2017 Player Profiles: Aaron Maund

In 2016, Aaron Maund topped the list of RSL Soapbox’s player profiles list. The contributors felt that he was RSL’s MVP in a year where the club left much to be desired. Maund stood out as a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season.

In life, things change fast. Aaron Maund was front and center in the Texas two-step disaster where Real Salt Lake ended up losing by 5-1 to Houston and 6-2 to Dallas. There were multiple instances in the stretch of games where RSL and Aaron Maund in particular looked like they did not care, or worse, gave up.

After the game, Craig Waibel made it clear that there would be changes to the roster and that RSL would lose a few players that had been regulars on the roster over the years. It turned out that Aaron Maund was likely one of those players he was referring to.

In 2015 and 2016, Maund was on a fantastic upward trajectory and seemed destine for great things. By all accounts, he looked like an established, solid defender in MLS. Not a Defender of the Year candidate, but a consistent starter. A lot of things changed for RSL in 2017, but one of the more noteworthy was Maund’s decline. It’s not fair to put all of the blame on Maund for RSL’s road bumps, but he was singlehandedly responsible for more than a couple of the opposition’s goals.

Ultimately, towards the end of the season Maund was traded to Vancouver. Hopefully he can find his footing and re-ignite the fire in the belly.