SANDY, Utah (Friday, March 18, 2016) - Real Salt Lake continues its 12th MLS campaign tomorrow against Western Conference rival Portland, hitting the road to the Pacific Northwest Saturday at 8:00 p.m. MT, as Head Coach Jeff Cassar's team seeks to improve upon the club's unbeaten 1-0-1 (4 points) mark against the defending MLS Cup Champion Timbers.
RSL is unbeaten in its last six games played at Providence Park, posting a 3-0-3 mark across all competitions - regular-season and playoffs - since dropping its first-ever trip to Portland back on May 1, 2011, losing 0-1 just 72 hours after a home loss in the CONCACAF Champions League Final against Monterrey. Last week, RSL won 2-1 at home over Seattle, erasing an early 0-1 deficit with goals late in each half to earn points from a losing position, something that happened just once last year, and not until MLS game #30 at Colorado last season.
Saturday's game will be televised in Utah via KMYU (English, David James & Brian Dunseth) or heard via RSL outlets 105.1 FM (English, Jeremy Horton, Spencer Warne & Brian Kamler) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran). Pre-game coverage airs live locally on 105.1 FM at 7:30 p.m. MT, while KMYU's three-hour window kicks off at 8:00 p.m. MT live from Portland.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ Portland Timbers
• Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT
• TV: KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) - David James & Brian Dunseth
• English Radio: 105.1 FM (7:30 p.m. MT) - Brian Kamler, Jeremy Horton, Spencer Warne
• 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 @ Portland 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 Portland is available by clicking HERE.
2016 REAL SALT LAKE NOTES -
RSL @ PORTLAND TIMBERS - Sat., March 19, 2016 - 8:00 p.m. MT
RARE WIN SANS MORALES TALISMAN: RSL's victory last week without MF Javier Morales, the team's midfield maestro out with a hip injury suffered in the 2-2 draw at Orlando, was the first in eight games played without the 10th-year Argentine since May 14, 2015, in a 2-1 win at Chicago ...
POINTS FROM A LOSING POSITION: RSL's comeback last week from an 0-1 deficit to capture the full three points against Seattle in the second game of the season 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 ...
EARLY-SEASON ROAD WARRIORS: RSL is back on the road for Saturday's match, the latest in a stretch that sees Head Coach Jeff Cassar's club kick off the MLS season with three of its first four games, and nine of first 13, away from home for the deepest glut of road games in RSL's 12 seasons ... Last week's 2-1 win over Seattle 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 ...
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 ...
RIMANDO HEROICS STONE TIMBERS ARMY: RSL GK Nick Rimando - known affectionately as "The Wall of the Wasatch," even by Portland fans - has earned respect, admiration and begrudging love from the Timbers Army, as Major League Soccer's all-time shutout leader (123 and counting) enters Saturday on a 385-minute clean sheet streak ... Rimando has made 19 saves - several of the spectacular variety - since allowing a 65th-minute goal to Darlington Nagbe back on March 31, 2012 ...
PLATITA FLYING HIGH TO PACE RSL ATTACK: RSL FW Joao Plata has scored or assisted on all five of RSL's goals in CONCACAF and MLS play this season, assisting twice last week in the 2-1 win over Seattle, his first multi-assist game since Aug. 30, 2013 - against Portland ... Plata's helpers on the Sunny and Jamison Olave goals came just a week after scoring both goals in the club's 2-2 season-opening draw at Orlando on March 6 in his second-ever multi-goal game for RSL in 76 MLS appearances with the Claret-and-Cobalt, and the team's first road brace since Plata found the back of the net twice in May, 2014, at Dallas ... The diminutive Ecuadoran also scored in RSL's 1-1 home draw with Tigres on March 2 ...
SUNNY #127 ... AND NOW #62: RSL MF Sunny on Saturday headed home a Plata corner kick in the 44th minute against Seattle to knot the game at 1-1, becoming the 62nd player in RSL history to find the back of the net for the Claret-and-Cobalt ... A week earlier in Orlando, Sunny became the club's 127th player to have appeared in an MLS match in the team's first 12 seasons ...
