match fitness, MLS loaned him back to Padova for the 1995–96 season. Lalas last played for Padova in a home game against Lazio on February 25, 1996. Major League Soccer Before the inaugural Major League Soccer (MLS) draft in February 1996, the league allocated high-profile players throughout the league's ten teams (except for the Dallas Burn, which alone amongst all MLS sides never received a U.S. national team allocation from the 1994 World Cup era). As part of this process, MLS placed Lalas with the New England Revolution. Lalas was a regular on the Revs backline during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. In November 1997, the Revolution loaned Lalas to Ecuadorian First Division Club Emelec for a month. He returned to New England at the end of December only to find himself traded to the MetroStars on February 4, 1998. He spent the 1998 season with the MetroStars before being traded, along with Tony Meola, to the Kansas City Wizards for Mark Chung and Mike Ammann on January 28, 1999. Lalas spent one season with the Wizards before announcing his retirement on October 10, 1999. Just over a year later, he returned to playing when he signed with the Los Angeles Galaxy as a discovery player on January 14, 2001. Nearly three years later, he retired again, this time permanently, on January 12, 2004. International career Lalas earned 96 caps, scoring nine goals, with the United States national team between 1991 and 1998. His first cap came in a 2–2 tie with Mexico on March 12, 1991, in the 1991 NAFC Championship. He gained his second cap four days later in a 2–0 win over Canada. While he started both games, he did not gain another cap until he came on for Fernando Clavijo in a 2–2 tie with Denmark on January 30, 1993. His next game, a start, came on March 23, 1993, in a 2–2 tie with El Salvador. While he became a fixture on the team through the rest of 1993, he did not cement his position as a starter in the U.S. central defense until the beginning of 1994. He went on to start and play all ninety minutes in the four U.S. games of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was named an honorable mention All-Star. On June 11, 1995, Lalas flew directly from a relegation playoff game with his club team, Padova, in order