Real Salt Lake signed midfielder Luis Arriaga and goalkeeper David Ochoa as the club’s 17th and 18th Homegrown contracts, the club announced Wednesday. Both players spent significant time in the RSL academy system and will join the first-team roster ahead of the 2019 season.
“These are two players who we know very well from the RSL Academy,” RSL assistant general manager Elliott Fall said in a statement. “We believe that both Arriaga and Ochoa can join the group we have and continue to help build our club at the professional level. We’re excited to see two more players from our Academy who are able to make the leap to the professional game and contribute to our club.”
Arriaga joined the RSL academy ahead of the 2015 season and has scored 55 goals since then. This season, he tallied four goals in nine starts.
“It’s very exciting to sign for Real Salt Lake,” Arriaga said. “I started at the academy at 14 years old with this dream of becoming a professional player. So, to see it pay off is a dream come true. I set out to achieve this dream and now it’s realized. But the work isn’t done for me. I’m excited to get to work and contribute to this team and prove myself.”
#RSL signs @RSLAcademy duo to Homegrown contracts.
⚽️ https://t.co/nabyX0lLm3 pic.twitter.com/Qd9haLyXCQ
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) November 28, 2018
Ochoa has seen less academy playing time of late due to call-ups with the United States Under-20 national team. He helped the U.S. qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup with two shutouts in two matches during the qualification tournament. Ochoa had 31 appearances with the RSL academy in 2017, with 14 matches at the U-17 level and 17 matches at the U-19 level.
“To sign for the first team means a lot to me, especially since I’ve been a part of the Academy for so long,” Ochoa said. “I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity to improve myself and my game with RSL and help the club succeed. I can’t wait to get to work.”