By going the full 90 in Saturday’s 1-0 win over D.C. United, third-year center back Kwame Watson-Siriboe has now played more MLS minutes since arriving at RSL via trade with Chicago on June 27 than he did in his previous two-and-a-half years in the league.
Watson-Siriboe has played 738 minutes since joining the Claret-and-Cobalt, 57 more than he did in Chicago, which selected him in the second round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
The UConn product has appeared in 10 league matches for Real Salt Lake, starting eight times in MLS play. That’s the same amount of league appearances and one more start than he had in Chicago.
Watson-Siriboe has also made big contributions in CONCACAF Champions League play, coming on in the second half of RSL’s 1-0 loss at Costa Rican club C.S. Herediano on July 31 and playing the full 90 in the Claret-and-Cobalt’s 2-0 home win over Tauro FC on Aug. 21.
The best part about all of this is, of course, that Watson-Siriboe – who has been called into action so often primarily because of injuries – has done well when on the field. He’s been solid defensively, effective in distribution and decent when getting forward on set pieces, even having a goal called back for an apparent foul by another RSL player in Saturday’s game.
We’ll likely see Watson-Siriboe in the lineup again on Thursday when the Claret-and-Cobalt takes on Houston at BBVA Compass Stadium. His minutes might taper off after that game, what with fellow center backs Chris Schuler and Jamison Olave returning to health, but he’ll undoubtedly remain a valuable piece as RSL continues its run down the stretch.
