CARSON, Calif. (Friday, December 23, 2011) – The LA Galaxy announced today defender Sean Franklin, midfielder Bryan Jordan and forward Adam Cristman will all return to the club for the 2012 MLS season after helping LA win their third MLS Cup last season. Franklin and Jordan each re-signed with the Galaxy while the defending Supporters’ Shield winners and MLS Cup champions exercised an option on Cristman, bringing him back for a second season in Southern California.
Franklin is the longest tenured of the three players, having joined the Galaxy in 2008 as a first round pick in that year’s MLS SuperDraft. A native of Palmdale, Calif., Franklin played college soccer at Cal State – Northridge before being named the MLS Rookie of the Year in 2008. Capable of playing right back or on the right side of midfield, as well as in central defense, Franklin played in a career-high 28 games for the Galaxy last season while also starting all four of the club’s postseason matches. The 27-year-old finished the season with four goals and three assists, with all of those coming in a seven-game stretch over the summer. Franklin had never scored in an MLS game before this season but finished the season tied for fourth on the team in scoring and was one of just three players to score more than one goal in a game, doing so against Sporting Kansas City on September 5. An MLS All-Star for the first time in his career, Franklin was a central figure in the club’s defensive success last season as they equaled an MLS record with 17 shutouts in the regular season and allowed just 38 goals in 46 games in all competitions.
Just like Franklin, Bryan Jordan originally joined the Galaxy ahead of the start of the 2008 season and has spent the last four years with the club. In that time, the versatile midfielder has appeared in 48 games, scoring twice and adding three assists. Originally signed as a forward, Jordan has spent much of the last two years playing wide in the midfield or at right back, where he made all five of his starts in 2011. The Galaxy were 5-0-0 in the games that he started, including a run of four straight wins in September and October in which the club kept three clean sheets and outscored opponents 7-1. In the home win over Vancouver on September 17, Jordan had the first multi-assist game of his MLS career, setting up second half goals for Robbie Keane and Mike Magee as the Galaxy won 3-0.
Rounding out the returning trio is forward Adam Cristman, who started MLS Cup in place of the injured Chad Barrett and scored three goals in all competitions after being acquired in a trade with D.C. United in January. After missing the first three months of the season with a knee injury, Cristman became a regular in the squad in July and went on to appear in 20 games in all competitions for the Galaxy. One of just three players on the team to score in the regular season, the U.S. Open Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League, tallying once in each. Cristman also scored three times in the club’s five international friendlies, scoring once against Real Madrid and twice against the Philippines National Team, while also scoring twice in the Reserve League, making him the only player to score in each of those, as well as in the regular season.
Cristman, Franklin, Jordan and the rest of the Galaxy will return to action on Wednesday, March 7 when they take on Toronto FC in the first leg of their 2011/12 CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal, which will be played at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They will open the 2012 MLS season will three days later on Saturday, March 10 at The Home Depot Center in MLS First Kick 2012, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods. The time, opponent and broadcast information for this game will be included in the entire regular season schedule, which will be announced soon. Tickets for that match are on sale now via the Galaxy Holiday Pack, which includes four tickets to the match and two championship mini-scarves. BUY NOW
