It's been a big day for the #PlayYourKids movement in MLS, and Real Salt Lake just added the cherry on top.
After FC Dallas matched an MLS record by fielding six Homegrown players in one game and 15-year-old Cade Cowell scored in his San Jose Earthquakes debut against Monterrey, RSL may have just one-upped everyone. When their starting lineup dropped for their game at LAFC on Saturday evening, there were an MLS-record six starters in the mix.
The academy products in the XI are: Donny Toia, Brooks Lennon, Erik Holt, Tate Schmitt, Aaron Herrera and Sebastian Saucedo. While RSL, Dallas, and the LA Galaxy had all fielded six Homegrowns in a game, none had done so from the start until Real on Saturday. That also means that RSL would hold outright the single-team record for most Homegrowns fielded in a game should Luis Arriaga enter as a substitute.
