Rooney debuts 15-year-old in D.C.'s draw at Real Salt Lake

Sep 11, 2022, 03:27 pm

SANDY, Utah -- — Matai Akinmboni became the third-youngest player in Major League Soccer history in D.C. United's 0-0 draw against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.

D.C. United coach Wayne Rooney started Akinmboni at 15 years, 328 days. The only younger players in MLS have been D.C.’s Freddy Adu (14 years, 334 days on April 3, 2004) and Vancouver’s Alphonso Davies (15 years, 327 days of July 16, 2016).

Zac MacMath made three saves for Real Salt Lake and David Ochoa had seven saves for D.C., which has the fewest points in the league and has been eliminated from playoff contention.

RSL (11-9-10) had a 16-8 advantage in shots over United (7-17-6), with eight shots on goal to three.

RSL next plays on Wednesday against Austin on the road, and United will visit Sporting Kansas City on Tuesday.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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