This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sandy • The tumultuous start to 2017 continued to provide the deepest portions of Real Salt Lake's depth chart a shot at opportunity. This time it was the youngest player on the first-team roster, 19-year-old Danilo Acosta, who made his Major League Soccer debut Saturday at right back against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Acosta, who was born in Honduras, but lived in Salt Lake City before attending RSL's Arizona-based academy, became a staple with the U.S. U-20 national team during the CONCACAF U-20 World Cup tournament in Costa Rica last month. Despite coming up in the RSL academy as a center back and holding midfielder, Acosta featured at left back for the U.S. during its run to World Cup qualifying. He scored the game-winning penalty kick in the final against Honduras.

Acosta became the eighth player to make his RSL debut in 2017. With his start against Vancouver, he also becomes the seventh homegrown player out of eight on the first-team roster to have MLS experience.

As injuries continue to plague RSL, 24 out of 27 players on the roster have made appearances in 2017. Only Justen Glad (knee injury), rookie Reagan Dunk and goalkeeper Lalo Fernandez have yet to see MLS minutes this season.

Plata returns to the XI

For the first time since the season opener against Toronto FC on March 4, Joao Plata was in the RSL starting lineup Saturday night. The 25-year-old forward missed nearly a month with a hip injury he picked up in the second week of the season. The Ecuadorian striker returned to action last week as a second-half substitute in the 4-2 loss at Minnesota United.

Old Red Bulls reunite

In his RSL coaching debut, Mike Petke faced up against an old pal in Vancouver coach Carl Robinson. The two were teammates with the New York Red Bulls in 2010 and later members of the coaching staff together the following season.

ckamrani@sltrib.com Twitter: @chriskamrani