CARSON, Calif. (Friday, January 11, 2013) – The LA Galaxy announced today that Pat Noonan has elected to retire as a player and will join the club’s coaching staff as an assistant coach starting immediately. A 10-year MLS veteran who appeared in 10 regular season games for the Galaxy in 2012, Noonan won MLS Cup twice during his career, helping the Columbus Crew win their first championship in 2008 and the Galaxy to their second straight title last season. Noonan will join Associate Head Coach Dave Sarachan, Assistant Coach/Reserve Team Head Coach Curt Onalfo and Goalkeeper Coach Ian Feuer on Bruce Arena’s coaching staff.
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“I have the utmost respect for Bruce and all the coaches here with the Galaxy and could not think of a better club with which to begin my coaching career,” Noonan said. “I am truly grateful for the all the things that I have been able to experience and all of the wonderful people that I was able to meet during my 10 years playing this game professionally. I look forward to continuing that journey as I begin the next chapter of my soccer career.”
In a 10-year MLS career that saw him score 42 goals and add 33 assists in 183 regular season games, Noonan helped his team reach MLS Cup five times, winning a pair of championships. An All-Star in 2004 when he finished tied for the MLS scoring lead with career-highs of 11 goals and eight assists, Noonan won the U.S. Open Cup three times during his career, helping the New England Revolution to their first Open Cup title in 2007 before winning the tournament again with Seattle in 2010 and 2011. A native of Ballwin, Mo., Noonan made his U.S. National Team debut in March 2004 in a friendly against Haiti and he scored his first international goal just under a year later in a 3-0 win over Colombia. He collected 14 caps in his international career, with all but one of those appearances coming when Bruce Arena was the coach of the National Team.
“We’re delighted to bring Pat onto our coaching staff,” Arena said. “In his short tenure with the Galaxy, he earned the respect of our coaches and our players and I believe that he will develop into an outstanding coach.”
Noonan, who holds a U.S. Soccer Federation “B” coaching license, began his MLS career with New England in 2003, being selected by the club in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. A finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award that season, Noonan spent five seasons with the Revolution, scoring 37 goals and adding 29 assists while helping New England reach three consecutive MLS Cups. Following the 2007 season, Noonan moved to Europe, signing with Aalesunds FK of the Norwegian Tippeligaen before returning to MLS in August 2008, joining the Columbus Crew, with who he won his first MLS Cup. He split the 2009 season between Columbus and Colorado before joining Seattle in 2010. After two seasons with the Sounders, the 32-year-old was taken by the Galaxy in Stage 2 of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Process. He appeared in 14 games in all competitions last season, scoring once in the league and once in the U.S. Open Cup while winning his second MLS Cup.
