HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, July 5, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (8-5-5, 29 pts, 3rd West) kicks off a run that sees three of its next four 2022 MLS regular-season contests by welcoming the Colorado Rapids (5-8-4, 19 pts, 12th West) in the deciding match of the 2022 Rocky Mountain Cup Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL boss Pablo Mastroeni’s club – unbeaten in five of its last seven overall – returns home this week following Sunday’s 3-2 loss at Minnesota. Since assuming the Club’s head coaching reins last August, RSL has earned impressive “bounce-back” results in 10 of its 11 games following losses under Mastroeni, posting an 8-1-2 (W-L-T) mark.
The Claret-and-Cobalt are undefeated in its eight matches on Utah soil this year, posting a League-best 6-0-2 (W-L-T) home mark. Each of the Club’s eight Rio Tinto Stadium matches have exceeded the venue’s 20,000-seat capacity, a Club-record sellout streak from the beginning of the season. Please visit www.RSL.com/tickets to secure a seat for RSL’s glut of upcoming home rivalry games, as RSL hosts Colorado on Sat., July 9; Sporting Kansas City on Sun., July 17; and FC Dallas on Sat., July 23 as the Club looks to extend the most dominant home-field advantage in MLS since the Sandy, Utah venue opened in October, 2008.
Saturday’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.
RSL returns home on Sat., July 9 to decide the 2022 Rocky Mountain Cup against Colorado, seeking a win or draw to hoist the fan-created hardware for the 13th time in 17 occasions, not including the disputed / incomplete / Covid-19 affected 2020 competition. RSL and Colorado drew 1-1 in suburban Denver back on April 2, a Pablo Ruiz penalty kick cancelled out by a Mark Anthony Kaye goal.
RSL looks to extend its unbeaten 6-0-2 mark at home this season, capturing 20 of a possible 24 RioT points to vault the Utah side near the top of the MLS table, firmly ensconcing the Claret-and-Cobalt in the thick of the MLS Supporters Shield race. Since former U.S. World Cup star Mastroeni assumed the RSL helm, the Club is 10-2-2 at Rio Tinto Stadium, suffering back-to-back losses just once.
Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Rapids
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT
Saturday, July 9 at 8:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL v COL Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Colorado 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 (8-5-5, 29 pts, 3rd West); Colorado Rapids (5-8-4, 19 pts, 12th West)
OTHER 2022 RSL NOTES:
EXPECT LINEUP ROTATION THIS WEEK
RSL has seen 28 different players log MLS minutes this year, including 21 different starters through the first half of the season. With the Club cautiously optimistic about the return of Homegrown DF Justen Glad following the hamstring tweak that kept him out of Minnesota contention, others could return to the fold this week against Colorado (Saturday), at Atlanta (Wednesday) and against Kansas City (Sunday) in RSL’s second three-game week of the year (April 17-23; 0-1-2 @ NYC, v No. Colo., @ POR). FW Anderson Julio is fully healthy and able to go longer stretches following his late May return to RSL following six months without playing in Mexico and the hamstring strain suffered against Houston, while MF Diego Luna enjoyed his first full week of training with RSL upon his return from Honduras after helping lead the United States U-20 side to both 2023 FIFA World Cup Indonesia and 2024 Paris Olympic qualifying berths. MF Joni Menendez earned a handful of minutes two weeks ago against Columbus after nearly three months absent due to an adductor tear, while DF Johan Kappelhof started and went the full 90 minutes at Minnesota for the first time since March 19.
Including loanee DF Chris Kablan, eight players have now made their RSL debuts this season, including Bundesliga loanee Sergio Cordova & MLS free agents Scott Caldwell and Johan Kappelhof, homegrowns Jaziel Orozco & Bode (Davis) Hidalgo, MLS SuperDraft pick Jasper Löffelsend and Monarchs college free agent Pierre Reedy, a roster hardship addition prior to April 2 at Colorado.
BOUNCING BACK AT THE RIOT – POSSIBLY
The scoreless home draw against visiting Columbus back on June 25 was just the fourth time in 14 home games during the Pablo Mastroeni era that Real Salt Lake dropped points at home, the Utah side posting a 10-2-2 (W-L-T) mark dating back to last Fall as Pablo Mastroeni’s club – unbeaten in five of its last seven overall – returns home this Saturday following Sunday’s 3-2 loss at Minnesota. Since assuming the Club’s head coaching reins last August, RSL has earned results in 10 of its 11 games following losses under Mastroeni, posting an 8-1-2 (W-L-T) mark.
DOUBLING DOWN ON DEFENSE
Critical to RSL’s recent run of form – unbeaten in five of its last seven overall matches – is the staunch defense and near-flawless Zac MacMath goalkeeping which has seen RSL concede nine goals in its last 10 games, post five clean sheets and recording a 5-3-2 (W-L-T) mark over that span. Since the 0-6 loss on April 17 at NYCFC, the current run also sees RSL with a near-perfect 4-0-1 record at home, allowing just one goal at Rio Tinto Stadium, outscoring visitors 8-1, with seven unanswered goals being scored since an early 0-1 deficit to Austin back on May 14.
HOME SWEET HOME FOR MOST OF THE SUMMER
The 2-0 win over San Jose back on June 18 kicked off a run of home opportunity for RSL, as three of five matches and five of seven overall from June 18 – July 23 occur at Rio Tinto Stadium, where the Claret-and-Cobalt has posted a 6-0-2 (W-L-T) mark at home this season, capturing 20 of a possible 24 points throughout the first half of the year. All eight of the “RioT” contests have witnessed crowds of 20,000-plus, RSL opening a season with eight consecutive sellouts for the first time ever. The June 25 contest – the second in a run of 10 games in a 56-day span – set a new Club record of eight consecutive sellout crowds at any point in a season, set July-Sept. of 2015 (various 2014 attendance marks compromised by the “Pass of All Passes” program inclusion).
