This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Jeff Attinella impressed in his debut for Real Salt Lake, coming on for an injured Josh Saunders and keeping a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Dallas.
Now RSL will need him to build on that performance.
An MRI revealed Saunders tore his ACL in the first half against Dallas. He will have surgery next week.
Saunders was a late signing this offseason. After helping the Los Angeles Galaxy win the last two MLS Cups, Saunders was a premium insurance policy for starter Nick Rimando. And with Rimando gone with the U.S. for Gold Cup, July was supposed to be Saunders' opportunity.
Instead, it seems it will be Attinella who has to step up against Sporting Kansas City and New York.
Attinella came to RSL after two seasons with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a USL Pro team. He was expected to be Salt Lake's No. 2, replacing Kyle Reynish.
Academy grad signs
Benji Lopez, a recent Real Salt Lake Academy graduate, has signed with RSL.
Lopez, a forward, has experience with the U.S. U-18 team.
He has been training with the first team for portions of the summer, featuring in a reserve match against FC Phoenix.
He should be available for RSL's reserve match against Vancouver on Tuesday morning at America First Field in Sandy.