Like clockwork, the Galaxy rallies in second half of season

After the Galaxy played to a 1-1 tie with Chivas USA on June 8, the Galaxy was 4-3-5 and tied for seventh place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, 16 points behind division leader Seattle.

But history shows that since Bruce Arena became the Galaxy’s coach in mid-2008, the team typically plays much better in the second half of a season. And that’s holding true again.

Since June 8, the Galaxy has lost only twice in 16 games, surging to a 10-2-4 record in that stretch, including ties in its last two games, against Montreal and San Jose, on the road.

The Galaxy has scored the most goals (57), given up the fewest (30), suffered the fewest losses (five) and had the most assists (64) in the MLS.

That has vaulted the Galaxy into second place in the West, only three points behind Seattle, with the top five teams in the conference qualifying for the playoffs.

The Galaxy has six games left in the regular season, starting against FC Dallas at StubHub Center on Saturday night. If the Galaxy wins, it will clinch a playoff berth.

“We’re playing well . . . and to be positioned where we are, we feel good about that,” Arena said. “I remember some of these reporters here in June telling us we weren’t going to make the playoffs.”

Added Arena: “We have a long way to go. We want to continue to get better.”

Galaxy doubters in June should have known better in light of Arena’s record. In 2012, for instance, the Galaxy lost eight of its first 13 games. Yet, by season’s end, the team had won the most recent of its four MLS championships.

Each year it seems the players need several games to get in sync with each other and to adapt to Arena’s playbook, then they gel with rising confidence in the second half.

“We’re getting more and more comfortable with how we play,” forward Landon Donovan said. “When Bruce got here, it was very much about defending well and countering and being good in that way.

“As the years have gone on, we’ve evolved into a team that tries to pass well, we try to move well, we try to move the right way, we try to create combinations and play the game the right way.”

But this year’s second-half rebound also might reflect, at least in part, a moment during the Galaxy’s Aug. 20 game against Colorado when Arena fumed about the Galaxy’s play.

The Galaxy trailed, 3-1, by halftime after losing its previous game, 4-1, to the Columbus Crew. So during halftime in Colorado, Arena gave players a tongue lashing, after which the Galaxy scored three goals to defeat the Rapids, 4-3.

The Galaxy won its next four games by a combined score of 15-1.

Another key to the Galaxy’s second-half surge: Gyasi Zardes’ breakout year. The 23-year-old forward leads the team in scoring with 15 goals, which has made his teammates even more eager to pass the ball to him.

Donovan, for instance, recently has been “the one giving me all my assists and I’m just trying to build off that as much as I can,” Zardes said.

With Zardes excelling alongside All-Star forwards Donovan and Robbie Keane, and the Galaxy defense playing the stingiest soccer in the league, the club is “firing on all cylinders,” defender Omar Gonzalez said.

That’s even more notable, Gonzalez said, because the Galaxy has played 11 games in seven weeks.

“It’s been a tough stretch since July 28,” Gonzalez said.

And if the Galaxy needed any more incentive, Donovan, the league’s all-time leading scorer with 143 goals, last month said he’s retiring after this season.

So the Galaxy wants to send him off with the club’s fifth MLS Cup, and Donovan said when announcing his retirement that “I want to go out as a champion.”