Matt Van Oekel, who played for Real Salt Lake in 2017 as a backup goalkeeper, has landed at a new club following his contract option being declined: Oklahoma City Energy FC, who play in the USL.
Van Oekel, 31, joined RSL during the last offseason as a backup option to Nick Rimando; his time at the club wasn’t a huge success by any stretch, conceding 22 goals in seven matches played. That record is at least somewhat mitigated by the fact that he played only during RSL’s worst stretch. That was the time in which it seemed the team could do nothing right at all, including back-to-back losses to Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas, who bested us 5-1 and 6-2, respectively.