From the moment Matt VanOekel learned that he was offered a contract by Real Salt Lake, he knew there was work to be done as he prepared for his first season in Major League Soccer.
Although he didn’t necessarily need confirmation, he got it from RSL Director of Goalkeeping Daryl Shore when Shore called him minutes after he heard official word from his agent shortly after the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft.
“Time to go to work now,” Shore told his new charge back in December.
Within a day, VanOekel was in his Dodge Durango, driving from Alberta – where he played for FC Edmonton in 2015 and 2016 – to his new home in Salt Lake City, where he will now serve as MLS record-holder Nick Rimando’s backup. He’s more than just an understudy though. VanOekel, 30, comes to RSL with 125 games of professional experience and in 2016 was the NASL Goalkeeper of the Year after posting 16 shutouts and a 0.55 goals against average for Edmonton.
Before he can contend with Rimando, though, he will work to adjust to the MLS level after spending his first nine seasons in the USL and NASL. To say it’s a challenge he is facing head-on would be a bit of an understatement.
“The level is so much higher than what I’m used to in the NASL and USL. It’s been fantastic. I’ve learned so much and gotten to work with some amazing players,” VanOekel said. “Everything’s a lot faster and much more demanding. There are higher expectations all over the field and it’s been a lot of fun trying to get up to that speed quicker and be able to help the team.”
VanOekel showed his eagerness to make that adjustment from day one.
In his two-day journey from Edmonton to Salt Lake City, he endured a stressful 13-hour drive through blizzard conditions in Alberta and Saskatchewan before finally resting for the night in Crosby, North Dakota. Icy roads greeted him on the second day of his cross-country drive until he finally arrived at Rio Tinto Stadium for a quick tour of the facility. The following day, he returned to the locker room to find Rimando sitting in his locker and the two quickly started working out together. Until Rimando left for U.S. National Team camp, they continued these morning workouts, but by the time Real Salt Lake training camp started in Casa Grande, Arizona, on January 24, VanOekel was able to open up and show his own personality.
RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar has been impressed thus far.
“He’s got a great mentality about him. He’s an extremely hard worker,” Cassar said. “He’s a winner and he’s got a competitiveness that’s going to make our entire goalkeeping core better. I’ve been really, really pleased with him.”
Now less than three weeks from the season opener and with Rimando hopeful of playing regularly with the U.S. National Team in World Cup qualifying and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, VanOekel is readying for what is sure to be an active season. With his impressive resume, he is hopeful that he can continue to find similar accomplishments at the MLS level.
“Last year was a lot of fun for me. I had a great season and FC Edmonton was a great organization,” VanOekel said. “Now I’m trying to bring that success that I had last year into Real Salt Lake this year.”
