TUCSON, Arizona (Friday, February 3, 2017) – Real Salt Lake finished off its preseason stint in Arizona with a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. RSL finishes the Arizona trip with a 1-0-2 record after drawing with NK Istra on Saturday and topping the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday.
RSL was the beneficiary of an own goal in the first half, but Chris Wondolowski equalized for the Earthquakes before halftime and a scoreless second half saw the match end in a tie.
Head Coach Jeff Cassar used two different lineups in the 90-minute match, with each squad seeing 45 minutes. Among the starters was MF Albert Rusnák and the Slovakian playmaker made his presence felt with a slew of early shots and dangerous possession in the match.
Rusnák quickly combined well with FW Joao Plata and FW Yura Movsisyan and was instrumental in the RSL’s only goal of the day. In the 17th minute, Rusnák and Movsisyan worked their way into the box on a counter attack with Movsisyan getting deep in the box on the right side before cutting a pass back for the trailing Rusnák. While the pass was cut off by San Jose defender Victor Bernardez, he redirected the ball off of his own goal post and in for an own goal, giving RSL the 1-0 lead.
While Salt Lake held momentum throughout the first 30 minutes, San Jose found the equalizer in the 32nd minute. Cordell Cato rushed up the right side and crossed for Shea Salinas in the box. Salinas dropped the ball back to Wondolowski, who blasted a shot from just outside the box that found the net to even the match at 1-1.
In the second half, both teams switched lineups and RSL had a chance to take the victory in the 89th minute when FW Jordan Allen was taken down in the box for a penalty. Former San Jose FW Chad Barrett took the PK, but missed high and the match finished in a 1-1 draw.
RSL now returns to Utah for the off weekend, but will return to the field Tuesday when the club shifts training camp to Portland for three matches in the Simple Invitational. All matches from Providence Park will be streamed on RSL.com.
REAL SALT LAKE 1-1 SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Tucson, Arizona
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 0 1
San Jose Earthquakes 1 0 1
Scoring Summary:
RSL: OG (Victor Bernardez) 17’
SJ: Chris Wondolowski (Shea Salinas) 32’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): Matt Van Oekel; Tony Beltran, David Horst, Justin Schmidt, Chris Wingert; Sunny, Nick Besler; Joao Plata, Albert Rusnák, Chandler Hoffman; Yura Movsisyan.
Second Half (4-2-3-1): Lalo Fernandez; Reagan Dunk, Aaron Maund, Chris Schuler, Demar Phillips (Max Lachowecki 86’); Luke Mulholland, Luis Silva; Ricardo Velazco (Andrew Brody 86’), Jose Hernandez, Jordan Allen; Chad Barrett.
