SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, October 25, 2016) – RSL travels to LA Galaxy Wednesday night for an 8:30 p.m. MT kickoff in the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the Claret-and-Cobalt advancing to the postseason for the eighth time in the last nine seasons, but participating in the Knockout Round for the first time ever in the club’s 12-year history. Wednesday’s match will be televised locally in Utah via KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD), with pre-game coverage kicking off live at 8:00 p.m. MT from the StubHub Center with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call. The game will also air on ESPN 700 AM, with Bill Riley and Jay Nolly live from the StubHub Center, as pre-game radio coverage kicks off at 7:00 p.m. MT.
As the West #6 seed due to the club’s 1-2 loss at Seattle 48 hours ago on Sunday (combined with Kansas City’s 2-0 win over San Jose and Portland’s 1-4 loss at Vancouver), RSL hopes to vanquish LA Wednesday night and advance to one of two 2016 Western Conference Semifinal Series, hosting Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium on Sunday (kick time TBD) with a victory.
RSL PLAYOFF ROAD ONCE AGAIN GOES THROUGH GALAXY:
RSL and LA have squared off in the postseason several times in recent years, with RSL winning MLS Cup in 2009 over the star-studded Galaxy and eliminating LA in the West Semis in 2013, while the Galaxy slammed the RSL playoff door shut in both 2011 and 2014.
The clubs’ last postseason meeting in 2014 saw LA win 5-0 on aggregate, with all five goals scored at StubHub Center after GK Jaime Penedo stoned RSL in the Rio Tinto Stadium leg one.
In 2013, RSL lost in its visit to LA, a Sean Franklin blast from distance beating Nick Rimando for an 0-1 Semifinal deficit entering Leg Two at Rio Tinto. In the second leg, RSL DF Chris Schuler provided the series winner in OT, after a Sebastian Velasquez goal equalized early for RSL.
Back in 2011, when the Western Conference Final was a one-game affair, RSL lost 1-3 at what was then known as The Home Depot Center, former FW Alvaro Saborio equalizing just before halftime, Fabian Espindola hitting the crossbar just after the break, and the Claret/Cobalt ultimately succumbing to a signature Landon Donovan onslaught.
RSL and LA’s first-ever postseason meeting came in Seattle back in November, 2009, RSL representing the Eastern Conference, after an 11-12-7 reg. season pushed the West #5 season to the other side of the bracket in an eight-team playoff, RSL downing that year’s Supporters Shield winners, Columbus (4-2 on aggregate) and then winning a penalty-kick shootout at Chicago to advance to MLS Cup against the LA Galaxy.
RSL FW Yura Movsisyan saw his equalizing attempt saved by Donovan Ricketts just 17 minutes from time, but the putback by former Galaxy FW Robbie Findley gave RSL the momentum in a 1-1 regulation match heading to OT. After 30 scoreless minutes, GK Nick Rimando cemented his reputation as the “Wall of the Wasatch” with a sterling performance in PKs, earning MLS Cup MVP honors alongside current teammates Kyle Beckerman, Tony Beltran, Chris Wingert, Javier Morales (cruelly injured by David Beckham midway through the first half), Jamison Olave and Movsisyan.
SEVEN-GAME WINLESS STREAK ENTERING POSTSEASON:
RSL entered the final two months of the 2016 MLS reg. season hoping to parlay the momentum from back-to-back home wins in late August over Dallas and Colorado into a Supporters Shield run, as the 2-1 win over the Rapids on August 26 secured the club’s 8th Rocky Mountain Cup in the last 10 years and left RSL just two points adrift of Dallas atop MLS.
However, RSL went winless in its final 7 games of the season, posting an 0-4-3 mark to capture just 3 of 21 available points down the stretch, scoring just two goals in the final six matches, the slide beginning with a dramatic 3-3 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium against the Galaxy, one that saw FW Juan Manuel Martinez curl one home in the 94+ minute to complete the two-goal comeback and salvage a home point.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake at LA Galaxy – Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Knockout (West)
- Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT on WEDNESDAY
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Wednesday’s RSL @ LA Galaxy Matchup Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Wednesday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy will be available Tuesday evening by clicking HERE.
