Nearly thirty years ago, the LA Galaxy played in their first-ever MLS game today | OneFootball

On April 13, 1996, Major League Soccer officially kicked off. The Los Angeles Galaxy not only played their first ever regular season game on this day but they won, too.

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, was the venue when the LA Galaxy hosted the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. More than 69,000 people were in attendance to witness history. At the time, it was the largest gathering for a non-World Cup or non-Olympic game in the city of Los Angeles.

How did the game go down between the Galaxy and the MetroStars?

Jorge Campos started in goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy and Tony Meola was the keeper for New York/New Jersey. Loather Osiander and Eddie Firmani were the managers for the Galaxy and MetroStars, respectively.

Midfielder Cobi Jones was the first player to score for the LA Galaxy. His goal, assisted by forward Eduardo Hurtado, gave the hosts an early 1-0 lead.

Forward Arash Noamouz scored the team's second goal of the game minutes into the second half. The score went unassisted.

MetroStars forward Giovanni Savarese prevented the shutout as the visitors found the back of the net at the 77th minute in the game. Midfielder Edmundo Rodriguez had come in off the bench and recorded the assist on Savarese's goal.

The New York/New Jersey MetroStars became the New York Red Bulls in 2006. This was the season after the LA Galaxy captured their second MLS Cup title.

Both teams met in last year's MLS Cup Finals to end the 2024 season. That game also ended in a 2-1 victory for the Los Angeles Galaxy. History was made that day, but it was created 29 seasons ago at the Rose Bowl.