Sal attended UCLA where he earned All-American honors and was selected the Pac 10 Freshman Player of the Year. Sal then represented the U.S. at the U18 and U20 levels before turing professional in July of 2007 after a successful U20 World Cup in Canada for the United States. He signed to the German Bundesliga club, Hannover 96, for a three-year contract. In October of 2009 however, Sal suffered a knee injury missing the 09-10 season. In July of 2010, Chivas USA acquired Sal through a weighted lottery conducted by MLS. In February of 2011, he was traded to the MLS expansion team, Portland Timbers.