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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Youth Development Update

June 30, 2008 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SALT LAKE CITY (Monday, June 30, 2008) - Soccer United Marketing's second annual Youth Development soccer tournament, SUM U-17 Cup, kicks off this Friday, July 4 at the soccer complex at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. The tournament features 14 Major League Soccer sponsored U-17 Youth Development teams and will culminate with the championship game being played on Thursday, July 10.

Real Salt Lake has tapped into all three branches of the RSL Youth Development program to represent Utah's MLS side, with the team today naming an 18-player roster using players from its Under-17 club teams based in Utah, Arizona, and Florida. The combined RSL U-17 squad will be coached by the RSL-Utah coaches Greg Maas and Adolfo Ovalle and RSL senior team Assistant Coach Brian Johnson for the tournament. Real Salt Lake will keep tabs on the RSL U-17s throughout the tournament with updates on the team's official website, www.RealSaltLake.com, and its official blog, Behind the Shield, at www.RSLtotheCore.com.

The 14-team tournament pool is comprised of the U-17 academy teams sponsored by MLS clubs excluding the San Jose Earthquakes and with two teams representing the Colorado Rapids. The 14 teams will compete in a round robin group phase, with the four group winners advancing to the semifinals. The champion will take home the coveted SUM U-17 Cup and earns the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Trofeo Quixote U-17 tournament in Madrid, Spain. The second place team will gain entry into the prestigious Super Group in the 2009 Dallas Cup youth tournament in Frisco, Texas. The losing semifinalists will participate in the Dallas Cup U-19 group.

SUM will also use the tournament as a platform to exchange player development ideas with both domestic and international clubs. A series of seminars will be open to all participating coaches and players, including one hosted by Real Madrid Youth System Administration Director Alberto Moríñigo Díaz. This tournament is being hosted at no cost to all participants as Soccer United Marketing covers the costs of player travel, accommodations and other tournament-related expenses.

adidas ESP (Elite Soccer Program) will run concurrently with the SUM U-17 Cup. adidas ESP brings together the top high school players in the country for a week of top-level training. Participation is by invitation only; participants are selected based on recommendations from a national scouting network. Program alumni include current MLS stars such as RSL's own Chris Seitz, Michael Parkhurst, Brad Guzan, and Maurice Edu. adidas ESP starts Thursday, July 3 and culminates with the championship games held Tuesday, July 8.

The preliminary SUM U-17 Cup schedule is as follows with the first three rounds and all semi-final matches to be held in the complex adjacent to Dicks Sporting Goods Park. The location of the tournament final has yet to be determined, but is likely to be played on the Colorado Rapids stadium field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

2008 SUM Cup Schedule

Friday, July 4 - Round Robin Matchday 1 - RSL v. LA Galaxy

Saturday, July 5 - Round Robin Matchday 2 - RSL v. Columbus Crew

Monday, July 7 - Round Robin Matchday 3 - RSL v. New York Red Bulls

Tuesday, July 8 - Semi Finals

Thursday, July 10 - Final

Real Salt Lake Under-17 SUM Cup Roster

RSL-Arizona (3): Mike D'Arrigo, Kodiac Gamble, Adrian Saldana

RSL-Florida (4): T.J. East, Hamza Elotnani, Joey Layton, Jake Peterson

RSL-Utah (11): Taylor Bowlin, Carlos Cruz, Camree Gautavi, Trevor Henderson, Mike Hodgen, Josh Kealamakia, Phillip Neuwirth, Karson Payton, Taylor Peay, James Rogers, Jose Sergura

Coaching Staff: Greg Maas (RSL-Utah), Adolfo Ovalle (RSL-Utah), Brian Johnson (Real Salt Lake)

Staff Trainer: Brad Colton (RSL-Utah)

About the SUM U-17 Cup

As a part of the "Home Grown Initiative," the SUM U-17 Cup will focus on player development while providing elite competition for those involved. Offering its participants a great opportunity for dedicated, elite soccer players to meet in a high-level playing environment, the SUM U-17 Cup is both challenging and rewarding for everyone involved.

RSL-Arizona U-17s Win US Club Soccer Region F Tournament, Qualify for National Cup VII

Real Salt Lake would like to congratulate the RSL-Arizona squad for its dominating performance in winning the U-17 Boys age group at the US Club Soccer Region F tournament in San Bernadino, Calif., which took place from June 21-24. After breezing through the group stage with shutout wins over Corinthians FC Xtreme (5-0), $$-Blast Pumas (5-0), and South Bay FC (2-0), RSL-Arizona defeated South Bay for the second time in the same day in the semifinal round, this time winning by a 3-0 margin. In the final, RSL-Arizona blanked North Valley SC Fusion 2-0, giving the squad an aggregate 17-0 goal differential for the tournament while becoming the only team from outside California to win an age group title in the tournament. With the victory, RSL-Arizona has qualified for the US Club Soccer's

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