After the U18’s & U16’s both defeated Real So Cal during the day we had a team BBQ on Sunday afternoon. Fito Ovalle also was celebrating his birthday and his parents flew down from Utah!
Weekend Recap – RSL U18 & U16 Academy vs Real So Cal
Real Salt Lake Academy teams hosted Real So Cal on Sunday at Grande Sports Complex. Below are the recaps and pictures from the games.
Starting XI: Luis Barraza, Corey Nemeth, Santi Carrillo, Jonathan Stadler, Ive Burnett, Jon Zabasajja, Andrew Brody, Trevor Hyman, Jose Hernandez, Amer Sasivarevic, Coco Navarro
Bench: Tigran Tiraturyan, Luis Chavez, Christian Herrera, Te Wihongi, Kostas Kotselas, Brandon Marquez, Jose Vasquez
Picture gallery from the game here
The last time these two teams faced each other six weeks ago, Rea Salt Lakes’s inability to finish chances allowed Real So Cal hang around long enough to grab a victory late. On Sunday, RSL made sure this wasn’t the case again.
After initial opening minute shots from Jose Hernandez and Andrew Brody that threatened the So Cal net, RSL was able to convert one when Hernandez, on the end line, passed to the top of the box. Trevor Hyman came running in and pounded a shot low right. Off the ball movement by Amer Sasivarevic created a major hole for Hernandez to run into to after receiving the ball from Andrew Brody.
Four minutes later Coco Navarro played a through ball to Sasivarevic who showed great composure when finishing the shot with the So Cal GK coming out.
RSL’s defense was also having a stellar day. CB Santi Carrillo was aggressive throughout the whole game winning countless 50-50 chances and coming up big in the 26th minute when Real So Cal countered 3v2. Carrillo took a step back and perfectly timed the tackle ending the So Cal threat. RSL scored their third goal in the 35th minute when Navarro took a shot that was saved by the So Cal GK. The ball bounced right and Brody picked it up and finished.
RSL’s last goal came two minutes later when Jose Hernandez, from Brody, inside the box shot high over the ‘Keepers outstretched arms.
With the lead firmly in hand, RSL’s second half was a lot quieter with few chances for both sides. Jon Zabasajja stopped a few So Cal chances, Gk Luis Barraza made a few saves and Kostas Kotselas had a few chances but the shots were off the mark. Tigran Tiraturyan had the final chance with minutes remaining by a finger tip save by the So Cal GK kept the game at a 4-0 RSL victory.
The shutout is RSL’s first in the last three matches. RSL now has a 4 point lead in the Southwest Division. Te Wihongi, from New Zealand, was subbed into the game in the 80th minute making his Academy debut.
Next game for RSL is on Saturday vs Chivas USA in Los Angeles.
Starting XI: Chase Bishov, Damian Germain, Diego Silva, Dillion Nino, Jason Eng, Justen Glad, Jack Gayton, Evan Waldrep, Brooks Lennon, Bofo Saucedo, Fito Ovalle
Bench: Adam Ferguson, Christian Herrera, Alex Knox, Luis Lopez, Albert Molina, Elias Rieland, Moises Rodriguez
Picture gallery from the game here
With only three points in their last three games RSL needed a victory over Real So Cal to keep pace in the Southwest Division with the leaders.
After a slow start for both teams things started to get very active at the 18th minute. Real So Cal had their first shot on goal when their counter attack was foiled by RSL’s ability to get numbers behind the ball. The weak shot didn’t threaten Chase Bishov who then quickly bounced up and threw a ball forward that led to a RSL counter. Bofo Saucedo then beat the So Cal GK and took a shot that traveled across the face of goal hitting the post and bouncing out.
Saucedo became constant threat on So Cal’s defense after this. He has another shot in the 23rd minute saved and looked as if he was taken down in the box in the 29th minute which was not called. Saucedo continued to work hard and grabbed the goal he had been searching for in the 37th minute. The assist goes to Jason Eng who was helped by Evan Waldrep who had been a force over the last 15 minutes in the midfield. CB’s Justen Glad and Dillion Nino also had a tremendous day holding down the backline.
