No Real Salt Lake players on MLS All-Star team

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales won't be going to the MLS All-Star Game after all — at least not as a first choice.

The remaining seven MLS all-stars who will face West Ham United in Toronto on July 25 were announced Tuesday afternoon, and Morales was not on the list.

New England coach Steve Nicol, the all-star coach this year, selected New York's Juan Pablo Angel, Toronto's Jim Brennan, Houston's Pat Onstad and Colorado's Christian Gomez and Pablo Mastroeni with his five additions to the first 11 who were announced last week.

MLS commissioner Don Garber rounded out the 18-man roster by adding Edson Buddle of Los Angeles and Dwayne DeRosario of Houston with his "commissioner's picks."

Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey said he was disappointed about Morales being overlooked but not entirely surprised.

"I think he's been our best player and is richly deserving of it," said Lagerwey. "However, I also would acknowledge Javier hasn't played a ton of games in our league yet and may not be that well-known yet."

Morales is second in the league with seven assists and second on RSL with three goals.

A secondary all-star team, done primarily for contractual purposes with the MLS Players Union because the league no longer has a true East-West all-star game, will be named within a week. Morales and several other RSL teammates will likely end up on that list.

Upwards of three of the secondary all-stars will likely still be a part of the 18-man roster that takes on West Ham United. U.S. Soccer is expected to announce its roster for the Olympics on Thursday, and several MLS All-Stars are expected to be on that list. Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan and Columbus' Robbie Rogers are virtual locks, and L.A.'s Landon Donovan is expected to be included as one of the three overage players.

Their absences might open the door for Morales to be named to the MLS team.

Either way, Lagerwey believes Morales' initial snub reiterates how Real Salt Lake is viewed around the league.

"It's worth saying that I don't know that many other teams respect us yet. I think we're still viewed as a fluke," said Lagerwey. "Other teams perceive it as we win our games at home because of the terrible field and altitude, and until we can win on the road consistently we're not going to earn other teams' respect."

RSL, which moved into first place in Western Conference last weekend, is 5-0-5 at home but only 1-6-0 on the road this season.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com

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