SANDY, Utah (Friday, August 19, 2016) – Real Salt Lake kicks off its late-season homestand this Saturday by welcoming league leaders FC Dallas to Rio Tinto Stadium for an 8:00 p.m. MT kickoff. The game will be televised via KMYU with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call, and can also 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 7:00 p.m. MT.
Saturday’s match against Dallas is the second of three meetings between the clubs this season, as the Texas side won 2-0 in the DFW MetroPlex back on June 25. The current MLS Supporters Shield leaders with a 13-6-6 record for 45 points from 25 games, Dallas returns to Rio Tinto Stadium again during the stretch run, arriving on the Wasatch Front a second time on Saturday, September 24. All-time, RSL owns a 9-5-4 mark in regular-season and playoff action at home against Dallas, which won 1-0 over RSL in its last visit (Oct. 2015).
RSL owns a 10-8-7 mark on the year, with 37 points, falling to 4th place in the West and 5th in the overall MLS Supporters Shield race with last Sunday’s 1-2 loss at Seattle. Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s team – now 6th-best in points-per-game in MLS w/ a 1.48 average – can pull within one point of the club’s entire 2015 total (41 points) with a win Saturday, in eight fewer games.
However, RSL will play six of its next eight MLS contests at Rio Tinto Stadium before returning to Seattle on October 23 in the 2016 #DecisionDay finale. Between Saturday and October 16, the Claret-and-Cobalt are well-positioned to take advantage of its dominant home-field history during the Western Conference stretch run.
RSL hosts the teams with which it is battling for the top seeds in the West, including front-runner Dallas twice, perennial rival LA Galaxy, Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado, Houston Dynamo and finally Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, October 16 in the home regular-season finale. During that span, RSL travels just twice, heading to Portland on September 10 and to San Jose on October 1.
RSL remains one of just four MLS teams unbeaten at home – 6-0-5 in MLS play and 6-0-8 overall (includes CCL and Open Cup). Despite a recent glut of home draws, since the beginning of 2008 RSL now boasts a 104-22-47 mark in its last 173 home games (all comps) in that span on Utah soil, during which it has outscored opponents by 175 goals (302-127), with an 83-17-40 reg. season mark (245/102), an 8-1-2 CCL record (21/7), a 5-2-2 playoff performance (11/4), with an 8-2-2 Open Cup mark (24/13).
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. FC Dallas
- Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Trey Fitz-Gerald
- 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 v. Dallas Matchup Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas is available by clicking HERE.
