Six other players weren't so lucky. As expected, Real trimmed its roster to 28 players on Wednesday, releasing Kevin Novak, Jared Kent, Scott Palguta, Haddon Kirk, Brian Gil and Jonathan Bramwell.

Real midfielder Andy Williams was not on that list, as he opted not to pursue more lucrative offers from the United Soccer League or a few European suitors.

The Novak announcement was definitely the most surprising. The second-year pro was thrust into the starting right back spot early last year, and anchored the position for 26 games. Fans, coaches and teammates alike marveled at his feistiness, which made the decision tougher for Ellinger.

"Kevin was fantastic last year, but there were some concerns with his physical condition," said Ellinger in reference to two offseason surgeries for Novak. "It's never easy, you become attached to these guys."

The same goes for Garlick, who was solid all last year.

Garlick was regarded as a consummate professional, but he had his limitations and made his fair share of mistakes. Real fans will probably never forget Garlick's horrific game at the Los Angeles Galaxy last July, or his penchant for occasionally getting beat near post. Nonetheless, he brought stability to a goalkeeping position that was a mess under D.J. Countess in 2005, and nearly helped RSL secure a playoff berth last year.

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Real roster

Real's 28-man roster is broken up into two parts, an 18-man senior roster and a 10-man developmental roster. The developmental roster is made up primarily of players age 23 and younger, including Generation adidas players. Here's a look at Real's finalized roster after Wednesday's cuts. More activity is likely, however, with the recent retirement of Scott Garlick.

SENIOR ROSTER (17 out of 18)

DF — Willis Forko, Chris Lancos, Eddie Pope, Jack Stewart, Daniel Torres. MF — Freddy Adu, Mehdi Ballouchy, Kenny Cutler, Chris Klein, Jason Kreis, Carey Talley, Andy Williams, Joey Worthen. FW — Chris Brown, Jeff Cunningham, Atiba Harris, Luis Tejada.

SENIOR ROSTER PLAYERS RELEASED

DF — Kevin Novak, Scott Palguta. MF — Jared Kent.

DEVELOPMENT ROSTER (11 out of 10)

GK — Chris Seitz, *Chase Harrison, *Kyle Reynish. DF — Dustin Kirby. MF — Nik Besagno, Steven Curfman, Duke Hashimoto, Christian Jimenez, Jamie Watson. FW — Kyle Brown, Jeff Rowland.

DEVELOPMENT ROSTER PLAYERS RELEASED

DF — Haddon Kirk. MF — Brian Gil, Jonathan Bramwell.

*Note: Either Harrison or Reynish will mostly be released when RSL signs a veteran keeper.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com