Five members of the Real Salt Lake Academy were recognized with distinguished awards from the U.S. Soccer Development Academy as Technical Director Martín Vasquez, David Ochoa, Glademir Mendoza, Richard Ledezma and Sebastian Soto all earned season-ending awards.
“These boys are being recognized for everything we do here at RSL,” Vasquez explained. “Everyone here believes, everyone commits and everyone has an understanding that to do well, we have to do things as one, as a family and as a team. The individual commitment from the players recognized together with all of the Academy boys, is a testament to what this club is about. I’m very proud of the boys and their performances this season.”
Highlighting the awards was a Western Conference Player of the Year honor for U-19 midfielder Richard Ledezma who finished the season with 13 goals to his name. At 17 years old, Ledezma made 30 appearances for the Academy, 29 of which were starts. The midfielder made his professional debut on April 7th with Real Monarchs, playing the final eight minutes in the club’s 3-1 victory over Seattle Sounders 2 in Tacoma, Washington.
Ledezma’s season highlight however came in the form of his first professional goal with the Monarchs on June 4th in his fifth professional appearance of the season, a match that ultimately landed him on the United Soccer League’s Team of the Week. Ledezma made five total appearances for the Monarchs during the Academy season including two starts. Paired with the Western Conference Player of the Year, Ledezma also earned a spot on the Western Conference U-19 Best XI for the second consecutive year with teammates Glademir Mendoza and Sebastian Soto.
Mendoza, 18, started and played in 27 matches for the U-19s this season while scoring 14 goals. Mendoza also made his professional debut on the same evening Ledezma scored his first professional goal, playing the final five minutes for the Monarchs against Rio Grande Valley FC. Mendoza has now been recognized in the Best XI for the third consecutive year.
Taking home the nation’s Golden Boot title after the regular-season was U-19 FW Sebastian Soto who scored a resounding 42 goals in 27 matches played during the regular-season. Soto ran away with the Golden Boot by a whopping 12 goals, adding another four strikes during the U.S.S.D.A. Playoffs to cap his season total at an astonishing 46 goals. This is Soto’s second consecutive season being honored on the U-19 Best XI squad.
For the U-17s, GK David Ochoa earned a spot on the Western Conference’s U-17 Best XI after posting 15 total shutouts – 11 with the U-17s and 4 with the U-19s – during the 2018 season. Ochoa also made his professional debut with his start for the Monarchs against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in late-April.
Leading the group in his seventh year with RSL was Martín Vasquez who through successes reached from both age groups, earned the U-19 Western Conference Coach of the Year award. Leading both groups to a combined 43-11-8 record this season, Vasquez caps his seventh year with the Academy having five players from this season’s Academy teams involved at the professional level with RSL, extending the long-standing tradition of RSL Academy members climbing the professional ranks within the club.
All four players receiving end-of-year awards spent time with the U.S. Youth National Team age groups from U-17 to U-20 under the leadership of Technical Director Tab Ramos, who adorned the players with rave reviews from each camp.
Sebastian Soto and Glademir Mendoza have committed to play college soccer at the NCAA Division 1 level at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of New Mexico respectively, beginning Fall of 2018.
