Major League Soccer announced the full 2018 LA Galaxy schedule today. And there are more than a few surprises in store for supporters this year – with most of them not being very good for attendance at StubHub Center.
We’ll highlight a few of the biggest games and streaks below as well as point out some intricacies of the schedule itself.
The full schedule can be found at the bottom of this page.
LA GALAXY VS LOS ANGELES FOOTBALL CLUB
The LA Galaxy will face off against LAFC for the first time on Saturday, March 31 at 12 p.m. That game will be played at StubHub Center and will be nationally televised on FOX.
These two teams will meet twice more with LAFC hosting the Galaxy on Thursday, July 26 at newly constructed Banc of California Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN and the Galaxy closing out the series with the expansion side on Friday, August 24 at 7:30 p.m. at StubHub Center.
LAFC are the only team in the league the Galaxy will play three times this season. A result of the unbalanced conferences and on MLS trying to maximize this rivalry. Every other Western conference team will be played twice – once at home and once away. With every Eastern Conference team being played once.
If you’re playing the home game, that means that one of the most anticipated matchups between these two neighbors, Galaxy and LAFC, will be on a Saturday. With a Thursday and Friday game thrown in.
This is a trend throughout the Galaxy’s schedule and a trend that MLS supports. Nationally televised games take precedence over the fan experience at games. And getting anywhere near either StubHub or Banc of California Stadium on a weekday is going to be a nightmare and severely limit the fan experience during those games.
But as is the case for most businesses, money rules the land. And the league and the all it’s teams benefitted greatly from the ESPN and Fox TV Deal.
LA GALAXY VS SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
The Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes will play just twice this year. Which is different than previous years. But both of the games will be interesting ones.
The Galaxy will host the Earthquakes on Friday, May 25 at 8 p.m. That game will be nationally televised on UniMas and marks another key matchup that will be played on a non-Saturday date in Carson.
The return trip will find the Galaxy playing at Standford Stadium on Saturday, June 30 at 7 p.m. on UniMas.
OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST
- SATURDAY, APRIL 21 – Atlanta United will make it’s way to StubHub Center for the very first time in their history. And with what they were able to do in their debut year, they might be an exciting team to watch in 2018.
- WEDNESDAY, JULY 4 – The annual Independence day game will feature DC United this year. Old school rivals will face off against each other after United is forced to play 12 of it’s first 14 games on the road. They’re going to be tired when they get here, but a game against them is always worth the midweek viewing!
- SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 – The LA Galaxy will travel to Toronto FC to take on the reigning champs. Is TFC in line for a repeat? Can the Galaxy compete with their ridiculously talented squad? We should find out with a packed stadium behind them!
- SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 – The Seattle Sounders will come to StubHub for the only time in 2018. If you don’t call these matches a rivalry, then you haven’t been around for very long.
SCHEDULE FACTS
NATIONALLY TELEVISED
The Galaxy will play 13 nationally televised games with ESPN hosting four of those games – only one home game – across both ESPN and ESPN2.
FS1 will also host four of the 13 games with all of those games coming from StubHub Center.
The balance of the games are hosted by Univision (1), FOX (1), and UniMas (3).
GAMES BY DAY
The Galaxy play every day of the week except for Tuesday. They’ll play once on Monday, three times on Wednesday, once on Thursday, twice on Friday, 20 times on Saturday (7 home, 13 away) and seven times on Sunday (5 home, 2 away).
That means that only 41% of the Galaxy’s home games in 2018 will be played on the much preferred Saturday night. That leaves five games played during the week (Wednesday and Friday) and five games played on Sunday.
If you twist those stats, 70% of the Galaxy’s home games will be played over the weekend, so that’s not as bad as it first seems.
But it’s still disappointing that more Saturday night games aren’t being played at StubHub. Especially when you realize that 13 of the Galaxy’s away games will feature on Saturday.
- Monday
- Home 0
- Away 1
- Tuesday
- Home 0
- Away 0
- Wednesday
- Home 3
- Away 0
- Thursday
- Home 0
- Away 1
- Friday
- Home 2
- Away 0
- Saturday
- Home 7
- Away 13
- Sunday
- Home 5
- Away 2
GAMES BY MONTH
July will be the Galaxy’s busiest month with six games played (3 home, 3 away). June, during the nine-day World cup break, and October during another International break, will see the fewest games played at just three.
During the months of April, July, and August the Galaxy will play three home games in each. With May and July seeing three road games being played.
LONGEST ROAD TRIP
The Galaxy longest road trip is three games. And they’ll accomplish that feat two times.
- Road Trip #1: May 5-21
- Saturday, May 5 at Houston Dynamo
- Saturday, May 12 at FC Dallas
- Monday, May 21 at Montreal Impact
- Road Trip #2: July 14-26
- Saturday, July 14 at New England Revolution
- Saturday, July 21 at Philadelphia Union
- Thursday, July 26 at LAFC
LONGEST HOMESTAND
It’s not very long, but I guess it’s a stat. The Galaxy will have a two-game homestand six times in 2018. Get excited!
