The LA Galaxy's trophy case boasts an unmatched five MLS Cup titles, and they've made nine cup final appearances in all. No team in MLS has qualified for the playoffs more often (17 out of 20 times), or won more games (43) or series (40) once they got there.
So it's no surprise that the SoCal side are known for their postseason mastery. But what's more easily overlooked is the tradition of late-season surges that have positioned them for all that playoff success.
Fall runs have become a central feature of the Bruce Arena era in LA. Since 2011, the Galaxy have an MLS-best record of 47-19-18 in regular-season games after Sept. 1. That adds up to an average of 1.89 points per game and a winning percentage of 55.95 percent, both of which are head-and-shoulders ahead of the next-best clubs in this department, New York and Seattle.
The home stretch appears to be a bellwether of LA's title hopes. Their 2011 MLS Cup triumph was preceded by a 5-2-1 streak in that season's final two months; the following year's title defense saw a 4-1-2 burst and their 2014 championship was keyed by a 4-2-2 mark during the same period. Meanwhile, they fizzled in last year's playoffs after limping across the finish line with a 1-3-2 conclusion.
Don't look now, but the Californians are 2-0-2 since the start of the month, with home wins over Columbus and Orlando and road draws at Salt Lake and Sporting KC.
Are Arena's squad building momentum for another cup run? They're currently in second place in the Western Conference and sit just four points back of overall league leaders FC Dallas in the Supporters' Shield race.
LA host the Sounders in a national-TV encounter on ESPN Sunday (4 pm ET; MLS LIVE in Canada), and round out their regular-season slate with visits to Dallas and Houston before FCD visit on the final day of the campaign.
Here's the full rundown of MLS sides' post-Sept. 1 records since 2011, provided by the Elias Sports Bureau:
TEAM |
W |
L |
D |
PPG |
WIN % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LA Galaxy |
47 |
19 |
18 |
1.89 |
55.95 |
NY Red Bulls |
42 |
23 |
21 |
1.71 |
48.84 |
Seattle |
42 |
26 |
18 |
1.67 |
48.84 |
Sporting KC |
42 |
26 |
22 |
1.64 |
46.67 |
Columbus |
43 |
36 |
10 |
1.56 |
48.31 |
Houston |
36 |
26 |
24 |
1.53 |
41.86 |
FC Dallas |
36 |
31 |
17 |
1.49 |
42.86 |
Real Salt Lake |
36 |
29 |
27 |
1.40 |
36.36 |
Portland |
32 |
29 |
27 |
1.40 |
37.93 |
New England |
33 |
36 |
18 |
1.34 |
37.93 |
Chicago |
33 |
34 |
26 |
1.34 |
35.48 |
San Jose |
28 |
32 |
30 |
1.27 |
31.11 |
Philadelphia |
27 |
32 |
28 |
1.25 |
31.03 |
Orlando |
6 |
8 |
3 |
1.24 |
35.29 |
Montreal |
25 |
33 |
16 |
1.23 |
33.78 |
D.C. United |
28 |
37 |
19 |
1.23 |
33.33 |
Vancouver |
27 |
38 |
22 |
1.18 |
31.03 |
NYCFC |
6 |
9 |
2 |
1.18 |
35.29 |
Colorado |
27 |
41 |
18 |
1.15 |
31.40 |
Toronto FC |
23 |
46 |
24 |
1.00 |
24.73 |
