Results aside, here's something we learned from RSL's 5-0 preseason win over El Paso
Results aside, here's something we learned from RSL's 5-0 preseason win over El Paso
The squad got a brace from new signing Andres Gomez, and goals from Braian Ojeda, Bryan Oviedo and Bertin Jacquesson in a rout of USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC. But what does it mean?
No one cares about preseason results. Most of the time, not even the players and coaches.
But Real Salt Lake went down to the desert in Tucson, Arizona and routed USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive FC, 5-0, in a preseason match Tuesday that included both backup goalkeepers Gavin Beavers and Tomas Gomez.
In short, this one wasn’t close, from the first goal before the 20-minute mark until the last one with 10 minutes to go.
Carlos Andrés Gómez had a brace, and Braian Ojeda, Bryan Oviedo and Bertin Jacquesson all scored for RSL in the rout, which came just a few days after what had to be a disappointing 1-1 draw with fellow USL side Sacramento Republic FC.
Again, results don’t really matter. But that one probably did a little, not the least of which because the equalizer was scored by former RSL forward Douglas Martinez for Sacramento.
Again, results don’t actually matter. But to respond with a cutthroat 5-0 win while rotating heavily and not forcing a recovering starting goalkeeper on goal tells us one thing: RSL doesn’t like to lose.
Head coach Pablo Mastroeni also saw the quality that prompted RSL to pay top dollar — a reportedly a club-record transfer fee — to bring in 20-year-old winger Carlos Andrés Gómez from Colombia under the league’s new U-22 initiative.
“I think with every training session he has a better understanding of the tactics, understanding of his teammates,” Mastroeni said after the match. “One of the adjustments is also understanding the tendencies of the guys you are playing around. When he gets more and more comfortable, he’s a very dynamic player, very good one-v.-one, and he loves to run without the ball, which is very important in the way we like to play. And today, you saw some very calm finishing."
“He’s a younger player. It’s going to take some time with his fitness. But I’m very excited with what he can bring to this group — not just this year, but with the future of his career in MLS.”
This week’s Desert Showcase featuring a variety of MLS and USL teams is also something of a homecoming for Mastroeni, whose career was in is infancy when he played for the Tucson Amigos in the United States Indoor Soccer League from 1995-97.
Mastroeni recalled with a couple of reporters in Tucson his pre-MLS career in Utah, which he attributes for helping him develop into the player that would go on to a 15-year MLS career with Miami, Colorado and Los Angeles, as well as 65 appearances with the U.S. men’s national team from 2001-09.
For Mastroeni, it all started in Tucson, a global playing career before a coaching career that took him to Colorado, Houston and Salt Lake since 2021.
“Everyone on the outside always sees the glamor of professional sports. No one on the outside sees the sacrifice that you have to make, personally and professionally, to make it,” Mastroeni said. “When I speak to the guys, a lot of it is about my experiences here, traveling whatever it is to California, coming right back to Tucson, then going to New Mexico in less-than-ideal conditions. But there was this determination to do whatever it takes it make it.
“I think that is the biggest thing. Everyone loves a superstar, but no one knows how hard that person worked. My humble beginnings here in Tucson set a great foundation of hard work, believing in myself, having good people around me, and creating a drive within. It taught me that nothing in life ever comes easy.”
RSL wraps up the Desert Showcase with an MLS preseason friendly Saturday against the Chicago Fire. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.