This week we look back on the 10 biggest stories for Real Salt Lake in 2015.
We start at No. 10 with the story of an unlikely starter that earned his stripes this year.
Throughout the season, Real Salt Lake missed several key players for extended periods of time due to injuries, suspensions and international call-ups. It affected the club all over the field. On the forward line, Joao Plata missed the first 11 matches with a fractured foot and finished with 17 starts and Sebastian Jaime missed 10 straight matches in a similar stretch of two months with a fracture in his leg. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando also missed action with a knee knock that troubled him throughout the season.
However, nowhere was the injury bug more evident than on the back line. While Tony Beltran was an iron man in starting 31 matches and the left back spot was split between Demar Phillips (who missed the start of the season to injury himself) and Abdoulie Mansally, the center back tandem was at times a revolving door. Initially, the starting duo of Jamison Olave and Chris Schuler provided a fearsome pair that had a strong opening four matches, leading RSL to a 2-0-2 record with two shutouts. However, Schuler would start only one more match on the year and Olave was limited to 22 starts.
That left the door open for Aaron Maund and he proved to be up to the task. The 25-year-old made his first start of the year near his hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts, against the New England Revolution and went on to start a career-high 21 matches. In addition to keying a defensive stretch that saw RSL go 4-2-0 in a period that included shutout victories over the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC, Maund also stood firm in Champions League and Open Cup play, where RSL went 6-1-0 with a 0.71 goals against average with Maund in the lineup. That included a match against the Galaxy that saw Maund score the decisive goal to send RSL through to the semifinals.
For his efforts, Maund was named RSL’s 2015 Defender of the Year, as voted by his teammates.
Top 10 RSL Stories of 2015
10. Maund Emerges on Defense
9. 11/2
8. 11/3
7. 11/3
6. 11/4
5. 11/4
4. 11/5
3. 11/5
2. 11/6
1. 11/6
