100 goals, and more to come from RSL star Chicho Arango
Chicho Arango scored the 100th goal of his professional career in Real Salt Lake's 1-1 draw at St. Louis City SC, showing the Colombian striker isn't afraid to pick up where he left off in 2023.
Chicho Arango wasn’t afraid of the moment.
Eyeing a career milestone and his 100th professional goal, Arango had tried several times to find the back of the net — from the opening minutes forward against St. Louis City SC, including one that was called back for offsides.
But when the moment was right, the moment was right.
Less than two minutes after his header was caught offside, the newly announced team captain’s eyes met with RSL new addition Matt Crooks, the former Middlesbrough man who had made his Real Salt Lake debut in the 63rd minute.
By the 74th minute, Crooks — the 6-foot-4 attacker nicknamed “Tree” by his colleagues in England’s Championship — took a superb backheel tap from Diego Luna, then advanced the ball forward through four defenders off the side of his foot to the feet of Arango, who finished around a corner and inside the far post to give Real Salt Lake a 1-0 lead in St. Louis.
“The foot that he plays the pass to, I thought it was superb. That’s what it takes to score against a really staunch defense like St. Louis,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said of the goal. “From an overall picture, on both sides of the ball, I think we did a really good job of controlling the game. I think it was a very good perfromance to take home.”
Of course, just five minutes later, Samuel Adeniran’s left-footed equalizer found the back of the net for the hosts and both RSL and STL would split the points.
But the strong finish remains from Arango, who was brought in to Salt Lake from Pachuca to try to replicate his LAFC magic and add value to his multi-million dollar pricetag.
Arango’s 100th professional goal is a career milestone, but the speed at which he did it is superb, as well. At just 28 years old, the former Millonarios standout in his native Colombia has already played with nine teams in three countries.
But his most success came in MLS, where he was named league Newcomer of the Year after scoring 14 goals in 17 league appearances for LAFC in 2021. After a brief stay in Mexico with Pachuca, where he scored five times in 11 matches, Arango returned stateside on a Designated Player contract and immediately left his mark again.
In just 11 games with Real Salt Lake in 2023, including nine starts, Arango scored six goals and assisted on another, helping Pablo Mastroeni’s side back to the playoffs.
On Saturday, two games into his fourth season in MLS, he connected on a milestone. His 20th career goal in league regular-season play is tied for the fourth fastest in league history, with Taylor Twellman in 33 games.
Real Salt Lake (0-1-1, 1 point) plans to honor goal No. 100 in the club’s home opener Saturday at America First Field.
Prior to the 12 noon MST kickoff, RSL will hold a special pre-game ceremony with the star striker and his family, so fans are encouraged to arrive early to celebrate the occasion.
