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SANDY -- Real Salt Lake announced Monday the trade of backup goalkeeper Chris Seitz to the expansion Philadelphia Union for allocation money.
Financial terms involved in the deal will not be disclosed.
"Firstly, we would like to thank Chris for his three years of exemplary service on behalf of Real Salt Lake and wish him all the best on this next step in his career," said Real Salt Lake General Manager Garth Lagerwey. "His professionalism and tremendous talent made this a very difficult move for us to make, however, we felt it was time to do right by Chris and allow him this opportunity to achieve a starting position within Major League Soccer. With the trade also giving our Technical Staff added resources to improve our roster this offseason, we believe the deal is a win for both sides."
Despite being widely regarded as one of the United States' brightest young goalkeeping prospects, the 22-year-old Seitz could never break through to claim Real Salt Lake's starting job from Nick Rimando after being selected third overall in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft.
During his three-year tenure in Utah, Seitz made seven starts - three in his rookie season and four during RSL's recent MLS Cup championship campaign - and recorded a 1.86 goals against average and 1-4-2 record in 630 minutes between the posts.
Seitz showed well during his four appearances in 2009, posting a 1-1-2 record and 1.25 GAA while also notching his first professional win and shutout back on August 29 via a 1-0 triumph at Kansas City.
Seitz also represented his country in various competitions during his RSL stay, helping the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team qualify for the Olympics with a solid performance in the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament in March 2008 before serving as the squad's back-up to over-age selection Brad Guzan for the Summer Games in Beijing that August. Seitz also received call-ups to Bob Bradley's Senior U.S. MNT camps and training sessions on a handful of occasions across the last two seasons.
This is RSL's second roster move of the 2009/10 offseason. The team added forward Abe Thompson from the Houston Dynamo in the Waiver Draft last week.
