REAL SALT LAKE WEEKLY UPDATE
Mon. – Sun., Jan. 15 - Jan. 21, 2018
SANDY, Utah (Monday, January 15, 2017) – The Real Salt Lake pyramid remains busy during the offseason as all three professional teams along with the Academy prepare for the 2018 season. RSL and the Real Monarchs are currently looking to strengthen their sides while Utah Royals FC continue to build towards the club’s inaugural season. The Academy will use the week to prepare for its first match in over a month after a lengthy holiday break.
Real Salt Lake
On January 12, Real Salt Lake named Dane Murphy the Club’s Technical Director, effective immediately. Murphy – a former professional player who has spent the last year as a scout for the Utah-based organization, which now operates three professional clubs (RSL, Utah Royals FC of the NWSL and Real Monarchs SLC of the USL) and a 7,000-player youth Academy in Utah and Arizona across two world-class venues (Rio Tinto Stadium and Zions Bank Real Academy) –traveled with Waibel, RSL Head Coach Mike Petke, Real Monarchs Asst. GM Dan Egner and others to the annual MLS Combine in advance of next week’s 2018 MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia, in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
On January 9, Real Salt Lake General Manager Craig Waibel announced the club has signed DF Adam Henley ahead of the 2018 season. He will join the club in preseason, pending receipt of his ITC.
Henley, 23, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, before moving with his family to England at two years old. After playing at the Academy level with Blackburn Rovers, he was signed to the club’s first team in 2011, making his Premier League debut on November 11 of that year at 17 years old. He would go on to play six seasons for Blackburn Rovers, making 80 appearances in the Premier League and Championship levels.
Additionally, the club announced its preseason schedule ahead of the upcoming season. After reporting to the brand new training facility in Herriman on January 22, RSL will spend its first nine days in Utah for camp. The second leg of camp will feature nine days in Tucson from January 31-February 8, with two matches in the
2018 Mobile Mini Sun Cup
against the
LA Galaxy
on February 3 and
San Jose Earthquakes
on February 7. After a brief return to Utah, the final leg of preseason will take place in Orlando from February 12-23 with matches against
Orlando City SC
on February 17 and
New York City FC
on February 22.
Important dates on the Major League Soccer calendar are as follows:
Jan. 11-17 – 2018 MLS Combine at Orlando City Stadium – The league will hold its annual combine with representatives from all 23 MLS clubs scouting the top college prospects ahead of the Jan. 19 MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia.
Jan. 19 – 2018 MLS SuperDraft – The draft will be held during the United Soccer Coaches Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The 2018 MLS SuperDraft will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com.
Utah Royals FC
On January 15, Utah Royals FC announced a commitment for the 2018 season from another international star, Canadian Women’s National Team star MF Desiree “the Destroyer” Scott, General Manager Craig Waibel and Head Coach Laura Harvey announced today. Scott’s arrival to Utah will bring a plethora of experience both on the international stage and at the club level for the team’s inaugural season, as the CONCACAF gold medalist has represented the Great White North for over a decade.
An owner of bronze medals from the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, Scott moves to Utah from FC Kansas City, for which she started and featured in 14 games in 2017 after missing the first half of the NWSL season due to an ankle injury. The Winnipeg, Canada native received Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Canadian accolades and was listed as a member of the Canada West All-Star teams in 2008 and 2009, and was even voted the 2005 Canada West Rookie of the Year in 2005 while playing for the University of Manitoba.
The NWSL Draft will be held on Thursday, Jan. 18 as a part of the United Soccer Coaches Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Utah Royals FC currently hold the 14th pick in the second round of the draft. The NWSL Draft will begin at 9:00 a.m. MT and will be streamed on RSL.com.
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.
Real Monarchs SLC
Last Friday Real Monarchs SLC announced its opening two matches of the season ahead of its fourth campaign in the United Soccer League, including the inaugural match at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman. On March 31, the Monarchs will hold its home opener against Portland Timbers 2 in the club’s first ever match at Zions Bank Stadium, with the defending regular-season champion Monarchs kicking off 2018 one week earlier at Tulsa Roughnecks on March 24.
On Saturday, February 24, fans are invited to take part in the first-ever “Select-a-Seat Day” at Zions Bank Stadium. Occurring from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., current and future fans can pick the exact seats they want inside the new stadium and take advantage of the opportunity to tour the Club’s new $78 million Zions Bank Real Academy. Current Monarchs season ticket members will have an exclusive priority window between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to select their seats.
To reserve seats for the 2018 season, fans should visit www.RSL.com/Monarchs and make a $25 per seat deposit starting today to secure their place in the priority queue to select locations at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.
Real Monarchs Head Coach Mark Briggs will also hold his first preseason camp in charge of the reigning USL Regular Season Champions. This year the club’s preseason will feature training camp at the Zions Bank Real Academy facility in Herriman, Utah before a nearly two-week venture to Davis, California where the Monarchs will play two USL opponents.
After reporting to the Zions Bank Real Academy on February 5, the Monarchs will spend the first 24 days of preseason training in Utah before travelling to California on March 1. While in in the Golden State, the Monarchs will play matches against Sacramento State University on March 3, Reno 1868 FC on March 7 before closing the trip with a match against first-year USL club Fresno FC on March 10. The Monarchs will return to Utah on March 11.
Real Salt Lake Academy
The Real Salt Lake Academy will return to action after a lengthy winter break when it takes on the Santa Cruz Breakers on January 20 to open the new year. Ahead of the matches against the Breakers, the RSL Academy will use its positive start from 2017 to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy season to continue its push toward the top of the Southwest U-17 and U-19 standings.
The U-17s currently sit in second place in the league’s Southwest Division ahead of the match against the Breakers 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.
A member of the RSL Academy U-19s, Sebastian Soto currently stands as 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 scored six goals in his last four matches.
Both matches on Jan. 20 will be held inside the indoor facility 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. Admission is free and fans are strongly encouraged to attend. 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
