On a few occasions this season, there has been a hint of something that was a staple of Real Salt Lake’s most successful teams – dominant center back play.
On Sunday against Sporting Kansas City, Chris Schuler looked every bit the part in RSL’s scoreless draw, combining with Justen Glad to lock down volatile striker Dom Dwyer. For a player who has just two starts this season, his performance in a crucially important game this late in the season was a boon for RSL and Head Coach Jeff Cassar.
“It was a breath of fresh air. It was somebody who has been competing extremely hard since this injury. When you have players like that who get these opportunities and want to seize these opportunities and the performance that he put in, I couldn’t be happier for him,” Cassar said Tuesday on ESPN 700’s Bill Riley Show. “Obviously a shutout is extremely important, especially that mentality heading into the playoffs. You need to know you can have clean sheets. Chris was just a beast back there and just a presence in the air and on set plays. He did a very good job on Dom Dwyer for most of the night.”
Schuler was at his peak in 2014 before a late-season facial fracture hindered him down the stretch. Then in 2015 he was limited to just five matches because of injury. Those maladies left his future in limbo heading into this season and he signed with Real Monarchs in the USL to work his way back into MLS form. He would make nine starts for the Monarchs and when he signed in July, it was a boost for an RSL team that, around the same time, lost stalwart Aaron Maund to injury.
Now with two solid performances for RSL under his belt, he has put himself in contention to make a difference for Salt Lake in its final match of the regular season on Sunday and beyond.
“The only thing that could possibly be missing is 90-minutes game fitness. The games that he played with the Monarchs this year were so big for his recovery both mentally and physically,” Cassar said. “I thought he had a very good game against Portland and really deserved this because he has been such a leader in practice.”
To hear the full interview, click here.
