Real Salt Lake Signs Homegrown Pair To First Team Roster
Jan 6, 2023, 4:24 PM
Real Salt Lake manager Pablo Mastroeni watches from the sidelines during the 2-2 draw against San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on July 30. Photo courtesy: Laura Dearden of Real Salt Lake.
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake has announced the Homegrown signings of defenders Luis Rivera and Delentz Pierre to the 2023 first-team roster.
Rivera, 15, joins Real Salt Lake from the Real Monarchs where he enjoyed four appearances, three of them starts, during last year’s inaugural MLS Pro Next competition. Rivera signed his first professional contract with the Monarchs in August of 2022. Prior to signing with the Monarchs, Rivera spent years developing under the guidance of the RSL Academy.
On the international stage, Rivera has enjoyed under-15 US national team call-ups and has appeared in fixtures against Belgium and Slovenia. Rivera is the second youngest Homegrown player signed by Real Salt Lake following last year’s announcement that then-14-year-old Axel Kei had signed with the first team.
Rivera agreed to a contract that would last through the 2026 season with a club option for the 2027 campaign.
Pierre, 22, has taken a different path to achieve a Real Salt Lake first-team contract. Pierre returns to Utah following four years at the University of Portland where he appeared in 48 matches, 45 of them starts, and anchored the backline on its way to consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history since 2004.
Let's get to work, Delentz.
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 6, 2023
Prior to joining the University of Portland, Pierre attended the RSL Academy where he starred for multiple age groups.
Unlike Rivera, Pierre’s contract is only valid through the 2023 season with club options for 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons.
Real Salt Lake Youth Call Ups
Seven players from the RSL Academy and the Real Monarchs have been called into International Duty. Monarchs goalkeeper Gavin Beavers has been called into the U.S. U-19 camp while newly signed Monarchs players Zavier Gozo and Luca Moisa have also been named to the U.S. U-16 and U-15 national teams respectively. Moisa will be joined by a trio of RSL Academy players at the U-15 camp.
Gavin, the phone's for you 📲
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 6, 2023
Furthermore, RSL Academy goalkeeper Fernando Delgado has been named to the Mexican U-17 national team ahead of the CONCACAF men’s U-17 championship slated to take place in February in Guatemala.
