CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – The Real Salt Lake Academy will be heading to Los Angeles on Friday for a pair of weekend matches against Chivas USA and LA Galaxy.
This marks the second road trip the RSL Academy has been this season. On September 21st, the Academy traveled to Sacramento for the opening match of the 2013-14 U.S. Soccer Development season. The U-18s defeated San Juan 1-0 when defender Santi Carrillo scored the match winner in the dying minutes with a bicycle kick. The U-16s left little doubt in their match, as they scored in the opening minutes and cruised to a 9-0 win, which set a new Academy best for most goals scored in a match.
On Saturday, the RSL Academy will square off against Chivas USA at Bell Gardens, which are just a few miles south of downtown LA. In two matches for the Goats this season, the U-16 squad remains unbeaten after defeating the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders on the road two weeks ago. Ivan Gutierrez leads the U-16 team with 3 goals scored. The Chivas USA U-18 squad has not had the best start to the season as they drew the Portland Timbers 1-1 in the opening match and were then pummeled the following day by the Seattle Sounders 6-0. Paul Salcedo has scored the lone goal for the U-18 team.
Two of the most talented Academies in the nation will face each other on Sunday when RSL takes on the Galaxy at the StubHub Center in Carson, which is just north of Long Beach. The Galaxy’s U-18s have been a force this year and have outscored opponents 14-3 in three wins. Adonis Amaya leads the U-18 Galaxy squad with 5 goals scored. The Galaxy U-16s are unbeaten in three matches, drawing the Portland Timbers and San Diego Surf. Against the Sounders, the Galaxy U-16s defeated them 6-0 and were led by Jesus Nunez, who has scored 5 goals this season.
The match against Chivas USA will kick off at 9:30 a.m. local time with the U-18s playing first; followed by the U-16s, which is set to start at 12:00 p.m. Both matches will be at Bell Gardens, Field #5.
The matches against the Galaxy will begin with the U-18s at 10:00 a.m., followed by the U-16s at 12:30 p.m. Both matches will be at the Stub Hub Center.
Elite Teams
The Elite teams will be busy this weekend, as they will be splitting time between Phoenix and Tucson for matches in the Arizona State League.
This is the first year the RSL Elite teams will participate in the Arizona State League, which offers highly competitive matches on the weekends for teams not participating in a tournament. The Arizona State League is also set up with a promotion and relegation system with two divisions. Because this is the first year the RSL Elite teams will be participating in the Arizona State League, the U-18 & U-16 teams have been allocated to the second division. At the end of the year the top two teams in the second division will move up the first division, while the bottom two teams from the first division will move down.
Three weeks ago, the U-18 Elite team went down to Tucson and defeated Fort Lowell ’96 Red Bulls 5-3 in the opening match of the Arizona State League. The U-16s defeated SC del Sol 98 Boys Anderson 2-0, the following week in their opening match.
The U-18 & U-16 Elite schedule is below
| Date |
Time
|
Home | Away | Location | |
| Sat., October, 5th | 10:15 AM | RSL U-16 ELITE | vs. | FUTBOLITO ROADRUNNERS YSC 98 | Scottsdale Sports Complex #01 |
| Sat., October, 5th |
4:05 PM
|
RSL U-18 ELITE | vs. | CDO 96B GOLD | Tucson Golf Links E |
| Sun., October 6th | 10:25 AM | RSL U-16 ELITE | vs. | TANQUE VERDE SC 98 BOYS BLUE | Tucson Golf Links C |
| Sun., October 6th | 1:55 PM | RSL U-18 ELITE | vs. | TUCSON TSA 96 BOYS BLUE | Tucson Golf Links E |