Sean and "The Coach" Mark Davis are back with the only Utah soccer podcast with a national championship ring to break down Real Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City, the first loss of the season during a remarkably fast start.

Johnny Russell got the goal, but more concerning are the injury issues plaguing Salt Lake. Also, Jaziel Orozco debuted for RSL at 17 years old — and the we can already tell the Mexican-American dual national has a bright future ahead of him. Can he step up if he is one of just two center backs available for head coach Pablo Mastroeni against rival Colorado on Saturday?

There are a lot of injuries plaguing this RSL squad, and recovery times may keep several of them out for an extended period. Mastroeni told ESPN 700 that Justen Glad is still 3-4 weeks away, Bobby Wood is still up to four weeks away, and Aaron Herrera hasn't even started to train with the team in his comeback. Johan Kappelhol will miss 3-4 weeks with an injury suffered during pregame warmups at Kansas City, and Erik Holt — who was subbed at the half with plantar fasciitis to make way for Orozco, could miss 3-6 months for the Claret and Cobalt.

If you've got a spare center back, off one up to RSL right now.

Elsewhere in the soccer world, the United States all-but clinched qualification for November's World Cup in Qatar with a dominant 5-1 win over Panama in Orlando. Christian Pulisic had a hat trick, and The Coach almost had a struck because he was so happy.

All the Americans have to do is not lose to Costa Rica 6-0, and they are through to Qatar. Even if they do lose by a big margin, they'll likely face New Zealand (or the Oceania qualifier) in a playoff spot to go to the World Cup. Easy enough, right?

As always, Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or where ever else you engage audibly. And don't forget to subscribe on Substack, where you can have Salt City FC delivered directly to your email inbox on a regular basis.

Salt City FC Episode 17 - Alex Vejar Reporting for Duty

Salt City FCBy Salt City FCJan 28, 2019