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SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake signed UCLA’s Forward Milan Iloski to a homegrown deal Wednesday morning, making him the ninth academy player on their first team squad. Iloski announced he would forego his senior season with the Bruins in order to join RSL.
Iloski has a history with the United States National Team where he compete on their U-18 and U-19 teams.
This season for the Bruins, Iloski started in 15 of the 16 games he’s played in. During his 2019 showcase, he netted 17 goals alongside two assists. His 17 goals in one season was good enough to crack the top five in the NCAA.
During his time as a Bruin, Iloski solidified a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team (2019), All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention team (2018), First-team all far-west region (2019), second-team All-American by College Soccer News (2019), and also earned an All-Pac-12 Academic Award (2018).
"Milan was one of the top goal-scorers in the country last year at UCLA and proved that he’s ready to make the jump to the professional level," RSL general manager Eliott Fall said in a statement. "He is another great example of our emphasis on developing young players through our Academy system and we are excited to add him to the mix and see his continued development."
His goal-scoring ability that Fall spoke so highly of was showcased in a game against San Diego State this season. Iloski scored five goals against the Aztecs, breaking the UCLA record for most goals scored in one match.
San Diego State wasn’t Iloski’s only multi-goal game this season, though. In September 2019, he scored two goals against Cal State Northridge and then only a few days later notched a hat-trick against Maryland.
Iloski is the second Bruin taken by RSL in as many years. Only a few days before the MLS Superdraft in 2019, Real signed defender Erik Holt to a homegrown deal.
Real Salt Lake will begin their march towards an MLS title on Feb. 29, 2020 against Orlando City.
