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Men’s soccer’s Milan Iloski signs deal with professional soccer team Real Salt Lake

UCLA men’s soccer’s junior forward Milan Iloski set a program record for most goals scored in a single game – scoring five against San Diego State on Oct. 6. (Daanish Bhatti/Daily Bruin)

By Jared Tay

Jan. 15, 2020 12:57 a.m.

Milan Iloski is headed to the pros.

The junior forward for UCLA men’s soccer will forgo his senior year in Westwood, signing a deal with Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake on Monday, J.R. Eskilson, a reporter at TopDrawerSoccer first reported. UCLA Athletics confirmed Tuesday that Iloski had signed with the team.

The deal comes less than one week after the MLS SuperDraft, in which no Bruin was selected over the four rounds. Last year, then-freshman midfielder Frankie Amaya was selected as the first overall pick and then-senior midfielder Anderson Asiedu was selected No. 24.

Eight days before the 2019 SuperDraft, then-senior defender Erik Holt signed a homegrown deal with Real Salt Lake and joined the club for the 2019 season.

Iloksi – also a Real Salt Lake homegrown player – spent time with Real Salt Lake Arizona’s U17/U18 team, scoring 16 goals over 36 matches.

In his breakout junior season for the Bruins, Iloski was tied for fourth in the NCAA in goals scored, with his 17 goals for the Bruins accounting for almost 59% of his team’s scoring. He accounted for over a third of UCLA’s total shots and over 40% of the Bruins’ shots on target in 2019.

Iloski led the team in points with 36, while the next two Bruins – sophomore midfielders Riley Ferch and Cody Sundquist – tallied 11 and 8, respectively.

Against San Diego State on Oct. 6, Iloski set a program record for most goals scored in a single game, scoring five goals against the Aztecs. Previously, the record had been set at four goals on three separate occasions – in 1990, 1996 and 1997.

A month prior, Iloski registered a hat trick against the then-defending national champion Maryland, propelling UCLA to a 3-2 win.

Iloski received a slew of postseason awards, including a First Team selection to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team. Throughout the month of December, Iloski was selected to the First Team All-Far West Region and named a Second Team All-American by College Soccer News.

Last year, Real Salt Lake finished in third place in the Western Conference of the MLS with 53 points, but scored only 46 goals. The offensive output was second-to-last in the conference, with only Vancouver Whitecaps FC having scored less.

Real Salt Lake will begin the 2020 season Feb. 29 against Orlando City SC, with the MLS regular season running until early October.

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Jared Tay | Sports senior staff
Tay is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the men's basketball beat. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, men's tennis, cross country and women's tennis beats. Tay was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
Tay is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the men's basketball beat. He was previously an assistant Sports editor for the baseball, men's soccer, men's tennis, cross country and women's tennis beats. Tay was previously a contributor on the men's tennis beat.
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