season record in the league and a berth in the Western Conference semifinals.
"We are excited to have Alan as a part of our team," said Sampson. "We are thrilled about the work he has done as leading scorer in the A-League and are equally excited to see him continue his goal-scoring pace in MLS with the Galaxy."
The three-time A-League Player of the Week and his Timbers' teammates recently concluded their run in the A-League playoffs, falling in their home-and-home Western Conference semifinal series to the Seattle Sounders 3-2 on aggregate.
The 6-3, 195-pound Gordon, a native of Long Beach, Calif., was originally selected by the Galaxy in the sixth round of the 2004 MLS SuperDraft out of Oregon State University (53rd overall). While with the Beavers, he earned first-team all Pacific-10 Conference honors in both 2002 and 2003, and scored 15 and 11 goals, respectively, in each of those seasons.
Gordon had previously attended Yavapai College (Arizona), where he scored 39 goals over two seasons. He was named an NSCAA Junior College All-American in 2001, the same year in which he scored 29 goals and piloted Yavapai to the national championship game.
The Los Angeles Galaxy return to The Home Depot Center on Saturday, September 11 at 7:00 pm against the San Jose Earthquakes. The first 10,000 fans 16 and under attending that match will receive a Galaxy soccer ball. For more information or to purchase tickets to that or any other remaining Galaxy home game this season, please call the Galaxy ticket office toll-free at 1-877-3GALAXY.
