This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sure, everybody was talking about forward Paulo Junior after last night's monster victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy.But there was another promising young player who finally saw the field for RSL.Teen-aged midfielder Luis Gil made his Major League Soccer debut for RSL as a substitute for Paulo in the 77th minute at Rio Tinto Stadium. The 18-year-old, who some have speculated could be the future of the midfield for the U.S. national team, played in a U.S. Open Cup game and a CONCACAF Champions League game as a rookie last season, but had never seen the field in a league game.Coach Jason Kreis was thrilled to put him out there."Luis is somebody I've been really, really pleased with," Kreis said, "thoughout the whole preseason, throughout every training session. I'm seeing real, real big steps forward in his game and his development. So I have been wanting now for awhile to reward him and try to give him some minutes, and [last night] was the perfect opportunity."Gil figures to get many more opportunities with RSL this season, if only because the league has revived its reserve league for young and developing players. The RSL reserves play their first of 10 games this season against FC Dallas on Tuesday.Coach Kreis said the reserve game is "exactly" what players such as Gil need to "continue their match fitness, and make sure everybody's ready" for the Champions League semifinal second leg at Saprissa in Costa Rica on April 5.