Raul Mendiola

How Acquired:  Signed as a homegrown player on Feb. 20, 2014

Mendiola signed a Homegrown Player contract ahead of the 2014 season after impressing at various levels of the LA Galaxy Academy and in the LA Galaxy Reserve side.

MLS Highlights

2016: Mendiola recorded the most MLS appearances (6) of any his past three seasons with the Galaxy. He started five of those contests, including his first MLS start against Columbus Crew at StubHub Center on Sept. 3. Mendiola also featured extensively for LA Galaxy II, recording two goals and two assists for the club in regular season play.

2015: Mendiola spent the 2015 season with LA Galaxy II. He tallied 10 assists for the side on the season, helping them to the 2015 USL Western Conference Championship. 

2014: After signing a Homegrown Player contract prior to the 2014 season, Mendiola went on to make three MLS appearances for the Galaxy in his first season with the club. Mendiola was loaned to LA Galaxy II in USL for a majority of the year, where he played a key role in the team’s success during their inaugural season.

Youth

Mendiola is a native of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico who previously spent three seasons with the Galaxy Academy. During the 2012-2013 USSDA campaign, he scored 13 goals in 26 games en route to the team’s second consecutive division title and a 20-7-4 record, earning USSDA Western Conference Under-17/18 Starting XI honors in the process. He also appeared in nine MLS Reserve League matches in 2013, making two starts as the Galaxy repeated as the Reserve League West Division champions with a 5-1-4 record.

Mendiola was named to the Development Academy Starting XI for the third time in 2013 and is the seventh player overall signed from the LA Galaxy Academy. He joins Bradford Jamieson IV, Gyasi Zardes, Oscar Sorto, Jose Villarreal, Jack McBean, and Tristan Bowen as successful academy players that have made the leap to the club’s first team.

Prior to the Galaxy, the Mexican-American forward spent two USSDA seasons with Arsenal FC, capping off his final season with the club in 2010-2011 by netting 14 goals in 32 games. In 2009-2010, Mendiola scored nine goals in 26 starts and helped guide Arsenal FC to a U-16 SoCal Division crown while also spending time on trial with Manchester City of the English Premier League and Sevilla FC of Spain’s La Liga. Mendiola has also spent time training with Liga MX side CF Pachuca in Mexico City.

In 2012, Mendiola was called-up for seven Galaxy Reserve League matches in addition to playing with the U-18 side. He tallied 118 minutes and three assists including setting up the Rafael Garcia’s 90th minute game-winner in a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders. He helped LA win the Reserve League’s West Division title for the first time in club history in 2012, guiding them to a 6-3-1 record for a Division-best 19 points.