Over the past five seasons, Real Salt Lake has had a reliable scoring option at forward in Alvaro Saborio and has managed to find suitable partners for him that have enjoyed success themselves. The 2014 season was no different and RSL finished the year sixth in scoring with 54 goals.
Saborio ranks second to Chris Wondolowski on the scoring charts since coming to MLS in 2010 and while he was limited to just 16 matches this season, his strike rate was still pretty outstanding. With Joao Plata breaking out with a career year and the addition of Sebastian Jaime, there was plenty for RSL fans to be excited about on the attack.
Saborio had an up and down year, starting off the season strong with six goals and two assists in the first 10 matches before departing to join the Costa Rican National Team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. During training camp, though, he broke his foot and was sidelined for over three months before making his return in August, scoring 13 seconds into his first match back with RSL. He finished the season with eight goals to climb to 27th all-time on the league scoring list with 60 career goals. He played 16 matches on the season, scoring in the regular season finale to go into the postseason on a high note.
Plata continued his meteoric rise in MLS in 2014. After recording four goals and eight assists in 29 appearances in his first season with RSL in 2013, he finished his second season with 13 goals and six assists in 26 matches. Plata recorded his first career brace on May 3 in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Fire, amidst a streak of four straight matches with a point that saw him register four goals and one assist. Internationally, Plata made three appearances for Ecuador – his first call-ups since 2011 – and scored two goals in a friendly against El Salvador on October 14.
Meanwhile, Jaime came late in the season and looked to add a spark for RSL’s strike core. He made six appearances, starting three times and while he was able to add to the depth in the attack, he was unable to notch a point. All six of his appearances came over the final eight matches.
Robbie Findley scored one goal in 16 appearances, eight of them starts as he logged 764 minutes. Fourteen of those appearances came after July 19, as Findley played in 14 of the final 16 matches for RSL. Now in his sixth season with RSL, Findley has 36 goals and 15 assists for the club, good for third on the all-time scoring list after moving ahead of Fabian Espindola.
Olmes Garcia added three goals in his second season with Real Salt Lake. His season was highlighted by a two-goal performance in a substitute role on July 24 to power RSL to a 3-1 win over the Montreal Impact. Of his 23 appearances, 12 were in a starting role and he surpassed his 2013 total with 1,191 minutes played. Of his eight career goals, all have come off the bench.
