The vaunted Real Salt Lake Academy is making its annual trip to Westfield, Indiana, this week for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoffs. And while players like Danny Acosta, Justen Glad, Brooks Lennon, Sebastian Saucedo and Aaron Herrera were making waves with the U.S. U-20 National Team at the U-20 World Cup, a whole new crop of young talent has worked its way to the forefront for RSL in its final season in Arizona.
Both the U-18 and U-16 teams are primed for deep runs in the postseason, but have gone about it in very different ways.
The U-18s ran away with the Southwest Division at 24-6-6. Marked by a stingy defense that allowed just 34 goals in 36 matches, the U-18s also spread out the scoring load, with four players scoring between 11 and 14 goals.
“They were very consistent throughout the year. They rely on team play. We don’t have the Brooks Lennon, or the Sebastian or the Elijah Rice of last year. We had a very tight, solid group that has been together for three years and we had some players who came in and bought into our style of play and team play. It’s a very mature group,” RSL Academy Technical Director Martin Vasquez said. “I think the way they see it is that anybody can score at any given time. Having the goals spread out, if teams want to shut down one of our key players, the others can come and pull it through for us.”
RSL will face the Dallas Texans, Crew SC Academy and Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Group Stage starting on Thursday.
The U-16s finished the regular season at 22-8-6, good for second in the Southwest Division, just one point behind FC Golden State. Led by a nation-leading 31 goals from Sebastian Soto and 16 more from Luis Arriaga, the younger squad had a plus-50 goal differential, second-best in the nation.
“It’s one of those years that someone finds a rhythm and finds the back of the net,” Vasquez said of Soto. “To have him, it’s important, but I think the guys that play around him are able to put him in situations like that. We have a few guys who can put themselves in good situations and it’s a good group with some special players, but they rely on team play.”
RSL will face Sacramento Republic FC, Real Colorado and Vardar in Group G action starting on Thursday.
For all of the successes of the regular season for both teams, Vasquez has made them aware that the playoffs offer a new challenge. With a national championship and several other finals appearances to the Academy’s credit under his watch, he certainly has the attention of the players.
“It’s a different tournament – a different beast,” he told them. “Whatever they did before is over. It’s in the past. They have to take it one game at a time and treat it as their last game.”
