Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger can't wait until Monday. That's the day players report to Bradenton, Fla., for training camp, and the day he can begin coaching again.
"It'll be good to get out on the field and get started," said Ellinger, who played a major role in shaping RSL's roster from scratch after being hired in early October.
On Thursday, the team announced the addition of several more players in preparation for training camp beginning Feb. 1.
The biggest name on the list is Malon Rojas, a Trinidad & Tobago international who will likely be the team's starting left fullback when the 2005 Major League Soccer season opens on April 2. Rojas, 25, graduated from the University of Tampa in 2001 and has been playing professionally in his native country ever since.
The team also extended training camp invitations to six other players hoping to crack the team's 28-man roster, and more specifically the 18-man senior roster. That final senior roster needs to be finalized March 1.
Those six players are: Joey Worthen, Salt Lake City; Kevin Novak, Huntington Beach, Calif.; Leighton O'Brien, Tacoma, Wash.; Kenny Cutler, Richmond, Va.; Rich Cullen, Spokane, Wash.; Bryan Jackson, La Canada, Calif.
Worthen graduated from Cottonwood High School in 1998 and then the University of South Carolina in 2001. Since then, the former Deseret Morning News all-state high school soccer player has spent three years in the A-League, two with Pittsburgh and one with Richmond.
PROJECTED STARTERS: At a media luncheon Thursday, Ellinger revealed a projected starting 11 for RSL. Forwards: Clint Mathis, Jason Kreis. Midfielders: Andy Williams, Pablo Brenes, Evan Whitfield, Brian Kamler. Defenders: Marlon Rojas, Matt Behncke, Brian Dunseth, Rusty Pierce. Goalkeeper: D.J. Countess.
TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULES: Real Salt Lake will be in Bradenton, Fla., from Feb. 1-19, with scheduled scrimmages against D.C. United, U.S. under-17 national team, San Jose, Columbus, Kansas City and a U.S. amateur team.
RSL will then train in Portugal from Feb. 24 to March 9 and is finalizing plans to play three exhibition games. It will then wrap up training camp from March 14-27 in Southern California, with a March 19 exhibition game against Colorado in Las Vegas.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com