One of the key signings was that of 18-year-old Mauricio "Pipo" Rodríguez, a slender footballer with a knack for scoring spectacular goals, having considerable power with either leg.
Led by "Pipo" Rodríguez, the squad became an all out attacking unit, displaying the flair that captured many of the neutral fan's attention.
One of the key moments occurred in the tail end of the season when CD Universidad traveled to California, United States to play a couple of exhibition matches with only 3 games left in the campaign.
Unfortunately, a 4-minute goal by Moises Gonzalez gave the "academia de oro" the victory which left a deflated "U" without the league title.
Universidad's inability to record victories against minnows such as Excelsior and Adler cost them dearly, as well as blowing 3–0 and 2–0 leads against Atletico Marte in the course of the campaign.
Universidad managed to qualify, finishing in a very modest 5th place and scoring only 18 goals; however, in the "Liguilla" Universidad's attacking prowess came to the front (scoring 15 goals – tops in the "Liguilla") and, ranked as outsiders to win the championship, were the last team to have a chance of overtaking Águila for the championship.
Tomás "Flaco" Pineda returned to CD Universidad after a successful spell with Juventud Olímpica and replaced René Puquirre in goal.
With other national footballers such as Victor "El Pato" Valencia, Eduardo "La Guapa" González,[1] Celso Jurado, Mauricio "Chino" Quintanilla and Wilfredo Peñate, Universidad had an outstanding team that could vie for the championship.
In addition, "Pipo" Rodríguez also brought an 18-year-old footballer who would become one of El Salvador's most talented players of all time, Norberto "Pajarito" Huezo.
It all started well, when prior to the season, Universidad won the "Torneo Relámpago", a mini tournament which consisted of the 10 teams in first division playing 10-minute games against each other on a knockout format.
In spite of an inaugural 1–1 tie against perennial powers Águila, Universidad quickly climbed to the top of the table by winning their next 6 games.
Important wins against newly promoted Platense (1–0) – a side that would become champions, Atlético Marte (4–1), Negocios Internacionales (3–1), Alianza (1–0) and FAS (1–0) in the first round laid out their intentions.
However, after remaining unbeaten in their first 11 games (8 wins and 3 ties), injuries to key players such as "Flaco" Pineda and Tony Rojas, which kept them on the sidelines throughout most of the second half of the season, slowed Universidad's progress and their faltering form saw them miss out of the play-offs to Platense and Atlético Marte.
Tomas "El Flaco" Pineda departed to Luis Ángel Firpo leaving Juan "Gatti" Méndez (acquired from Municipal Limeño) in charge of goal.
Mauricio "Chino" Quintanilla had matured into the team's main attacking threat alongside the talented Tony Rojas.
Universidad recorded several impressive results, defeating FAS and Atlético Marte 1–0, Sonsonate 4–0 and the highlight of their season, a comprehensive 2–0 victory over Águila over a rainy "Flor Blanca" field in the second round, with Victor Donato majestically exerting his influence in midfield.
However, in the return match, Universidad was a mere shadow of the team that had previously dismantled Águila and allowed their opponents complete control of midfield.
Universidad played against FAS for 3rd/4th place devoid of foreign footballers and managed a respectable 1–1 half-time score before losing 1–4.
For the remainder of the decade, Universidad cut back on reinforcements (Tony Rojas, Victor Donato, Juan Méndez, Roy Saénz all left the team) due to limited financial resources and was constantly battling relegation, finishing in 11th, 9th, 10th place, when finally, during the 1979–80 season, was relegated to the second division (Liga B).
After eliminating El Roble, they defeated the highly fancied Once Municipal over two legs 3–1 in the semi-finals, before they went on to defeat Fuerte Aguilares 3–1 in the grand final and being crowned champion of the 2010 Clausura on 2 June 2010 at the Estadio Cuscatlán.futboldelsalvador.com Thanks to winning the 2010 Clausura, it gave them an opportunity to face 2009 Apertura champion Once Municipal for the only spot to be promoted to the first division.
Universidad de El Salvador, after a long battle in the season against Dragón, succumbed again to the relegation during the 2017 Clausura tournament.
[2] Two away defeats in a row against Águila (2–3) and Alianza (0–2) at the Estadio Cuscatlán, put the team in a very compromised situation in the relegation battle.
The team emerges again after many administrative and bureaucratic problems, being led by national coach and former UES player Santiago Iraheta in the project at the Tercera División.
The team is composed mostly of students of the Universidad de El Salvador also highlighting some experienced players like Sergio Calero and Javier Durán, who were part of the youth reserves of CD UES in the Primera División.
The Scarlet Fury (La Furia Escarlata), accompanying the team since it was in the Ascent League of El Salvador, is the latest organized crowd.
La Furia Escarlata is the crowd with the largest number of blankets in quantity and size, recently organized in subsidiaries, each in each faculty of UES.