Now, he will try a different path.

The team has loaned the 19-year-old central defender to the lower-level Seattle Sounders for the next three months, the teams said Tuesday, in the hope that he can earn the playing time and experience that he's not able to enjoy with RSL. "We want to get Nik some games," RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey said.

Lagerwey said RSL has the option of recalling Besagno from the loan at any point before its scheduled conclusion on Sept. 8, though it's hard to imagine the team will need to do that. It's well-stocked in central defense, which is one of the reasons Besagno has appeared in only eight games in his career - none this season - with four starts.

The loan is likely to be interpreted as a concession that Besagno might not have what it takes to play in MLS, but Lagerwey said that's not the case. "By no means is this us giving up on Nik," he said. "We just want to get him some experience, and hopefully he'll come back to us better. . . . This is a win-win for everybody."

Besagno is a native of Maple Valley, a suburb of Seattle, whose older brother has played for the Sounders the past two seasons. Former RSL midfielder Leighton O'Brien currently plays for the Sounders, who play in the USL First Division and are not the same as the expansion franchise that will begin play in MLS next season.

International duty

Midfielder Andy Williams will miss RSL's game at Chivas USA on Saturday, after being called to play for the Jamaican national team in its World Cup qualifying game against the Bahamas the following day.

Williams also is expected to miss RSL's home game against San Jose next week, when the Jamaicans play the second leg of the series.

The veteran's absence could allow Matias Cordoba to make his first start for RSL, coach Jason Kreis said, or perhaps give fellow midfielder Kenny Cutler another shot in the lineup. RSL will be seeking its first win ever at Chivas, having gone 0-6-1 all-time at the Home Depot Center while being outscored 18-3.

Midfielder Dema Kovalenko also is at risk of missing the game, Kreis said, having suffered a "relapse" of the illness that kept him out of practice at times last week. Kovalenko played 90 minutes for RSL in its 0-0 draw with Kansas City last weekend, but has not practiced since then.

Trying to impress

Midfielder Sebastian Schindzielorz has joined RSL on trial, after playing last season with Levadiakos in the Greek Second Division.

Lagerwey said Schindzielorz is the first of potentially "four or five" trialists who could work out with RSL in the coming weeks, but "if he's really good, we could tell the next two or three guys to not come."

The 37-year-old Polish-born German citizen is out of contract - he played nine seasons for FC Koln and VfL Bochum in Germany, five of them in the Bundesliga, before joining Levadiakos - and is being evaulated mostly as a prospective defensive midfielder, particularly as RSL's Nathan Sturgis, continues to battle injuries.

The Major League Soccer transfer window opens on July 15, and RSL could easily add a player such as Schindzielorz because it has room under the salary cap and a vacant international roster spot.

mcl@sltrib.com