Real Salt Lake Academy’s U-17 squad closed out its time at the Orelgi Cup with a pair of victories on Sunday, August 22 over Atlas FC and Nomads SC, finishing the weekend with a 3-0-1 record in the preseason tournament.
The first match pitted the Claret-and-Cobalt against Liga MX’s most recent champions, Atlas FC. The team took a 1-0 victory thanks to a penalty kick goal scored by Izzy Amparo in the first half, his third of the tournament, and a clean sheet performance from goalkeeper Ty Rinker, his second in as many days. The match marked the team’s first international victory of the season, and the second in the preseason tournament, having defeated Phoenix Rising 2-0 the day prior.
After finishing second in the standings Real Salt Lake was slotted to face Nomads SC in the final match of the weekend. The team got off to an early lead when Tony Ramirez netted the first goal of the match in the fifth minute, assisted by Josiah Martinez. Just three minutes later he returned the favor, providing an assist for Josue Reyes to double the lead. The two early goals would prove to be enough to overcome the California based club despite conceding a consolation goal in the first minute of the second half, giving RSL the 2-1 victory.
Both the U-17 and U-15 squads will return to Utah from their respective preseason tournaments to prepare for the start of the upcoming regular season in MLS NEXT, which is slated to begin in September, the schedule for which will be released at a later date.
