RSL signs academy players Luis Arriaga, David Ochoa

Real Salt Lake’s continuing move to sign academy players to homegrown player deals has continued, with the club announcing today two signings: goalkeeper David Ochoa and midfielder Luis Arriaga.

Ochoa, 17, has recently trained with Manchester United, and has been a consistent standout at the academy level. He’s also played with the U.S. U-20s, where he has been widely noticed, as is obvious by the attention he’s received.

Arriaga, also 17, has played with the U.S. U-18s, but he’s also steadily moved through those ranks, having been called up to the U-14s in 2014.

Ochoa, from the RSL release

“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.”

Arriaga, from the RSL release

“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.”

Elliott Fall, RSL Assistant General Manager, again, from the release

“These are two players who we know very well from the RSL Academy,” RSL Assistant General Manager Elliott Fall said. “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.”