SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, January 19, 2016) – Real Salt Lake selected Dayton MF Amass Amankona with the 46th overall pick and Creighton GK Connor Sparrow with the 65th overall pick in the third and fourth rounds of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft on Tuesday, opting to pass with the 66th overall pick. Both draft picks are expected to join the team for training camp in Oceanside, Calif., next week.
Amankona, 20, scored 23 goals with 18 assists in 61 matches with Dayton over three seasons, including 13 goals and five assists in 23 matches in 2015. A native of Kumasi, Ghana, he was named Atlantic 10 Conference Most Valuable Player and Midfielder of the Year. A semifinalist for the MAC Hermann National Player of the Year honor, Amankona was also voted to the NSCAA All-American Second Team.
“Amass is a guy we’ve been watching for quite a while at Dayton,” Real Salt Lake General Manager Craig Waibel said. “He’s a creative midfielder who we think can develop into a No. 10 at the pro level.”
Sparrow, 21, started 49 matches in three seasons at Creighton, allowing 32 goals while earning 23 shutouts after playing his freshman season at University of Missouri-Kansas City. In his senior season with Creighton, he led the Blue Jays to the Elite Eight while posting nine shutouts in 23 matches, including one in a Sweet Sixteen victory over North Carolina.
“Connor is a technically sound goalkeeper who fits the mold at RSL because he can make saves, but also can play with the ball at his feet,” Waibel said.
Real Salt Lake opens training camp on January 22 and will include trips to Oceanside, California, and Tucson, Arizona, before the season kicks off on February 24 when RSL will face UANL Tigres in the Quarterfinal Round of CONCACAF Champions League.
The general public sale for 2016 season tickets is ongoing. The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets or via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
