HERRIMAN, Utah (Wednesday, May 11, 2022) – Real Salt Lake has signed current Homegrown and former RSL Academy and Real Monarchs stalwart Andrew Brody to a contract extension, keeping him with the Claret & Cobalt at least through the 2024 Major League Soccer season, with a Club option for 2025.
“When I joined the RSL Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona at the age of 16 years old, the dream was always to find a way to play for the first team at Rio Tinto Stadium,” Brody says, incredulous at the 10-year old memory. “The last two seasons have seen that dream realized, so I simply couldn’t be happier to extend my career at Real Salt Lake.”
“I’m excited to be a part of what (Head Coach) Pablo Mastroeni, (General Manager) Elliot Fall and the new ownership is building here, I am always grateful to play in front of the most passionate fans in the League, and everyone’s goal is to reward this community – which has given us all so much – by winning trophies here in the near future.”
Brody, now 27 after celebrating his birthday last week, signed with Real Salt Lake in September of 2020 upon a pandemic-forced return from Austria, and in his first year in Major League Soccer he became an immediate stalwart for the team’s defense. During the 2021 RSL home opener, Brody was called upon early when right back and fellow homegrown Academy product Aaron Herrera went down with an injury in the 30th minute. Brody came on and made an instant impact, providing an assist for Damir Kreilach to score in the 35th minute, just minutes after entering the match.
This season, he has started 10 of the Club’s 11 matches, rotating between a left back and outside wingback based on Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s formational needs. He has contributed to four clean sheets, more than half of what the team recorded last season in just one-third of the time.
“Andrew is the epitome of what our Club’s development paradigm represents,” stated Fall, who has been with RSL for the entirety of Brody’s matriculation. “From the Academy, to the USL, add in an international loan, all of these experiences prepared him for Major League Soccer. Perhaps the route at times appeared circuitous, but Andrew seized each opportunity, every step of the way, to hone his craft, sharpen his performances, and grow into a solid MLS contributor. We are exceptionally proud of how he represents the badge, and his attitude, work ethic and skill reflect greatly on our community.”
Throughout the 2021 season, Brody parlayed between the right back and left back position, rotating based on the team’s needs. He also provided a necessary spark to the offense with his non-stop engine and frequent ability to get up the field, setting up attacking chances. Brody finished the 2021 regular season with two assists in 16 games played.
Late last year, Brody was named to the MLS Team of the Week for his contributions to the 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City that secured the team a berth to the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. During the postseason, Brody started in all three RSL matches, providing the perfect cross to the head of Anderson Julio for the equalizer at KC in the West Semifinal, helping the team clinch an eventual spot in the Conference Final at Portland, where last year’s magical run came to an end.
The Florida native signed his first professional contract back in 2016, signing with Real Monarchs, where he eclipsed 100 appearances over four seasons. In Fall of 2019, Brody was loaned to the Christian Ziege-led FC Pinzgau Saalfelden in Austria’s third division, alongside RSL midfielder Pablo Ruiz. While in Austria, Brody scored four goals in 16 matches to lead FCPS to the Regionalliga Salzburg promotion group for the Spring, an opportunity never realized due to the global pandemic.
#2 – Andrew Brody
Pronunciation:
Position: Defender
Height: 5-10
Weight: 157
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Date of Birth: 3 May 1995 (27)
Nationality: United States
How Acquired: Signed via Homegrown contract from Real Monarchs (USL) in Sept. 2020
TRANSACTION: Real Salt Lake extend DF Andrew Brody through 2024 MLS season, with Club option for 2025 on Wednesday, May 11, 2022
As of May 11, 2022, Real Salt Lake’s current roster during the ongoing MLS campaign, listed alphabetically by position, is as follows:
Goalkeepers (4): Gavin Beavers, Jeff Dewsnup, Zac MacMath, David Ochoa
Defenders (11): Andrew Brody, Zack Farnsworth, Justen Glad, Bret Halsey, Aaron Herrera, Erik Holt, Chris Kablan, Johan Kappelhof, Jaziel Orozco, Marcelo Silva, Tate Schmitt
Midfielders (10): Julio Benitez, Nick Besler, Scott Caldwell, Maikel Chang, Bode Davis, Damir Kreilach, Jasper Löffelsend, Everton Luiz, Pablo Ruiz, Jude Wellings
Forwards (9): Sergio Cordova, Chris Garcia, Anderson Julio, Axel Kei, Jonathan Menendez, Justin Meram, Rubio Rubin, Jefferson Savarino, Bobby Wood
Through the first 11 games of the 2022 MLS campaign, RSL (4-3-4, 16 pts, 5th West) has played seven games away, with eight matches against 2021 MLS Cup opponents. For the first time in Club history, RSL opened the year with four consecutive sellouts at Rio Tinto Stadium, as Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has utilized 25 players throughout the injury-filled first quarter of the year, the Club seeing nearly 80 combined individual game availabilities lost due to injury, suspension or international duty.
Real Salt Lake finished last season in dramatic fashion, booking its place in the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs on Decision Day before making a run to the Western Conference Final following a 14-14-6 regular-season record. RSL will return home next Saturday, May 14, hosting Austin FC to open a stretch that sees five of eight matches played on the Wasatch Front.
