SANDY, Utah (Friday, May 6, 2016) – Real Salt Lake hits the road, albeit in the Mountain Time Zone, Saturday at Colorado against regional rival Rapids at 7:00 p.m. MT in the first of five consecutive road matches while Rio Tinto Stadium undergoes installation of a new surface. Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s team (5-1-2, 17 points, West/MLS #1, w/ 2.13 points-per-game) resides atop Major League Soccer’s early-season Supporters Shield race, sharing the 17-point total with both Colorado (5-2-2, 17 points) and Dallas (5-3-2, 17 points) despite playing fewer games.
Back on April 9, RSL extended its home unbeaten run against the Rapids to 13 consecutive games with a 1-0 win, the impressive streak that has seen RSL outscore Colorado 22-5 on Utah soil dating back to Sept. 22, 2007. During that time, RSL has won nine of 13 games with four draws; however, the Rapids have captured two of the last three annual fan-created Rocky Mountain Cup series, buoyed by RSL’s road form that has seen the Claret-and-Cobalt win just twice in its last nine visits to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver. However, RSL is 5-1-2 in its last eight against Colorado overall, with both road wins coming in the last trio of trips to DSG Park.
Since the arrival of Captain Kyle Beckerman and DF Chris Wingert to RSL in the Summer of 2007, RSL has captured seven of the last nine Rocky Mountain Cups, and can secure its eighth in 10 seasons with a victory on Saturday. This weekend’s match will be televised in Utah via KMYU (English, David James & Brian Dunseth) or heard via RSL outlets ESPN700 AM (English, Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran). Pre-game coverage airs live locally on ESPN700 AM at 6:00 p.m. MT, while KMYU’s three-hour window kicks off at 6:30 p.m. MT live from Commerce City.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids
- Coverage Begins: 6:30 p.m. MT
- TV: KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) – David James & Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL at Colorado Matchup Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Colorado is available by clicking HERE.
2016 REAL SALT LAKE NOTES –
RSL @ COLORADO RAPIDS – Sat., May 7, 2016 – 7:00 p.m. MT
EARLY PACING BODES WELL FOR RSL: Last week’s 2-1 home win over Houston improved RSL to 5-1-2 with a league-leading 17 points (tied with 5-2-2 Colorado and 5-3-2 Dallas) … RSL’s MLS-best 2.13 points-per-game average through eight games – 4 home / 4 away – puts the club on a record pace for 72 points in 2016, a pacing which will surely be tested on the upcoming 5-game road trip, the longest stretch away from Utah in RSL history …
POINTS FROM A LOSING POSITION: RSL’s early-season pair of comeback wins at home – on both March 12 and April 30, both recovering from an 0-1 deficit to capture the full three points against Seattle and Houston – replicates a feat that occurred just once in the club’s disappointing 2015 season … Last October 4, RSL ventured on the road in Colorado to rebound from an early deficit to win, 2-1, on a Luke Mulholland blast, in MLS game #30 a year ago …
ARGENTINE DUO POTENT FOR RSL: Thus far this season when MF Javier Morales and FW Juan Manuel Martinez are on the field together (256 minutes), RSL outscores its opponents by a 6-1 margin … On the offensive side, the Argentine duo bring a creative flair unlike many in MLS, with the combination of metronomic tempo and unpredictable flash providing a constant threat …
PLATA EXPECTED BACK AFTER TWO WEEK ABSENCE: RSL FW Joao Plata – out the last two weekends after suffering a hip flexor strain in training April 20 – could return at Colorado after putting in a full week of practice … Prior to his injury, Plata assaulted the league leaderboards, having scored or assisted in a six consecutive games (still an active personal streak), one off the club record (MF Javier Morales, Aug.-Sept. 2014) …
2016 HARDWARE ALREADY ON LINE SATURDAY: RSL enters Week 9 of season 12 of its club history seeking to capture its first piece of hardware this season, as a Claret-and-Cobalt win at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver would give RSL the coveted Rocky Mountain Cup for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons …
Colorado has won 2 of the last 3 RMCups, but RSL’s 1-0 win at Rio Tinto Stadium back on April 9 gives Jeff Cassar’s club the inside track on securing the 2016 trophy … Two of the Rapids’ most influential players – MF Jermaine Jones and FW Kevin Doyle – missed the April 9 contest, while RSL maestro Javier Morales did not start the match, but was influential on both Joao Plata’s 72’ game-winner and another Yura Movsisyan goal that was ruled offside …
BOTH SIDES OF SPECTRUM IN 2015 VISITS TO DSG PARK: In the club’s last trip across the Rockies to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, RSL rode scintillating first-half strikes from FW Joao Plata and MF Luke Mulholland to erase an early 0-1 deficit and grab the full 3 points from the Rapids …
While that victory was enough to keep the club’s distant playoff hopes alive, RSL was unable to add a necessary third goal to retain the Rocky Mountain Cup, essentially captured by Colorado in a bizarre ending to the clubs’ July 11 encounter in Commerce City …
In that match, RSL took a late 1-0 lead through FW Sebastian Jaime, who received a red card just minutes after his goal, at which time the Rapids had equalized … Colorado seized the opportunity provided by the man-advantage, scoring the game-winner at 91+ and ultimately bagging an empty-net goal long after announced stoppage time had passed, essentially clinching the 2015 Rocky Mountain Cup at 97+ …
EARLY-SEASON ROAD WARRIORS: RSL fared well away from home early on in 2016, as Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s club kicked off the MLS season unbeaten with a 1-0-2 mark in the three road matches that dotted of its first four games … RSL still must play nine of first 13 away from home for the deepest glut of road games in RSL’s 12 seasons … The 2-1 win over Seattle back on March 12 was just one of four home MLS matches for RSL prior to June 18 of this year, as the club’s run of five straight away games from May 7 to June 2 is the longest in RSL history … This week’s Rocky Mountain Cup contest kicks off an April stretch that sees RSL host Colorado, Vancouver and Houston in Sandy this month, surrounding an April 23 trip to LA to face the Keane-less Galaxy …
RIO TINTO STADIUM FIELD RENOVATION IN MAY: The main impetus on RSL’s early-season / road-heavy slate is due to a May 1 – June 15 field replacement at the world-class Sandy venue … An exact replication of the base and field surface is planned, as RSL has played 161 games at home since the Oct. 9, 2008 opener …
RIOT AT THE RIOT IN BACK HALF OF SEASON: However, following the field renovation and the league-wide Copa America break in early June, RSL will play four of its next five and six of its next eight at home, leading into the annual MLS All-Star Break in late July … RSL also sees another late-season stretch of six out of eight at home from late August to late October, prior to the season finale at Seattle on Oct. 23 …
MOVING ON WITHOUT MAUND IN MIDDLE: Midway through the first half last week against Houston, RSL DF Aaron Maund suffered a hamstring strain after getting tangled up in a tackle from behind by Dynamo FW Giles Barnes, forcing the former Notre Dame man out in the 36th minute …
To that point of the year, Maund had been the lone RSL player to have played every minute of the season (666 in MLS play, 180 in CCL action), emerging from deep on the 2015 preseason depth chart to have now started 37 of RSL’s last 40 games across all competitions …
Only DF Tony Beltran and FW Yura Movsisyan join Maund in having appeared in all 10 RSL matches across all competitions this season … Maund is expected to miss 2 weeks after receiving PRP therapy on his right hamstring on Monday …
