SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake Reserves drew 0-0 with Seattle Sounders FC Reserves in a MLS Reserve League match that featured numerous current and former Grande Sports Academy players.
Grande Sports Academy alumni Lalo Fernandez and Mikey Orellana joined Danilo Acosta, Austin Najib, Fito Ovalle, Diego Silva and Sebastian Saucedo on the roster. Fernandez, Ovalle, Silva and Saucedo started and played the full 90 minutes while Acosta came off the bench for Rich Balchan in the 80th minute.
The three academy starters made a big impact on the game, being featured on the blog RSL Soapbox for their performance:
“Our academy players are going to be professionals
We had three academy players start the match, and all three of them finished it. A brief overview of those players follows.
Fito Ovalle: Played the base of the diamond and didn’t look out of place. His first half impact was strong, and so many times he skipped past players and pushed forward with aplomb. He was easily one of RSL’s best players on the day. Last time we saw him go a full match for the reserves, he looked exhausted at the end. That was less the case this time — he managed his output well.
Diego Silva: Generally a left-sided player, Silva started in the midfield and was involved in build-up play. He switched to right back when Rich Balchan came off, and while he didn’t get forward as often as he might have had he been there from the outset, but he fared acceptably in that spot.
Sebastian Saucedo: He was best when he dropped into the midfield to pick up the ball, but he wasn’t at his best against the Seattle Sounders defense.“
In addition, Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar shared his impression of the Grande Sports Academy players on Twitter:
Thanks to our academy players – Saucedo, Ovalle, Silva, Acosta, Najib!! You guys were fantastic#RSLFamily — jeff cassar (@jeffcassar) May 26, 2014
Real Salt Lake Reserves take the field next on Sunday, July 6 against USL PRO’s Richmond Kickers at City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia with kickoff set for 3:00 pm.
Scoring Summary
Real Salt Lake Reserves
None
Seattle Sounders FC Reserves
None
Lineups
Real Salt Lake Reserves
Lalo Fernandez
Rich Balchan (Danilo Acosta, 80’)
Aaron Maund
Kwame Watson-Siriboe
Abdoulie Mansally
John Stertzer
Fito Ovalle
Diego Silva
Luis Gil
Sebastian Saucedo
Robbie Findley (Olmes Garcia, 70’)
Unused Substitutes: Austin Najib, Mikey Orellana
Seattle Sounders FC Reserves
Marcus Hahnemann (Josh Ford, 45’)
David Estrada
Dylan Remick
Andy Rose
Aaron Kovar
Henry Wingo (Duncan McCormick, 60’)
Fabio Pereira
Micheal Ariza
Tristan Bowen (Yoshi Chaffin, 66’)
Sean Okoli
Cam Weaver
Unused Substitutes: Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, Matt Reinikka
Discipline
Real Salt Lake Reserves
47’ – Fito Ovalle (Yellow)
50’ – Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Yellow)
Seattle Sounders FC Reserves
43’ – Dylan Remick (Yellow)
85’ – Cam Weaver (Yellow)