Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

Sergi Solans’ missing hat trick

Sergi Solans had himself a very nice game indeed, notching (per Fotmob) a staggering 1.79 expected goals all on his own. He hit the woodwork twice and scored a neat goal, and on another day, that performance would likely have rightly netted him a hat trick. Beyond scoring, Solans led the press, broke forward quickly, and held up the ball when necessary. He’s rapidly become a bright spot on this team, and three goals in 340 minutes is a great return for a 23-year-old striker just coming off a collegiate career. Solans is showing a real determination to his game, and that can be what helps a young player separate from the pack.

Diego Luna’s fitness return

How good was it to see Diego Luna back in the side? It was his first start of the year, and he was immediately dangerous — not just because he scored a great goal from distance, but he also had three key passes, as many as any other player on the team. With the final World Cup squad selection on the horizon, getting back up to speed after an injury will be vital.

RSL’s shutout search

For the sixth time in six games this season, Real Salt Lake has conceded a goal. Now, their record remains good — I’m not complaining about results here, as 13 points in six games is a pretty nice rate of return — but conceding with such frequency is more troubling. There doesn’t seem to be a single common theme in how these goals are conceded, and it might just be down to team approach. Has Pablo Mastroeni, once again, decided to trade goals scored for goals conceded? If RSL can keep up their scoring ways, it won’t be a problem — but is that a big ‘if’?

A few more things

• I was surprised to see no action taken after Zavier Gozo got into a bit of a wrestling match in the first half. He’s got to be more careful, as he has as many yellow cards as he does assists. (Three. That’s a pretty good assists count at this point in the season, no?)
• Speaking of Gozo: How many more goals like that does he need to score before he’s considered as a dark horse candidate for the World Cup squad himself? He’s bringing a lot to the table, with two goals and three assists to his name.
• How much can we really take from a win over SKC? I suspect the answer is ‘not much,’ but you can only beat the opposition in front of you.