Galaxy goalkeeper Dan Kennedy officially announces retirement
Galaxy goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, one of the top keepers in Major League Soccer during his days with Chivas USA, officially announced his retirement from professional soccer Tuesday.
A 2012 MLS All-Star, Kennedy played 10 MLS seasons, appearing with the New York MetroStars and FC Dallas in addition to Chivas USA and the Galaxy. He made 163 appearances, 485 saves and posted 33 shutouts.
Although Kennedy, 34, has been listed on the Galaxy roster all year, he hasn’t been in the locker room during the regular season. Team officials confirmed last month that Kennedy was retiring but had to work out specifics of his contract and how that would impact the team’s salary cap before the retirement could be made official.
A league official told the Corner of the Galaxy podcast Tuesday that the Galaxy will get full cap relief with Kennedy’s retirement. Kennedy made $195,400 last season, his first with the Galaxy. He will now join the team in a front-office role, working in youth programming and development. He will also continue to serve as an analyst on Galaxy radio broadcasts alongside play-by-play man Joe Tutino.
“I am incredibly grateful to have spent 10 years playing in Major League Soccer,” Kennedy said in a statement released by the team. “I will walk away from my playing career proud of the time I spent in this league and how far it has come.”
A native of Fullerton, Kennedy attended El Dorado High in Placentia and UC Santa Barbara, where he set career records for shutouts (34) and wins (63) and a single-season mark for goals-against average (.55).
Kennedy featured for Chivas USA from 2008 to 2014, where he was the franchise’s all-time leader in games (144), starts (142), saves (451), shutouts (28) and minutes played (12,764). He was also the team captain before the franchise was folded by the league following the 2014 season.
Kennedy was then selected first overall by FC Dallas in the dispersal draft. He lost his job in Dallas midway through the season and was traded to the Galaxy in the winter of 2015. But his longed-for return to Southern California did not go well, with Kennedy sustaining a groin injury 20 minutes into the season-opener. He made just one more start in 2016 before retiring this winter.
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