HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, October 19, 2023) – Real Salt Lake (13-12-8, 47 pts., t-5th West) concludes its 2023 regular season Saturday night at Colorado Rapids (5-16-12, 27 pts., 14th West) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., for 2023 “Decision Day” ahead of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, which start next week.
With a win on Saturday, and either a Seattle loss or a Houston loss/draw, RSL would move into the top four in the Western Conference and hold home-field advantage in the Round One “Best of Three” series of the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs to be played Oct. 28 – Nov. 12. RSL could hold the first tiebreaker (total season wins) with Seattle, Houston and Vancouver, should it set a new single-season Club record by defeating Colorado for a fourth time this year across all competitions on Saturday.
Saturday’s kickoff starts at 7:00p MT on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass w/ Erik Krakauer and Lloyd Sam (ENG) and Juan Arango and Carlos Suarez (SPN). For local coverage, tune in at 6:00p MT for KSL Radio pre-game w/ David James & Jay Nolly via www.KSLSports.com / 1280 AM / 97.5 FM and www.KSLNewsRadio.com / 1160 AM).
Real Salt Lake @ Colorado Rapids– MLS Matchday 39
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, Colo.
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 – 7:00p MT
TOP FOUR SEED STILL TO PLAY FOR :: With only Decision Day remaining, Real Salt Lake (13-12-8, 47 pts., t-5th West) has already officially clinched a postseason berth into the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, possibly finishing anywhere from third to sixth in the West table … RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni – the ONLY active boss in the West to lead his side to three consecutive postseason berths – enters the final regular season match in pursuit of a top-four seed in the West, coming from behind last week at LA Galaxy from an 2-0 deficit to finish 2-2 and earn a point in what was its “game in hand” over all other contenders …
Now, with 47 points accumulated through 33 games of the 2023 MLS campaign, Real Salt Lake enters the final weekend of the season as part of a five-team glut from 2nd to 6th place in the Western Conference separated by just three points in the race for a top-4 seed in the West bracket of the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, with RSL guaranteed its first home postseason match since 2019 … Please visit www.RSL.com/tickets for postseason ticket information …
With a win Saturday, RSL can accomplish two things in addition to possibly capturing the top-4 seed: A) it can earn its first 50-point season since 2019, and just its second time in the last 10 post-Jason Kreis seasons; and B) defeat its #RockyMtnCup rival Colorado for a fourth time in as many games across all competitions, setting a new single-season standard in the Club’s 19-year history (RSL defeated Chivas USA three times in 2013, capturing a perfect 9 available points) …
ROAD WARRIORS REDUX :: Real Salt Lake’s road record of 7-5-4 (25 pts.) is the best in the West, the seven MLS wins – as well as its 10 road wins across all competitions – establishing new Club records for road wins in a single-season … A victory on Decision Day at Colorado could potentially allow RSL to secure the No. 3 seed in the West, leapfrogging Seattle, Vancouver and Houston and giving RSL home-field advantage in the Round One “Best of 3” series in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, which begin in late October …
SAVE THE PLAYOFF DATES :: This year’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs kick off with the Wild Card Round on Wednesday, Oct. 25, with a new “Best-of-Three” Round One series kicking off on Sat., Oct. 28 and running through the weekend of Nov. 12 … Following the November FIFA break, the Conference Semifinals (Nov. 26 weekend), Conference Finals (Dec. 2 weekend) and MLS Cup 2023 (Sat., Dec. 9) will determine this season’s MLS Cup Champion and any remaining 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup berth …
