Rimando FC vs. Besler United: TST has been a lot of fun, and one of these former RSL stars may be 3 wins from a $1M title
Conrad & Beasley United will face Sneaky Fox FC in the quarterfinals of The Soccer Tournament, a World Cup-style 7-on-7 tournament in Cary, N.C. featuring several former RSL standouts.
There’s a lot to love about The Soccer Tournament, the quirky spinoff of the summer-run The Basketball Tournament that features dozens of teams compete in a 7-on-7 soccer tournament for a $1 million cash prize.
Whether it’s the chance to watch aged U.S. internationals still play the game; the occasional European clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers, Borussia Dortmund, and Italy Serie B side Como 1907; the quirk of an all-U.S. women’s national alumni squad playing against men’s teams; or the novelty of a tournament where games don’t end on time but on a “target score” that is the leading team’s score+1 after two 40-minute halves.
The weeklong tournament is taking over television, or your Peacock subscription, or at the very least, your Twitter feed.
But without a Utah side in TST, do Real Salt Lake fans have a rooting interest?
Glad you asked.
Conrad & Beasley United advanced with a 4-3 win over the Wrexham Red Dragons (yes, that Wrexham club) after goals from former RSL/Real Monarchs MF Nick Besler and Monarchs FW Chandler Hoffman.
Here are all the RSL and Utah soccer connections on C&B, which is led by former U.S. internationals Jimmy Conrad and DaMarcus Beasley:
Aaron Maund, DF, Real Salt Lake
Chandler Hoffman, FW, Real Monarchs
Nick Besler, DF, RSL/Monarchs
Taylor Peay, MF, Brighton/RSL
C&B will try to advance to the TST semifinals at 11:30 a.m. MDT with a quarterfinal streamed on Peacock (that’s the NBC streaming service). But to get there, they’ll have to dispatch Sneaky Fox FC — and a couple of other familiar names for RSL fans.
Sneaky Fox FC, which beat the all-Duke alumni squad Duke Sevens 2-1 in the Round of 16, is named after MLS legend Mike Magee’s vodka company, and features two of the greats from Real Salt Lake’s glory years on the roster:
Nick Rimando, GK, Real Salt Lake
Chris Wingert, DF, Real Salt Lake
The squad also features ex-MLSers Jay DeMerit, Brad Evans, and Kyle Martino in a “head coach” role. So do they have the advantage?
Maybe Wrexham, based on the English non-league club that famously promoted to EFL League Two after winning the fifth-division National League following investments from actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, held the advantage over C&BU, as well.
Or maybe not.
“I don’t think people thought that we could,” Conrad said after his team stunned Wrexham. “But we just knew we had to get the job done. We’re very excited and proud to represent the team, the players, all the people who sacrificed so we could be here.
“We’re moving onto the next round, and we cannot wait to see how we play in the quarterfinals.”
Here’s a look at each quarterfinal, scheduled for early Saturday. The semifinals will be held Saturday evening prior to a Sunday championship for the winner-take-all $1 million grand prize:
Newtown Pride FC vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv FC, 10 a.m. MDT | Watch here
Conrad & Beasley United vs. Sneaky Fox FC, 11:30 a.m. MDT | Watch here
Blade and Grass FC vs. Sports League Canada FC, 1 p.m. MDT | Watch here
Como 1907 vs Zala FFF, 2:30 p.m. MDT | Watch here