REAL SALT LAKE WEEKLY UPDATE
Mon. – Sun., Dec. 18 - Dec. 24, 2017
SANDY, Utah (Monday, December 18, 2017) – The Real Salt Lake pyramid continues its busy offseason as Real Salt Lake and the Real Monarchs added to their rosters late in the week after Royals FC added an assistant coach earlier in the week. The Real Salt Lake Academy heads into the holiday break looking forward to its first match of 2018 while construction on the $75 million Zions Bank Real Academy is completed.
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake season tickets are now on sale and can now be purchased online by going to RSL.com/tickets/royalty.
Last Friday Real Salt Lake General Manager Craig Waibel announced that the club has signed RSL Academy product DF Aaron Herrera and former Real Monarchs defender Taylor Peay.
After three seasons with the University of New Mexico, Herrera becomes the 14th Homegrown Player signed to RSL’s roster. Herrera, 20, was a standout with the RSL Academy for three years, twice reaching the USSDA National Championship. He followed up that success with his three seasons at New Mexico, where he totaled seven goals and eight assists in 54 matches, 53 of them as a starter. The right back led the Lobos in scoring during his junior season in 2017 with five goals and five assists.
With Herrera signing for the club, the right back completes the quintet of RSL Academy graduates to have represented the U.S. Under-20s in the 2017 CONCACAF championship team and FIFA U-20 World Cup run, joining RSL DFs Justen Glad and Danilo Acosta as well as MFs Sebastian Saucedo and Brooks Lennon.
A graduate of Brighton High School in Salt Lake City, Peay played in 21 matches for the Monarchs in 2017, making 18 starts. A versatile defender who has played both as a right back and a center back, Peay helped the USL club to a historic year with two goals and one assist in addition to his veteran defensive presence in a season that saw the Monarchs break several USL records.
Peay is now the third player from the 2017 Monarchs roster that was rewarded with a Real Salt Lake contract, joining GK Connor Sparrow and MF Nick Besler on the first team. Peay is now the fifth player overall to sign with RSL after a successful stint in the USL with the Monarchs. Current RSL staff members Mike Petke and Freddy Juarez also earned promotions from the Monarchs to the MLS side.
Major League Soccer has announced several key off-season dates, including details of the 2017 MLS Expansion, Waiver and Re-Entry Drafts as Los Angeles Football Club prepares for the club’s first season. The final date before the new year is as follows:
Dec. 21 – 2017 MLS Re-Entry Draft, Stage 2 – The list of players eligible for selection in the Re-Entry Draft, Stage 2 will be released by MLS Communications on Dec. 20.
Utah Royals
Utah Royals FC season tickets are now on sale to the general public and fans can call 844.REAL.TIX now to claim their seats.
On Dec. 11 Royals FC announced the hiring of Scott Parkinson as an assistant coach and will join the club’s NWSL coaching staff for the 2018 season. Parkinson recently completed his second season as Head Coach at Rogers State University in Oklahoma, where he earned Heartland Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2017.
Parkinson served as the head coach of the RSU women's soccer program for two years, leading the Hillcats to a 13-4-3 record this season, with a runner-up finish in the Heartland Conference Tournament. In a record-breaking 2017 campaign, RSU conceded the fewest goals in a season in RSU history with only 12 allowed, asthe team amassed a school-record 11 shutouts. Parkinson finished his Rogers State tenure with a 19-13-6 record across two seasons.
Real Monarchs
Last Thursday Real Monarchs Assistant General Manager Dan Egner announced the signing of centerback Konrad Plewa to help strengthen the already sturdy Monarchs back line.
The 25-year-old Plewa comes to the Monarchs for his fourth season in the United Soccer League after spending last season with Saint Louis FC in the USL’s Eastern Conference, where he scored one goal in 1755 total minutes while featuring in 20 matches – 19 of which were starts. Standing at 6’3” Plewa will provide another piece to an already staunch Real Monarchs defense, that only conceded 31 goals in 32 regular season matches in 2017.
With the addition of Plewa, the Monarchs roster ahead of the 2018 season stands as follows:
Goalkeepers: (1) Andrew Putna
Defenders: (4) Michael Gallagher, James Moberg, David Diosa, Konrad Plewa
Midfielders: (7) Danny Cruz, Charlie Adams, Karsten Hanlin, Sebastian Velasquez, Andrew Brody, Justin Portillo, Maikel Chang
Forwards: (2) Chandler Hoffman, Juan Mare
Real Salt Lake Academy
The Real Salt Lake Academy sides hosted Strikers FC on Dec. 9 for its first home matches in over a month as the U-17s opened the weekend with an emphatic 7-0 win before the U-19s played to a 2-2 draw.
U-19 FW Sebastian Soto continued his blistering goal scoring run against Strikers FC, scoring both goals for the Academy in the 2-2 draw. Soto remains the leader in the “Golden Boot” race on the U-19 U.S. Soccer Development Academy scoring charts with 23 goals in just 12 matches. Soto has now scored six goals in his last four matches.
The U-17s currently sit in second place in the league’s Southwest Division with a 7-2-3 record (24 points). The U-19 group also sits in second place in the league’s Southwest Division and after its first draw of the season, carries with it a 9-2-1 (27 points) record.
Entering a lengthy break for the holiday season, the Academy sides will look ahead to a matchup with the Santa Cruz Breakers Academy on January 20 at the Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman. The U-17s will open proceedings after the holiday break at 11:00 a.m. MT with the U-19s following at 1:30 p.m. MT. The Academy’s full match schedule can be viewed here: rsla.ussoccerda.com.
The rest of the Real Salt Lake Academy schedule can be found at RSL.com/Academy as well as any other information regarding the Zions Bank Real Academy in Herriman.If you plan on attending a training session / game and requesting access, please contact RSL Media Services personnel Taran Meyer at (801) 657-2161 / tmeyer@rsl.com a day in advance for arrangements.
The Zions Bank Real Academy Campus in Herriman - located at 14788 South Academy Parkway (3718 West) - MUST be entered off of Mountain View Corridor, just West of the Facility
