Unfortunately, Real Salt Lake’s penalty kick prowess did not come through on Thurday morning as DC United goalkeeper Dakota Niedermeier put in a phenomenal performance in the penalty phase to allow DC to win its second consecutive SUM Cup title. Not only did Niedermeier stop five PK’s in a row, but he also stepped up to the spot and put in the winner lifting DC to a 5-4 win in the penalty rounds after a 0-0 tie in regulation. You can find more details HERE.
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In case you haven’t noticed there is an ongoing theme with RSL this month. General Manager Garth Lagerwey has been hard at work trying to get some playing time for some of the younger players. Goalkeeper Kyle Reynish has been in Charleston for a couple weeks now and is set to return next week. Defender Chris Schuler went on loan with AC St. Louis last week, and will also be returning next week. Now it looks like midfielder Collen Warner will be joining him.
The rookie out of Portland will only be gone until Monday as he catches up with Schuler in St. Louis for the rest of the week, however, according to a team spokesman it will ”get him a couple of games.” St. Louis plays two games at home this week: tonight against Portland and against Minnesota on Sunday. Those games are important at this time of the season, as all three of those players will likely play a significant role once RSL begins Champions League play on August 18th. It’s likely that RSL will play a mixture of established vets and younger players in both Champions League action and league play during the busy stretch which extends from mid-August through mid-October.
Just like the RSL first team did last fall on their way to an MLS Cup victory after a run through the playoffs, the RSL U-17 entry seems to be making their way through the SUM Cup tournament on the strength of Penalty Kicks. They had one victory in group play against the LA Galaxy that they won on PK’s, and now they upset hometown favorite Houston by winning in PK’s by a 5-4 margin after a 1-1 draw in regulation.
The victory allows RSL to move on and face DC United for the Cup final on Thursday morning. This will give RSL a chance to repeat their performance of two years ago, with their SUM Cup victory allowing them to play in Madrid last summer against top youth clubs from around the world.
It took an own goal in this match in the 4th minute to get the 1-1 regulation draw. Read about the details here.
They’re Movin’ On…
Jul 27
Real Salt Lake’s U-17 entry in the SUM Cup is movin’ on to the semifinals after winning their group with a 2-0 victory over Kansas City on Monday night. Here is a brief recap of the nights action.
Also movin’ on is RSL Florida’s U-16 entry. The team will be facing off against Slammers FC for the US Youth Soccer National Championship on Friday. According to Soccer America, RSL Florida beat the slammers last Friday 1-0.
Real Salt Lake’s U-17 entry begins their play tonight in the SUM Cup. They kickoff against the New York Red Bulls at 7 PM. You can follow all of the coverage of the SUM Cup on this page. Below is the schedule, as well as the roster for RSL. Read the rest of this entry »
Former FC Dallas midfielder Pablo Ricchetti has been training with Real Salt Lake, and could be the emergency option for RSL should Kyle Beckerman continue to struggle to get back to health.
However, it appears that Beckerman is planning to be available for selection this week according to both player and coach. The pain that had been hampering him has apparently subsided.
On Saturday night, Real Salt Lake will be taking on Puntarenas from the Costa Rican league in an exhibition match to help keep players fresh during the World Cup break, and to give some youngsters some additional time on the pitch. Of course one player, Alvaro Saborio, may be familiar with Puntarenas from his time at Deportivo Saprissa. The Costa Rican striker may give RSL a bit of a scouting advantage over the club from his homeland, but his presence here with RSL and the friendly with Puntarenas may be signs of something more important than the midseason friendly encounter.
G-Reimer Fotos & Frames/RSL Communications
Generally speaking an Open Cup loss to DC United, and a draw in league play against the same DC United was not the most satisfying of results for Real Salt Lake’s trip to Washington DC last week. However, there was a huge bright spot to the team’s week in the Nations capitol – their visit to the White House where President Barrack Obama recognized their 2009 MLS Cup Championship.
RSL welcomed back players Yura Movsisyan and Raphael Cox, along with former assistant coach Brian Johnson and former team administrator Ray Trifari for the event.
Here are a couple of video clips of the event courtesy of Lee Burrows/MLSsoccer.com:
Although David Horst’s recent loan to the Puerto Rico Islanders technically opens up a roster spot, it doesn’t provide salary cap relief. However, Real Salt Lake GM Garth Lagerwey mentioned that “another move is possible” ahead of the April 15th close of the MLS transfer window.
- Ats Purje
With this fact in mind, the team had Estonian National Team striker Ats Purje in training as a trialist for today’s scrimmage against BYU. The 5’10″ striker appeared to use his body well, and had a decent touch in the 30 minutes of action that he saw today.
Purje is believed to be currently out of contract, after completing a two-year deal with FC Inter Turku in the highest league in Finland. He notched 11 goals there in 40 appearances, after having scored 33 goals in 86 matches while playing for FC Levadia in his hometown of Tallinn in Estonia.
But before you rush to find out more about this player, realize that it’s likely a longshot. As Lagerwey put it, “it’s going to have to be a player that’s clearly better than what we have.” And not only do they have to be a better player on the field, but they have to be a good fit for the group, “We’re also going to be mindful of team chemistry.”
Real Salt Lake was able to take advantage of what is an unusual system in MLS: the discovery process. This is the system that allowed RSL to land Cosa Rican international Alvaro Saborio despite the interest by Chivas in this player. In this case, Real Salt Lake held the discovery rights for another Costa Rican, defender Dario Delgado. Chivas agreed to sacrifice a conditional 2012 SuperDraft selection in order for RSL to drop their discovery claim to the player.
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