The 2022 Mountainland RSL Unified team is gearing up for their first match at home this year. The team welcomes 16 players with four newcomers to the team this year. Their lone home match will be on July 9 following Real Salt Lake’s match against the Colorado Rapids.
The roster is set, and the team is ready for the July 9th match, get to know the members of this year’s squad.
Goalkeepers:
No. 1 Ellie Jensen
Hometown: Toole, UT
Ellie Jensen is a second-year member of RSL Unified. The Utah native was a member of the 2021 squad and is excited to get to play a new team in her second year. She loves being a part of the Unified team and playing alongside her teammates.
No. 2 Radi Papadopoulos
Hometown: Saratoga Springs, UT
Radi Papadopoulosis one of the four first-year members of the 2022 RSL Unified team. She is excited about representing RSL and thinks it's, “an opportunity of a lifetime.” She loves being a part of the team and loves getting to develop as both a leader and an athlete. Additionally, she was one of two RSL Unified athletes named to the 2022 US Women’s Team for the Special Olympics Unified Cup.
Defenders:
No. 3 Kyle “Pickles” Karren
Hometown: Draper, UT
Kyle “Pickles” Karren has been a member of the RSL Unified team since 2017. In that time he has been named to multiple Special Olympics All Star teams. He loves being a part of the Unified team because it’s a place where he feels everyone can be themselves. “We’re a close-knit group,” he said. “It’s a family. No matter what we do we’re always together.” Karren was also named to the roster for the 2022 Special Olympics Unified Cup.
Captain No. 4 Jaden Hartman
Hometown: Mount Vernon, WA
Jaden Hartman is a third-year member of the RSL Unified team. This season he was named to the Special Olympics MLS All Star game. He loves getting to be a part of Unified and travel and compete with his teammates.
No. 5 Sayge Gardner
Hometown: Mapleton, UT
Sayge Gardner is in her first season on the RSL Unified team, and she loves getting to be able to represent RSL. For her, wearing the RSL crest represents that she is a part of a new family of athletes.
No. 6 Jonas Johnson
Hometown: Bountiful, UT
Jonas Johnson loves to be able to represent RSL and play with and grow around people that inspire him. He loves playing alongside his teammates and learning from them every day.
No. 8 Maison Anderson
Hometown: Sandy, UT
As a native of Sandy, Maison Anderson grew up in the backyard of Rio Tinto Stadium. For him, representing the team with RSL Unified means he represents inclusion. He loves seeing everyone, from players and partners to the fans, get so much joy from their games.
No. 10 Bronson Roach
Hometown: Provo, UT
Bronson Roach has been a member of RSL Unified since he was 16 years old. He has loved being a part of RSL Unified because of the unique opportunities it has brought him, like being able to sign autographs at West Jordan High School in his senior year. He enjoys being part of the team and representing RSL.
Midfielders:
Captain No. 7 Kylie Wilson
Hometown: Herriman, UT
Kylie Wilson is a third-year member of RSL Unified and returns as one of two captains on the team. She loves being able to represent RSL because to her, it represents this family of people that she would not have found without the Special Olympics program. Wilson will also be representing RSL at the 2022 Special Olympics Unified All Star game.
No. 16 Broc Welch
Hometown: Riverton, UT
Broc Welch loves the opportunity to represent RSL. He never dreamed he would get to represent the club and knows that he is truly a part of the RSL Family when he suits up for RSL Unified.
No. 18 Clayton Boydston
Hometown: Austin, TX
This is Clayton Boydston’s first season as a member of the RSL Unified team. He plays as both a center-mid and a centerback for the team and is excited to represent RSL because to him, it is more than representing a soccer team. To Boydston, playing for RSL Unified is, “about representing a family of people that all have something in common.”
No. 24 Dominic Ramirez
Hometown: Utah
Dominic Ramirez returns to RSL Unified and is excited to once again live out his childhood dreams. The midfielder always enjoys representing RSL and it’s something he’s wanted to do since he was a child.
No. 44 Jayden Jensen
Hometown: South Jordan, UT
Jayden Jenson is one of the four first-year members of RSL Unified. He is excited to represent RSL to improve as a player every day. He says representing RSL means, “I need to give 100% day in and day out to better myself and my team.”
Forwards:
No. 9 Edward Pont
Hometown: Clearfield, UT
Edward Pont returns for another year as a member of the RSL Unified team. He is excited to represent RSL and get an opportunity to compete against other teams around the country for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic stopped play in 2019.
No. 11 Dominique DeHerrera
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Dominique DeHerrera is excited to represent RSL once again. Soccer is her favorite sport and she loves that in soccer you have two options: to win or to learn. Additionally, she was one of two RSL Unified Athletes named to the US Women’s Team for the 2022 Special Olympics Unified Cup.
No. 19 Sophie LaForge
Hometown: Vladivostok, Russia
Sophie LaForge is excited about another opportunity to play with her team and the coaches at Rio Tinto Stadium. She enjoys representing RSL because of the fun she gets to have and the experiences with her teammates.
Coaches:
Head Coach Jenna Holland
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
Jenna Holland is in her seventh year as head coach of RSL Unified and loves being a part of the program. She enjoys getting to watch her teams grow. One of her favorite parts of being involved with RSL Unified is getting to see her athletes develop friendships and learn how to be great as a team and individually.
Goalkeeper Coach Bryan Karren
Hometown: Draper, UT
Bryan Karren is in his first season as goalkeeper coach of the RSL Unified team. He wanted to be a part of the Unified team to help give back to a program that has changed his son's life. Karren’s son, Kyle, is one of the captains of the RSL Unified team. Karren said he can, “never repay the club and those involved in creating RSL Unified and supporting the team with the best of the league.”
Assistant Coach Luis Silva
Hometown: Herriman, UT
As a former Real Salt Lake player, being able to work with RSL Unified means a lot to Luis Silva. This is his first year on the coaching staff and he loves getting to represent the club he used to play for in a new way. He says he has always had a passion for the Special Olympics and he loves getting to be a part of it and help his athletes learn the sport he loves to play.
Assistant Coach Alisa Graham
Hometown: Riverton, UT
Alisa Graham has been a long-time member of the RSL Unified coaching staff and she loves being able to represent an organization that sets an example of inclusion. She enjoys helping her athletes be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.
Assistant Coach Rylee Johnson
Hometown: Herriman, UT
Rylee Johnson is another long-time member of the RSL Unified coaching staff. She loves to represent the RSL Unified team because to her, it’s not just about representing the team but representing their family. She said, “it doesn’t matter where you are or where you come from because once you wear the crest, you are a part of something bigger than just a team.”
Assistant Coach Sean Johnson
Hometown: Herriman, UT
Sean Johnson returns to RSL Unified for another season of coaching and is excited to help his players achieve their goals within the sport. For Johnson it’s important to him to be a part of Special Olympics Unified because the organization represents that sports are for everyone.
