After a day off Sunday, Real Salt Lake returned to the field at Anteater Stadium in Irvine, California, on Monday, quickly getting back into the swing of training camp in the final four days of the second leg of preseason.
The team showed no signs of rust in a spirited training session as the second leg nears its end.
“Today was a fantastic day. We wanted the guys to come back and compete. We played several different variations of small-sided games and really tried to make it competitive,” Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “After a day off you want to just get them back into the swing of things. It was an awesome day. I couldn’t have asked for more competition and passion.”
The team continued its work on combination play as it works new players into the fold.
Although Cassar knows there is still room for more improvements after the second match of preseason – a 3-1 win over UC-Irvine on Saturday – he was happy with the progress that his team has made thus far in camp.
“I thought we did a lot of good things. We definitely have room to improve, but I thought our movements were good. I thought our reactions were good,” he said, noting that the next steps will come in time. “That’s just running through it. It’s repetition. Then we’ll touch on the defensive side as well and finish off with a game against OC Blues.”
Monday saw the return of Sebastian Saucedo, who played five matches with the U.S. U-18 National Team at the 2015 Copa Chivas tournament in Mexico. With Nick Rimando and Luis Gil set to rejoin the team in Tucson next week after completing the U.S. National Team’s January camp, the team is nearing its full roster ahead of the season opener March 7 against the Portland Timbers.
“It’ll be great having the whole team together,” Cassar said. “Anytime the whole team is together it feels more like a team.”
