SALT LAKE CITY, UT - Real Salt Lake General Manager Steve Pastorino and Head Coach John Ellinger executed yet another player acquisition Wednesday, obtaining former Colorado Rapids midfielder Jeff Stewart from expansion brethren CD Chivas USA in exchange for one of RSL's five Youth International slots for the 2005 Major League Soccer season.
Stewart, a Santa Clara University product who gained recognition by starting 27 of 31 matches for which he was available during his 2002 rookie season and 2003 campaign, suffered a knee injury which forced him to sit out the entire 2004 season. The Bellevue, Wash., native was selected by CD Chivas USA with the 19th overall pick during Friday's 2005 MLS Expansion Draft.
Prior to selecting Jamaican playmaker Andy Williams with the team's first pick on Friday, Real Salt Lake introduced Major League Soccer's all-time leading scorer Jason Kreis as the team's first-ever player. With Kreis, Stewart and the 10 players selected in Friday's Expansion Draft, Real Salt Lake has filled 12 of an available 28 roster spots for its inaugural season. The remaining 16 players will join RSL in the form of allocations, MLS SuperDraft picks (January 14, 2005 - six rounds) and discovery options.
The MLS trade window opened again yesterday at 9:00 a.m. ET, and does not close until the trade deadline on September 15, 2005, in line with the closing of the second international transfer window.
