MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Weekly Update

Published on January 31, 2018 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah - Preseason is underway for Real Salt Lake with the Real Monarchs players and staff joining proceedings for early integration under Head Coach Mike Petke. Utah Royals FC is preparing for its maiden season and participated in the league's dispersal draft in a changing league landscape. The RSL Academy teams returned from a double-game week in California and scrimmaged against the RSL first team. Here is what you need to know about the RSL pyramid this week:

Preseason camp is open for the Real Salt Lake first team and members of Real Monarchs as the teams reported to Herriman for the first preseason venture at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley. The club has made the state-of-the-art, $78-million facility home with players already in awe of the brand-new home of soccer in Utah.

"It's beautiful. I think they did a great job on the building. It's everything we need to be successful," RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said, later calling it "one of the top facilities in the world."

On Tuesday RSL announced that Major League Soccer's all-time shutout king GK Nick Rimando has re-signed with the club. Rimando will enter his 12th season with RSL as the league's all-time leader in wins (196), appearances (452), starts (452) and shutouts (137). The longest-tenured RSL player, Rimando is a six-time MLS All-Star, two-time club Defensive Player of the Year and 2007 RSL Most Valuable Player.

Since coming to RSL in 2007, Rimando has been central to the club's construction into the 2009 MLS Cup champions and a perennial playoff contender. He was MVP of the club's 2009 MLS Cup title and helped the club reach finals in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League, 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and 2013 MLS Cup while reaching the postseason in eight of the last 10 seasons. In his 11 seasons with the club, he holds a record of 130-98-79 in MLS regular season play with 101 shutouts and a 1.12 goals against average. Across all competitions, he is 147-114-91 with 116 shutouts and a 1.13 GAA for the club.

A new face joined Real Salt Lake's training camp in Herriman on Wednesday, as newly-signed forward Alfredo Ortuno was at the Zions Bank Real Academy training center on the third day of preseason for Real Salt Lake.

The forward, who celebrated his 27th birthday on January 21, traveled from his native Spain, arriving in Utah on Tuesday evening. After meeting the team, he worked on the side of the field to get acclimated to his new environs - adjusting to the time zone changes, the jet lag from his day of travel and the mountainous altitude. Although he didn't get a chance to take the field, he was happy with his first day with his new club.

RSL will play a scrimmage match against the RSL Academy on Monday to cap the first week of preseason in Herriman. The match is slated to kick off at 5:00 p.m. MT and will be held inside the indoor facility.

Utah Royals FC: Utah Royals FC learned on Monday that it owned the number 5, 14, 23 and 32 picks in the Dispersal Draft after learning that the Boston Breakers had ceased operations, effective immediately. The NWSL Dispersal Draft was held on Tuesday afternoon. Below is the list of players the club selected in the NWSL dispersal draft:

Overall Pick / Player / Position: 5th / Abby Smith / GK 14th / Katie Stengel / FW 23rd / Brooke Elby / MF 32nd / Amanda DaCosta / MF (rights only)

With the Breakers ceasing operations, the 2018 NWSL season will now feature a nine-team, single-table alignment with a 24-game schedule. Each club will play three games against every opponent in the league. The NWSL roster size requirements will remain unchanged, with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 20 players per club. Contracted players (included allocated players) and 2018 College Draft picks selected via the Dispersal Draft will not count against the club's official 18-20 player roster for the 2018 season.

Utah Royals FC season tickets are now on sale to the general public and fans should call 844.REAL.TIX now to claim their seats.

Real Monarchs SLC

Integration from top to bottom is in full swing with Real Monarchs players and staff fully participating in RSL Head Coach Mike Petke's first week of preseason training in Herriman. Along with the first training stint in Herriman, several players from the USL side will travel to Tuscon, Arizona for the second phase of preseason with RSL.

On January 19, Real Monarchs unveiled its full 2018 regular-season schedule in a season that features an expanded 34-game slate across 31 weeks for the club's fourth USL campaign, also its first ever in the new Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. Kickoff times and broadcast carriage for the Monarchs will be announced in the near future.

Beginning with the inaugural Zions Bank Stadium match on Sat., March 31 against Portland Timbers 2, the Monarchs will now look to establish the new 5,000+ seat venue on the $78 million Zions Bank Real Academy campus as its new fortress for 2018, after establishing a USL-best home record of 12-1-3 (39 points) last year, losing just one match in its final season at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The 17-match Monarchs home slate features ZERO Sunday home matches and minimal conflicts with the Real Salt Lake pyramid's MLS and NWSL teams, who play in nearby Sandy. The Monarchs will celebrate three "Monday Night Futbol" games in 2018, including the inaugural "I-15 / Saints & Sinners" rivalry match against Las Vegas Lights on Mon., April 30. Other Monday night games are: June 4 against Rio Grande Valley, and on Mon., Sept. 3, Labor Day Weekend against San Antonio FC, the USL's record-setting defensive side from 2017, and the Monarchs' stiffest challenger for the West title a year ago. Herriman will also be the home for two Tuesday night contests, four Wednesday night matches, and eight Saturday games.

Real Salt Lake Academy: The Real Salt Lake Academy travelled to Southern California this weekend for a double game week against Pateadores and Strikers FC which featured a battle of the top-two teams in the Southwest Division against Pateadores. The U-17s won its match against Pateadores 2-0, before drawing with Strikers 1-1. The U-19 group fell 3-0 at the hands of Pateadores 3-0 before topping Strikers FC 3-1 a day later.

Scoring against Strikers FC on Sunday, U-19 FW Sebastian Soto ended his two-game goal-drought when he scored his 24th goal of the season. Soto remains atop the U.S. Soccer Development Academy "Golden Boot" scoring charts having scored 24 goals in 15 matches played.

The Academy returned home on Sunday for most of the U-19 group to feature in a scrimmage match against three different RSL lineups, a preseason scrimmage that ultimately ended in a 3-1 result in favor of the first team. The Academy side got its lone goal from Lyles Mezine when his curling effort found the top corner of the net to root then-GK Andrew Putna to his spot.

The U-17 side will look ahead to a matchup with Albion SC on February 3 as the U-19s will spend the weekend without a match due to Albion SC not currently carrying a U-19 contingent at the club. The match against Albion SC will kick off at 11:30 a.m. at the Zions Bank training center in Herriman.

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Major League Soccer Stories from January 31, 2018


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