- Home Stand #1: March 31-April 8
- Saturday, March 31 vs. LAFC
- Sunday, April 8 vs. Sporting KC
- Home Stand #2: April 21-28
- Saturday, April 21 vs. Atlanta United FC
- Saturday, April 28 vs. New York Red Bulls
- Home Stand #3: May 25-30
- Friday, May 25 vs. San Jose Earthquakes
- Wednesday, May 30 vs. FC Dallas
- Home Stand #4: July 4-7
- Wednesday, July 4 vs. D.C. United
- Saturday, July 7 vs. Columbus Crew SC
- Home Stand #5: August 24-29
- Friday, August 24 vs. LAFC
- Wednesday, August 29 vs. Colorado Rapids
- Home Stand #6: September 23-29
- Sunday, September 23 vs. Seattle Sounders FC
- Saturday, September 29 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
FULL LA GALAXY 2018 MLS SCHEDULE
| # | DATE | DAY | OPPONENT | VENUE | TIME (PT) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MAR 4 | SUNDAY | PORTLAND TIMBERS | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:00 PM | FS1 |
| 2 | MAR 11 | SUNDAY | NEW YORK CITY FC | YANKEE STADIUM | 2:00 PM | MLS* |
| 3 | MAR 24 | SATURDAY | VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC | BC PLACE | 7:00 PM | TSN |
| 4 | MAR 31 | SATURDAY | LAFC | STUBHUB CENTER | 12:00 PM | FOX |
| 5 | APR 8 | SUNDAY | SPORTING KANSAS CITY | STUBHUB CENTER | 6:00 PM | FS1 |
| 6 | APR 14 | SATURDAY | CHICAGO FIRE | TOYOTA PARK | 12:30 PM | UNIV |
| 7 | APR 21 | SATURDAY | ATLANTA UNITED FC | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 8 | APR 28 | SATURDAY | NEW YORK RED BULLS | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 9 | MAY 5 | SATURDAY | HOUSTON DYNAMO | BBVA COMPASS STADIUM | TBA | MLS* |
| 10 | MAY 12 | SATURDAY | FC DALLAS | TOYOTA STADIUM | 12:30 PM | UNIMAS |
| 11 | MAY 21 | MONDAY | MONTREAL IMPACT | SAPUTO STADIUM | 12:00 PM | TVA |
| 12 | MAY 24 | FRIDAY | SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES | STUBHUB CENTER | 8:00 PM | UNIMAS |
| 13 | MAY 30 | WEDNESDAY | FC DALLAS | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 14 | JUN 2 | SATURDAY | PORTLAND TIMBERS | PROVIDENCE PARK | 2:00 PM | ESPN2 |
| 15 | JUN 9 | SATURDAY | REAL SALT LAKE | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| ----- | WORLD | ----- | CUP | ----- | BREAK | ----- |
| 16 | JUN 30 | SATURDAY | SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES | STANFORD STADIUM | 7:00 PM | UNIMAS |
| 17 | JUL 4 | WEDNESDAY | D.C. UNITED | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 18 | JUL 7 | SATURDAY | COLUMBUS CREW SC | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 19 | JUL 14 | SATURDAY | NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION | GILLETTE STADIUM | TBA | MLS* |
| 20 | JUL 21 | SATURDAY | PHILADELPHIA UNION | TALEN ENERGY STADIUM | TBA | MLS* |
| 21 | JULY 26 | THURSDAY | LAFC | BANC OF CALIFORNIA STADIUM | 7:30 PM | ESPN |
| 22 | JUL 29 | SUNDAY | ORLANDO CITY SC | STUBHUB CENTER | 6:30 PM | FS1 |
| 23 | AUG 4 | SATURDAY | COLORADO RAPIDS | DICK'S SPORTING GOODS PARK | TBA | MLS* |
| 24 | AUG 11 | SATURDAY | MINNESOTA UNITED FC | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 25 | AUG 18 | SATURDAY | SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC | CENTURYLINK FIELD | 12:30 PM | ESPN |
| 26 | AUG 24 | FRIDAY | LAFC | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | ESPN |
| 27 | AUG 29 | WEDNESDAY | COLORADO RAPIDS | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:30 PM | MLS* |
| 28 | SEP 1 | SATURDAY | REAL SALT LAKE | RIO TINTO STADIUM | TBA | MLS* |
| 29 | SEP 15 | SATURDAY | TORONTO FC | BMO FIELD | 11:00 AM | TSN |
| 30 | SEP 23 | SUNDAY | SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC | STUBHUB CENTER | 4:00 PM | FS1 |
| 31 | SEP 29 | SATURDAY | VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC | STUBHUB CENTER | 7:00 PM | TSN |
| 32 | OCT 6 | SATURDAY | SPORTING KANSAS CITY | CHILDREN'S MERCY PARK | TBA | MLS* |
| 33 | OCT 21 | SUNDAY | MINNESOTA UNITED FC | TCF BANK STADIUM | TBA | MLS* |
| 34 | OCT 28 | SUNDAY | HOUSTON DYNAMO | STUBHUB CENTER | 1:30 PM | MLS* |
* Denotes a locally broadcast game. The full local broadcast schedule will be released at a later date with Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum Deportes televising those games.