After the restart in the second half RSL didn’t miss a beat as they continued to create chances. Brooks Lennon had the best opportunity when he cut into the box got tripped up and took a shot. It looked as it Lennon was going to fall but coaches praised him for his strength and toughness by staying up.
As time was close to expiring So Cal push forward for the equalizing goal but they were deterred by RSL’s strong defensive showing.
With the victory Real Salt Lake is now 2 points behind Real So Cal for second place in the Southwest Division.
Next game for RSL is on Saturday vs Chivas USA in Los Angeles.
Picture Gallery – RSL U16 Academy vs Real So Cal
Real Salt Lake U16 Academy had a huge victory this weekend when they defeated Real So Cal, 1-0, at Grande Sports Complex. With the three points, RSL has closed the gap between them and the two leaders, Real So Cal and Chivas USA, in the Southwest Division.
Full Game Recap Here
Recap – RSL U18 & U16 Academy vs San Diego Surf
Real Salt Lake U18 & U16 Academy teams hosted San Diego Surf on Saturday. Below are the recaps from the games.
RSL U18 vs San Diego Surf U18
Starting XI: Luis Barraza, Corey Nemeth, Santi Carrillo, Kostas Kotselas, Amer Sasivarevic, Trevor Hyman, Andrew Brody, Jose “Bean” Vasquez, Tigran Tiraturyan, Coco Navarro
Bench: Aidan Tucker, Benji Lopez, Jaime Payamps, Brandon Johnston, Eric Gonzalez, Luis Chavez, AJ Esparza
Click Here For U18 RSL vs San Diego Surf Picture Gallery
Summary – After coming off of a successful weekend in Seattle where they earned 4 points, RSL U18’s were eager grab 3 more points to help increase their lead in the Southwest Division.
RSL came out aggressive early on and almost grabbed the lead in the 4th minute when Coco Navarro’s shot went just wide of the net. Three minutes later Andrew Brody beat a defender down the line and sent in a low cross to a waiting Kostas Kotselas. A Surf defender slid for the ball and accidentally kicked it into his net for an own goal.
The game started to look like RSL could run away with it early but the Surf help their own on defense. RSL continued to pound the Surf goal and were unfortunate to not come up with more goals. Andrew Brody had a shot from the 18 blocked. Corey Nemeth took a shot that went wide and Amer Sasivarevic had back-to-back shots saved by the Surf GK.
In the 52nd minute RSL’s persistence paid off when Jonathan Stadler kicked the ball up to Kostas Kotselas. He trapped the ball and laid it off to Trevor Hyman. Hyman took a shot that went across the face of goal hitting the post. The ball took a fortunate rebound and went right back to Hyman who finished giving RSL a 2-0 lead.
The Surf reacted positively and were able to grab a goal on a counter attack in the 56th minute. RSL calmed down after the goal and the only other chance for the Surf happened in the 68th minute when RSL LB Corey Nemeth chased down a counter attack. With the lead RSL passed the ball around and were under no pressure by the Surf who didn’t challenge players or passes. RSL continued to pass around and cruised to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Surf.
Starting XI: Brooks Lennon, Fito Ovalle, Dillion Nino, Josh Doughty, Luis Lopez, Chase Bishov, Bofo Saucedo, Damian German, Diego Silva, Moises Rodriguez, Jason Eng
Bench: Nate Deaton, Jack Gayton, Aaron Hererra, Miguel Martinez, Albert Molina, Elias Rieland, Evan Waldrep
Click Here For U16 RSL vs San Diego Surf Picture Gallery
Summary – After suffering back-to-back losses in Washington RSL needed 3 points to keep pace with the leaders in the Southwest Division.
RSL started out quickly moving the ball around well and pressuring the Surf defense. Only issue for RSL was they couldn’t finish their opportunities. A offisdes call in the 13th minute negated an impressive counter attack. A misfired shot by Fito Ovalle in the 17th minute just went over the crossbar. As RSL missed their chances, Surf players started to gain confidence.
