Text 
No Comments [ Add Comment ]Real reserves pull plug on Outlaws
By Justin JohnsonRSL coach Kreis deems Ogden High 'unsafe surface'
OGDEN -- This evening was supposed to be the crown jewel of the Ogden Outlaws season, a friendly match against Real Salt Lake's reserve squad at Ogden High School.
Instead, it has turned into a public relations nightmare for Ogden owner/coach Mike Hickman Sr., after RSL elected to cancel the game Tuesday when RSL coach Jason Kreis deemed the surface at Maurice Conroy Field to be unsafe to play on.
"RSL told us a week ago that they felt like the field was too narrow and too bumpy, along with the fact that the surface was too close to the track," said Hickman. "Ogden High had been working hard for the last week to get it into the best possible shape, but (RSL) decided that they didn't want to risk anyone getting injured."
The Outlaws initially explored other options, including Weber State University, Bonneville High School and St. Joseph High School, but was unable to find a suitable alternative for the match on such short notice.
"Essentially, when combining what our head coach, Jason Kreis, deemed was an unsafe playing surface at Ogden High School with our current roster limitations due to injuries and U.S. Under-20 National Team call-ups, RSL has decided it was against our team's best interest to take part in the match as scheduled," wrote RSL's John K. Koluder, senior manager of media relations in a press release.
Both Ogden and Real Salt Lake have vowed to do everything possible to reschedule the match for later on this season.
"There is still communication ongoing between us and RSL, we haven't given up on a chance to play them here in Ogden sometime this year," Hickman said. "We worked on trying to move the site, but that is something that is pretty tough to do on such short notice. As of right now, we're still just calling it a postponement. I'm still hopeful that we can work something out before the season is over."
RSL's release on the issue added, "We will work with the Outlaws to reschedule the match later in our season and look to provide other opportunities for our clubs to work together as a way to make up for the inconvenience."
Hickman said that season ticket holders with passes to the RSL match will be able to use those tickets if the two teams reschedule or can use them for admission to any other home game of Ogden's this year. He also said that refunds will be issued for those tickets if fans elect.
There was no written contract signed between the two organizations, just a handshake agreement between Hickman and former Real Salt Lake general manager Steve Pastorino, who was fired in mid-May.
"Something like this can really hurt our credibility, but I hope people understand that we did everything we could to make this happen," Hickman said. "We'll do whatever we can to make it right."
With the cancellation of tonight's game, Ogden will next take to the field July 4, when they travel to face in-state rival BYU at South Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
Add Your Comment
