SANDY, Utah (Saturday, March 5, 2022) – Real Salt Lake continued its home dominance over Seattle Sounders FC with a 1-0 victory on Saturday night to extend the Club’s home-unbeaten streak against the “Rave Green” to 12 matches.
Forward Bobby Wood netted his third career RSL goal while Zac MacMath recorded his seventh clean sheet as a member of the Claret and Cobalt.
Postgame Video from RSL vs. SEA
With a capacity crowd of 20,017 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake started the game on the front foot, with several opportunities in the first few minutes, including a shot from Maikel Chang on the first play of the game. Despite some pressure from Seattle as the first half progress, RSL continued to maintain offensive control, pestering the Sounders’ backline. In the 33rd minute it seemed as if RSL had found the breakthrough goal when Andrew Brody sent a cross into an unmarked Pablo Ruiz, but his shot soared over the crossbar from eight yards.
Just minutes before the end of the second half, lightning within eight miles of the stadium forced the game into a weather delay. The teams returned to the pitch nearly two hours later to finish out the second half, with neither team getting a clear opportunity before the whistle.
The hosts came out of the short halftime and quickly took the advantage with Wood scoring in the 46th minute to take the lead. Chang found Wood in the middle of the box where after a deflection, the ball fell to Wood where he slammed a left-footed shot into the back of the net from close range.
In the final moments of the match RSL nearly doubled its advantage when second-half substitute Sergio Cordova broke down the field. Cordova’s shot was block and fell to an oncoming Ruiz, however his header skipped just over the crossbar and the match finished 1-0 in favor of the home side.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake head back on the road, traveling East to face the New England Revolution on Saturday, March 12 at 5:30 p.m. MT. The match marks one of four Eastern Conference road matches this season, with the other three being Atlanta United, CF Montreal and New York City FC. The team will return to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. MT where they will host Nashville SC.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
RSL: Bobby Wood, 46th minute: Receiving a pass from Justin Meram, Maikel Chang cut in towards goal before laying off the ball to Wood who quickly tuned and shot with his right foot. The initial shot was blocked by a Seattle defender, but Wood was able to maintain possession and slot it in with his left foot.
NOTES:
- Nick Besler, Zack Farnsworth, Damir Kreilach, Aaron Herrera, David Ochoa and Rubio Rubin were unavailable due to injury.
- Defender Marcelo Silva wore the captain’s armband while Damir Kreilach was out due to injury.
- The game went into a weather delay with three minutes remaining in the first half, pausing play for nearly two hours
- The match marked the first sell out for Real Salt Lake since September 25, 2019 when the team hosted LA Galaxy.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders FC
Date: March 5, 2022
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Weather: Overcast and 50 degrees
Attendance: 20,017
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 1 1
Seattle Sounders 0 0 0
RSL: Bobby Wood 46’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (3-5-2): Zac MacMath, Erik Holt, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva; Andrew Brody, Pablo Ruiz, Scott Caldwell, Justin Meram (Sergio Cordova 70’), Tate Schmitt; Maikel Chang (Jasper Loeffelsend 81’), Bobby Wood (Everton Luiz 85’)
Subs not used: Tomas Gomez, Bode Davis, Chris Garcia, Johan Kappelhof, Jonathan Menendez
Seattle Sounders (4-2-3-1): Stefan Frei; Xavier Arreaga, Jackson Rogen, Abdoulaye Cissoko (Yeimar Gomez Andrade 46’); Joao Paulo (Cristian Roldan 46’), Albert Rusnak (Obed Vargas 66’), Alex Roldan (Nouhou 46’), Reed Baker-Whiting, Keyln Rowe, Leo Chu (Jordan Morris 59’); Fredy Montero
Subs not used: Sam Adeniran, Stefan Cleveland, Danny Leyva
Stats Summary: RSL / SEA
Shots: 16 / 8
Shots on Goal: 6 / 4
Saves: 4 / 5
Corner Kicks: 6 / 2
Fouls: 8 / 6
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
SEA: Albert Rusnak (caution) 48’
RSL: Scott Caldwell (caution) 70’
SEA: Keyln Rowe (caution) 73’
RSL: Jasper Loeffelsend (caution) 90+1’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Nima Saghafi
Assistant Referees: Nick Uranga, Adam Garner
4th Official: Lukasz Szpala
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