In the 22nd minute a Surf player weaved through the RSL defense and missed his shot. Minutes later another Surf player headed the ball over the crossbar. As the Surf turned up the pressure they also committed more players forward which backfired for them in the 32nd minute. Fito Ovalle played a ball over the top to Bofo Saucedo. He collected the ball dribbled into the box as the Surf GK came out. Saucedo then laid it off to an unmarked Moises Rodriguez who fired the shot into the net.
RSL doubled their lead in the 64th minute when Diego Silva dribbled around the Surf goalie and scored from the wing. With the 2 goal lead RSL passed the ball around and tried to hold on for the shut out but were unfortunately denied that when the Surf scored in the final minute. With seconds remaining after the goal the whistle was blown giving RSl a 2-1 victory.
Grande Sports Academy At A Snowy Desert Diamond Cup
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona has become an attractive destination for Major League Soccer’s preseason. Earlier this year, the Grande Sports World played host to the first portion of preseason for Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, New England Revolution and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Three of the teams – New York Red Bulls replace Vancouver Whitecaps – have returned to Arizona to participate in the Desert Diamond Cup hosted by FC Tucson.
The annual preseason tournament pits four MLS teams against each other in round-robin play. Grande Sports Academy players braved the bizarre snowfall in Arizona for a chance to see some of their favorite players.
NOTE: Academy players go crazy for Thierry Henry at the 8 second mark.
Radu Marcu made the most of his time by dancing in the snow.
Picture Gallery & Game Recap – RSL-AZ U16 Defeat Strikers FC 4-0
Casa Grande, Arizona (Saturday, February 9th, 2013) – Real Salt Lake Under 16 used a strong second half, led by Bofo Saucedo’s brace, to defeat Strikers FC 4-0.
“The win was very important because we are playing against a team in our division and we’re at home,” said Head Coach Martin Vasquez. “Our U16 team continues to stay in first and be in the top 1 and 2 teams in our division.”
Throughout the early parts of the first half RSL-AZ and Strikers FC struggled to find a rhythm. The first real chance for either team came in the 12th minute when a Strikers FC player passed the ball into the box that was cleared by RSL-AZ’s Alex Knox.
Twelve minutes later RSL-AZ capitalized on their opportunity when Brooks Lennon pounced on a through ball and scored low right. RSL-AZ then went into the half with a 1-0 lead.
“At first it was tough getting into a rhythm”, said Fito Ovalle. “At halftime Martin talked to us and said we need to calm down and possess the ball.”
RSL-AZ started to pull away in the second half when Bofo Saucedo stepped up and hit a free kick from 19 yards out. Bofo kicked the ball to the left side of the net beating the Strikers FC GK high.
Three minutes later Bofo scored again when Brooks Lennon dribbled the ball into the box from the right-wing. His cross took a deflection off of a Strikers FC player and found the foot of Bofo who calmly took his time and scored a very smart goal.
With 5 minutes remaining in the game Diego Silva who was having a stellar performance playing left-back ran into the box receiving a pass. The ball got tangled up between him and two Strikers defenders. Diego who tripped, stood back up and swung around shooting the ball at the net and scoring RSL-AS’s fourth goal of the game.
“It felt good, I’m happy I scored,” said Silva. “It was really exciting because I was having a good time making runs. They (RSL) couldn’t find me and I had to yell at them. The last play before I came out I finally had a chance to score.”
Vasquez spoke about Diego’s and Bofo’s play in the second half saying, “It’s great to see somebody (Diego) work so hard and at the end get rewarded. Just like Sebastian his performance getting those two goals shows that it pays off for their had work. Especially Diego because he is a defender and his work rate was tremendous.”
The win for RSL-AZ maintains the 5 point difference between them and second place Chivas USA U16.
Next game for RSL-AZ U16 is on Saturday, February 16th when they host San Jose Earthquakes. Game time is 1:30pm.
NOTE: RSL-AZ over the past three games has outscored the opposition 15-1.
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