HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, September 13, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (11-9-10, 43 pts, 7th West) resumes action this week in preparation for both Wednesday’s 7:00p kickoff at Austin FC (15-9-6, 51 pts, 2nd West) and a quick turnaround for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. MT kickoff on State Street against visiting FC Cincinnati (7-17-5, 26 pts, 14th East), both matches critical to the very crowded MLS Cup Playoff qualification race.
RSL is unbeaten in five of its last six contests, posting a 2W-1L-3T mark since mid-August. However, the back-to-back shutouts suffered at LAFC on Sept. 4 and in Saturday’s scoreless draw with D.C. put the Utah side in jeopardy of going three consecutive matches without a goal for the first time in five seasons, since an April/May span back in 2017.
Wednesday’s match will be broadcast locally via KMYU (12 over the air, 22 satellite and 643 HD on cable), with streaming on the KSL Sports App, as well as ESPN700 AM radio. Spanish-speaking fans can tune in on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM, La Gran D 102.3 FM and KTUB 1600 AM for the local radio broadcast.
Real Salt Lake defeated Austin FC earlier this year, winning 2-1 back on May 14 in a comeback win capped by DF Andrew Brody’s 88th-minute banger. RSL fell 0-1 last year in its only previous trip to Austin, the second-year side occupying 2nd place in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference for most of the 2022 season.
Last Sunday’s 0-2 loss at League-leading LAFC snapped RSL’s second season-high four-game unbeaten run, as well as an active three-game road result streak. With four points from two games earlier last week at Dallas (1-1 road draw) and against Minnesota (3-0 home win), RSL owns the seventh-best points-per-game average amidst a very crowded Western table in the race for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Seven teams occupy 3rd – 9th places in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, separated by just 10 points, with anywhere from three-to-five games remaining, many of which against each other.
RSL kicked off another three-game week with a disappointing 0-0 home draw against D.C. United on Saturday at America First Field, falling to 8W-2L-5T at home this season. Under Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s leadership, RSL is now 12-4-5 (W-L-T) on Utah soil against MLS opponents, boasting an impressive 10-1-5 “bounceback” record in games following losses during the Mastroeni era. Tickets for Saturday’s match against visiting FC Cincinnati are available for what should be RSL’s 16th consecutive sellout on State Street can be purchased at www.RSL.com/tickets.
Real Salt Lake @ Austin FC
Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas
Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Wednesday’s RSL @ ATX Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS Game Guide in advance of Wednesday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Austin FC can be found here. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact Meg Van Dyk in RSL Communications via email at meg.vandyk@rsl.com
2022 Records: Real Salt Lake (11-9-10, 43 pts, 7th West); Austin FC (15-9-6, 51 pts, 2nd West)
