From the moment Matt VanOekel learned that he was offered a contract by Real Salt Lake, he knew there was work to be done as he prepared for his first season in Major League Soccer.
Although he didn’t necessarily need confirmation, he got it from RSL Director of Goalkeeping Daryl Shore when Shore called him minutes after he heard official word from his agent shortly after the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft.
“Time to go to work now,” Shore told his new charge back in December.
Within a day, VanOekel was in his Dodge Durango, driving from Alberta – where he played for FC Edmonton in 2015 and 2016 – to his new home in Salt Lake City, where he will now serve as MLS record-holder Nick Rimando’s backup.