SANDY, Utah – The LA Galaxy brought some serious star power to bear against Real Salt Lake, but in the end, it was Aaron Maund who shined the brightest at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Maund, a fourth-year RSL defender who has only recently found his way into the starting lineup after serving as a reserve for most of his career, scored an 87th-minute header for his first professional goal to give his team a thrilling, 1-0 victory over the Galaxy in a quarterfinals match of the US Open Cup.
“It’s been an emphasis of mine,” Maund said in the locker room after the game. “I’ve been trying to work it out with [assistant coach] Tyrone Marshall, who’s got me in shape. I’ve been working every day at that. It’s hard for me to get those headers down. I get in good spots but I’m heading it up.
“Finally, I was just able to get my head down and get it on target.”
The opportunity came on a recycled corner kick with Maund still lingering in the box. The ball finally worked its way to midfielder Luke Mulholland, who got his head up and sent a beautiful cross in to Maund.
“Once I got the ball, I looked up and saw big Devon [Sandoval] up there and Aaron,” Mulholland said. “So I had two big targets to aim for. I was fortunate to find Aaron. So [I’m] delighted that we got the goal late on ‘cause I didn’t fancy going into extra time, to be honest with you.”
It was easy to see that the goal meant a lot to the 24-year-old.
Maund had played in 33 league matches for both Toronto FC and RSL without a goal. He picked a great time to finally put one in the net, sending the Utah club through to the semifinals, where they will travel to either Sporting Kansas City or the Houston Dynamo for an opportunity at the final.
The rest of the club swarmed the center back in the aftermath of the goal, a deserved reward for his solid play with the club recently in seven starts in RSL’s last eight league matches.
“I just really love playing for this team,” Maund said. “I love this team, and we really came together tonight. I’m just so happy about it.”
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Maund’s offensive highlight was only a part of a much better bounce-back performance from the squad. The victory helped RSL erase the bad taste of their league loss to the Colorado Rapids only two days earlier. LA stars Robbie Keane and second-half substitute Steven Gerrard were largely held in check on the night – also a credit to Maund.
Head coach Jeff Cassar credited the entire team for the result.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of our players tonight,” Cassar said. “Just the effort that they put in on both sides of the ball was outstanding. … It’s nice for me because I can use this as a fantastic example for the rest of the players. When your number gets called, and you step up, you get rewarded, and Aaron’s doing that.
“It’s been a long time for him to get a rhythm going, but he’s found himself in a nice spot right now.”
