The last time a Real Salt Lake player scored a brace in their debut was 2007 after the team made a midsummer trade for Robbie Findley with the LA Galaxy. In his first match with RSL he made quick work in front of goal to score his first two goals for the club.
On Saturday, newly-acquired winger Anderson Julio became the latest player to find the net twice in his debut, leading RSL to a 2-1 win over Minnesota United in the season-opener on the road.
His brace on two assists from Rubio Rubin highlighted the match as RSL’s latest additions took center stage in a revamped attack.
Since their arrival, the coaching staff and teammates have sung their praises, confident in their ability to be game-changers for the team.
“We believe in them, they are going to be a great addition for us and they proved that today,” midfielder Damir Kreilach said after the match.
After a tense start and an ongoing onslaught from Minnesota’s offense, Julio pounced on a blocked shot in the team’s defensive third and marched the ball up the field. Attempting to find Rubin, Julio made a pass towards goal ricocheting off Robin Lod and into Rubin’s path as he fell to the field, leaving it for Julio for an open shot at goal. The Ecuadorian rocketed the shot into the top-right corner to take the lead.
Not even ten minutes later, Julio added his name to the club record books alongside Findley’s with his second goal of the night. Once again it was Rubin who put himself in position to set up the goal, unselfishly sending a pass across the face of goal to Julio who one-touched the ball well out of reach for Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
“You want your attackers to get goals because they need that goal for confidence to keep them going,” RSL Head Coach Freddy Juarez said. “For them to get rewarded, for him to get rewarded on his debut, it’s a great individual thing for him. But also the quality of the pass Rubio gave to him, it was an unselfish, wide open pass to him and that’s what creates the goal.”
The RSL front office had a firm belief that Julio and Rubin could help make RSL’s attack more dangerous and they proved themselves throughout the preseason. And while their debuts will live on in the history books the team now turns their focus to what's next and for now that includes a mid-day matchup with Western Conference rivals Sporting Kansas City this Saturday, because what matters is the next performance.
“I’m extremely happy with the debut that I put forward,” Julio said. “But hopefully we continue to become a better and stronger team, become more competitive in the league and be a pain for other teams we are going to face.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s match is scheduled for noon MT from Rio Tinto Stadium.
