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Joao Plata came into Major League Soccer as an unproven 18-year-old with lofty expectations on one of the league’s struggling teams.
In two years with Toronto FC, though, the 5-foot-2 forward rarely found his footing. He only scored three goals in 36 games with the Reds, and the Canadian team traded him to Real Salt Lake for a second-round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.
RSL was in the middle of a roster overhaul of its own in a season that saw familiar faces such as forward Fabian Espindola, midfielder Will Johnson and defender Jamison Olave depart for other teams.
Two years later, the addition of Plata is paying off for RSL (4-0-5, 17 points).
The diminutive Ecuadorian is tied for the team lead with strike partner Alvaro Saborio on six goals — including two in RSL’s 3-2 come-from-behind win at Chicago last week. Plata nailed the game-winner on a redirected cross from Saborio, and the brace helped him earn MLS Player of the Week honors.
Despite the accolade, Plata prefers to focus on his new team, which has welcomed him and accepted him in 24 starts in his second season on the Wasatch Front.
“What’s really important for this team is to be patient,” Plata said of the win over the Fire. “We knew that if we did the right things, the goals would come.”
Doing the right things and waiting for the goals to come has been an unofficial motto of Plata’s career in four seasons in MLS. His three goals with Toronto came in 21 starts as a rookie. The next year got even worse, without a goal and playing in only 10 games in Canada.
Plata pushed through an up-and-down inaugural season with RSL in 2013, scoring four goals and adding eight assists in 29 games. But the floodgates have started to open early this year. Along with being the team’s co-leader in goals scored, he also has two assists to his name.
He’s also among RSL’s most aggressive players, with a team-high 12 of his 16 shots being directed on frame. And his defensive work is also catching the eye of RSL coach Jeff Cassar.
“He’s been fantastic, on both sides of the ball,” Cassar said of Plata. “He’s been exciting on the offensive side, and then as soon as we turn the ball over, he’s getting himself into a good defensive shape. That helps him out on the offensive end as well. A lot of guys are feeding off his movement and his play.”
Plata has played like a man attempting to make up for lost time. And that may be the case, since he missed three games after a foot injury in the March 22 match against the L.A. Galaxy.
“I knew I could come back from an injury, and I did,” Plata said after Tuesday’s training session. “I came back, healed completely, took some time off and now I need to go out and play well.”
His partnership with Saborio is showing benefits for RSL. A speedy youngster, Plata is adept at drifting off of the hard-charging Saborio to attack an opponent’s goal from multiple angles.
But the Costa Rica-Ecuador alliance isn’t the only one at RSL.
“I’m really comfortable here,” Plata said. “The fans treat us really well. There’s a lot of chemistry with my teammates, and it’s just important that we represent on the field.”
Balchan on the (brief) move
Still buzzing after a win over Chicago when his team fell behind 2-0 by halftime, Cassar was all smiles as he addressed the media Tuesday. But he isn’t taking anything for granted.
“We just try to do the right things,” Cassar said. “It’s about habits, training and putting the work in. All we can do is control the things we can control.”
RSL remains the only unbeaten team in Major League Soccer, a critical position as myriad players around the league get ready for international duty ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
To prep for the midseason line changes, Real Salt Lake sent defender Rich Balchan on a short-term loan to the Carolina RailHawks of the NASL. Balchan is expected to train with the team and feature in their road match Saturday against the San Antonio Scorpions.
Balchan played what Cassar called “a fantastic 45 minutes” in the RSL reserve’s 1-1 draw with Chivas USA. And the defender could start and play 90 minutes Saturday, when the RailHawks will be missing three defenders with injuries or suspensions.
“We’re going to look to do (the same thing) with a lot of players who aren’t getting as many minutes,” Cassar said. “We’ve got a lot of minutes coming up in the summer with the Open Cup and reserve games, so it’ll be a busy time.” Sean Walker is a local news writer at KSL.com and Real Salt Lake beat reporter. Follow him on Twitter @ReporterSean.
