HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, August 9, 2022) – Real Salt Lake announced today that it has agreed to loan defender Bret Halsey to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the USL Championship for the remainder of the season. RSL reserves the right to terminate the loan as necessary.
Halsey, 22, is in his second season with Real Salt Lake, having joined the club in 2021 as the 7th overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft and a member of Generation Adidas from the University of Virginia. Halsey has spent the majority of his time playing with Real Monarchs, registering three appearances this year in MLS NEXT Pro, while playing in 19 matches in 2021 when the Club was still part of the USL Championship.
TRANSACTION: Real Salt Lake loan defender Bret Halsey to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on Friday, August 5, 2022.
As of July 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, Tomás Gómez
Defenders (10): Andrew Brody, Zack Farnsworth, Justen Glad, Aaron Herrera, Erik Holt, Johan Kappelhof, Jaziel Orozco, Bryan Oviedo, Marcelo Silva, Tate Schmitt
Midfielders (11): Julio Benitez, Nick Besler, Scott Caldwell, Maikel Chang, Bode Hidalgo, Damir Kreilach, Jasper Löffelsend, Diego Luna, Braian Ojeda, Pablo Ruiz, Jude Wellings
Forwards (9): Sergio Cordova, Chris Garcia, Anderson Julio, Axel Kei, Justin Meram, Danny Musovski, Rubio Rubin, Jefferson Savarino, Bobby Wood
With 34 points accumulated through 23 games of the 2022 MLS campaign, Real Salt Lake (9-8-7, 34 pts, 5th West) is part of an eight-team glut from 3rd to 10th place separated by just five points in the race for the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs (seven teams) and a home postseason match (top four teams). Under Pablo Mastroeni, the Club’s sixth head coach in 18 seasons.
For the first time in Club history, RSL has opened the year with 12 consecutive sellouts at Rio Tinto Stadium – the 7-1-3 (W-L-T) home record is amongst the best in MLS this season – while Mastroeni and staff have utilized 28 players and 24 starters throughout an injury-filled first half of the year, as the Club has seen nearly 160 combined games of player availability 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. Saturday’s match at Rio Tinto Stadium against star-studded LAFC featuring Carlos Vela (Mexico), Gareth Bale (Wales) and Giorgio Chiellini (Italy) is expected to threaten the venue’s all-time attendance mark, set back in September 2018, against Zlatan and the LA Galaxy.
