SANDY, Utah (Friday, April 8, 2016) – Real Salt Lake returns home for its first true homestand of the 2016 MLS campaign tomorrow against regional rival Colorado Rapids Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MT. Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s team is one of just two sides unbeaten in MLS play through four weeks with a 2-0-2 (8 points, West 3rd) mark, with RSL seeking to capitalize on April’s home stretch. The Claret-and-Cobalt call Rio Tinto Stadium home for three of the next four games this month, as only a quick road trip to LA on the 23rd taking the club away from the Mountain time zone, where it hosts Colorado and Vancouver the next two Saturdays and Houston on April 30.
While RSL is unbeaten in its last 12 home regular-season games played against Colorado dating back to Sept. 22, 2007 – winning eight of the 12 with four draws – the Rapids have captured two of the last three fan-created Rocky Mountain Cup series. RSL has won seven of the 11 all-time regional cups in the rivalry, outscoring the Rapids 21-5 in the last 12 meetings on Utah soil (Colorado last won at Rice-Eccles in April, 2007).
Saturday’s game 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 with a special presentation from the AFCU Pavilion at 5:30 p.m. MT, while KMYU’s three-hour window kicks off at 7:00 p.m. MT live from Sandy.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids
- Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
- TV: KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) – David James & Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (5:30 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 vs. Coorado 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 vs. COLORADO RAPIDS – Sat., April 9, 2016 – 7:30 p.m. MT
RSL DEPTH CHARGE SINKS KANSAS CITY: RSL captured an unexpected 3 points on the road last week in Kansas City, a 2-1 victory despite the absence of five starters due to injury or suspension … Missing iconic players Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando, Javier Morales, Jamison Olave and Burrito Martinez, Jeff Cassar’s side traveled to Kansas City and outshot the previously perfect SKC side 15-9 (8-3 on goal), with DF Justen Glad and MF Luke Mulholland finding the back of the net and only a disputed PK call soiling GK Jeff Attinella’s shutout bid … MF John Stertzer and FW Jordan Allen also excelled for RSL, now 1-0-2 away from home this season …
SUNNY #127 … AND NOW GLAD #63 – WHO’S NEXT?: Back on March 12 at home against Seattle, RSL MF Sunny headed home a Joao 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 on March 6 in Orlando, Sunny became the club’s 127th player to have appeared in an MLS match in the team’s first 12 seasons … Last week’s header by DF Justen Glad to give RSL the early lead at Kansas City – also on a Plata set piece – gave the 19-year old his first-ever MLS goal and made “mini-Borchers” the 63rd career goalscorer for the Claret-and-Cobalt …
MULHOLLAND STRIKES FROM DISTANCE FOR GAME-WINNER: RSL MF Luke Mulholland scored for the third consecutive season in his first start of the year, as Saturday’s game-winner from distance at Kansas City was reminiscent of his late first-half bomb at Colorado in a similar situation, also a 2-1 victory for RSL … Mulholland also found the back of the net in a 3-3 draw at San Jose in 2014 and in the 2-1 win over Toronto last year, each his first starts of the campaigns … Saturday’s goal was Luke first since last October at Colorado, and the 10th of his MLS career for RSL … Mulholland is the 16th player in RSL’s history to hit double-digit goal totals …
PLATITA FLYING HIGH TO PACE RSL ATTACK: RSL FW Joao Plata continued his assault on the league statistic leaderboards, adding another assist in Kansas City on the Justen Glad goal to bring his 2016 total to 3 goals / 3 assists on the young season … The diminutive Ecuadoran was all over the pitch at Children’s Mercy Park just 48 hours after being named the Etihad MLS Player of the Month for March, a month which saw Plata – now in his fourth season with RSL - score 3 goals and 2 assists in three MLS games to pace the RSL attack … Plata has now scored or assisted on seven of RSL’s nine goals in CONCACAF and MLS play this season, with only FW Yura Movsisyan’s “strip-streak” past Nat Borchers 3/19 at Portland and last week’s long-range Luke Mulholland seeing-eye blast outside Plata’s influence …
HARDSHIP RULE INVOKED: With suspensions affecting last weekend’s availability for RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman and DF Jamison Olave (both receiving red cards in the March 19th 2-2 draw at Portland), as well as Argentine FW Juan Manuel Martinez (MLS Disciplinary Committee suspension for late tackle on March 19 at Portland), Head Coach Jeff Cassar also dealt with injuries to MF Javier Morales (broken ribs), FW Emery Welshman (hip flexor), FW Olmes Garcia (ankle), MF Omar Holness (shoulder), DF Boyd Okwuonu (concussion), DF Phanuel Kavita (knee) and MF Fito Ovalle (personal) …
Those absences allowed the invocation of Major League Soccer’s “Extreme Hardship” rule in advance of the April 2 game at Kansas City, the rule allowing clubs to sign players 25-years-old or younger from their USL affiliate on loan for MLS season games … The “hardship” exists when an MLS club has fewer than 15 total players available or when an MLS club with three goalkeepers on its roster has fewer than two goalkeepers available … Based on the previous week’s performances with the USL Real Monarchs and RSL’s positional depth needs, DF Emilio Orozco and MF Andrew Brody joined the team on the weekend jaunt to Kansas City …
RSL’s RECENT RED CARD EPIDEMIC: In the March 19 2-2 draw at Portland, RSL saw MF Kyle Beckerman and DF Jamison Olave each ejected, RSL’s second and third red cards in the young MLS season … Following DF Demar Phillips’ ejection 22 minutes into the March 6 opener at Orlando, the ejections continue a disturbing trend, as 2015 saw the club set a dubious new mark for RSL with 9 red cards in 34 games, surpassing the club’s season-record 7 set in 2013, 2011 and 2009 ...
Outside MLS competition last year, FW Olmes Garcia was shown a straight red for a late tackle behind play Aug. 12 at Kansas City in the 1-3 elimination from the Open Cup, while on Sept. 15 in the CCL, MF John Stertzer was ejected in the 81st after receiving his second yellow card just 6 minutes after his first, causing RSL to play with 10 men the final 10’ and forcing Stertzer out of the home Santa Tecla tilt ... Additionally, RSL head coach Jeff Cassar was dismissed in two games last year (Aug. 4 at VAN and July 11 at COL, post-game) ...
RSL has now played 424 games across all competitions in its 12-year history – 358 MLS reg. season, 21 MLS Cup Playoff, 23 Open Cup and 22 CONCACAF Champions League – and has been reduced to nine men in a game just 5 times, but 3 times since last April (43 games overall, 33 in MLS play) ...
The list:
Feb. 22, 2011 (CCL) @ Columbus - 0:0 T (Beltran/Borchers)
April 21, 2012 (MLS) @ San Jose - 1:3 L (Olave/Espindola)
April 18, 2015 (MLS) v Vancouver - 0:1 L (Olave/Saucedo)
June 24, 2015 (MLS) @ Red Bulls - 0:1 L (Morales/Phillips)
March 19, 2016 (MLS) @ Portland – 2:2 T (Beckerman/Olave)
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 …
