At this time a year ago, Damir Kreilach was recovering from back surgery, a microdiscectomy procedure in his lower back where doctors removed portions of a herniated disc on his spine to relieve pressure.
The procedure, for as successful as it was, cast a shadow over the 33-year-old team captain’s career. At the very least, it ended the season prematurely for the native of Vukovar, Croatia.
Now he’s better than ever.
Simply the perfect touch by Cap!!!! pic.twitter.com/gAll750Vt3
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 8, 2023
After scoring just one goal in five appearances a year ago prior to his injury, Kreilach has rejuvenated his game — and his Real Salt Lake squad’s hopes in Major League Soccer — with a team-high four goals and an assist in league play.
His own rejuvenation, though? Well, one could make an argument for some credit going to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
Kreilach’s two goals in RSL’s 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy earned the RSL midfielder/forward/utility star TheCup.us Player of the Round honors for the Quarterfinals.
Other nominees for Player of the Round included Houston Dynamo forward Ibrahim Aliyu, FC Cincinnati’s Alvaro Barreal and Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callendar. The Player of the Round award is voted on by TheCup.us staff, a select panel from the North American Soccer Reporters, and select backers of TheCup.us on Patreon (donors that pledge $10 or more).
The former Union Berlin midfielder who signed with Real Salt Lake in 2018 did his scoring on seven shots, including five shots on target.
So this was a good way to end the first half pic.twitter.com/56QJsxMNqf
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 8, 2023
He also had two goals in sparking Salt Lake’s 6-2 win over Las Vegas Lights FC in the club’s Open Cup opener, a first-ever road win in the early rounds of the Cup competition and first win since 2016.
Now RSL moves on to the US Open Cup Semifinals, where it will face former homegrown striker (and Round of 16 Player of the Round winner) Corey Baird and the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at Shell Energy Stadium (11:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports). The winner will advance to the Open Cup final against the winner of FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami.
It’s also helped spark his club’s season, turning around a brutal four-game losing skid and just two wins in the first nine weeks of the season into a run of form that includes its current five-match unbeaten run, an MLS-best 5-3-2 road record, and a 10-3-6 record in 19 games across all competitions in the past 75 days.
“I think overall, the confidence is here,” Kreilach said after the team’s 2-2 draw with Minnesota United. “The team found themselves in great shape, and we show this week-by-week — especially in away games, where we are the tough team to play against, as well as the second half against Minnesota. We played our game, with our identity, with who we are, and I think if we had another 2-3 minutes, we’d win that game. But we showed our identity, and that is to never give up. Because of that, I’m proud of this team.”