SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 1, 2016) – Real Salt Lake dominated all aspects of Friday night’s matchup against D.C. United. With 20 shots, eight shots on goal and nearly 57 percent of possession, the game was there to be won, but a stoppage-time goal spoiled the victory in RSL’s sixth match in the last 18 days, and Salt Lake settled for the 1-1 draw.
FW Juan Manuel Martinez scored his sixth goal of the season, matching FW Yura Movsisyan for the team scoring lead as Movsisyan notched his first assist of the year in front of a stellar crowd of 20,389 at Rio Tinto Stadium Friday night. But the late equalizer from Jared Jeffrey left RSL with an 8-5-4 record as the Claret-and-Cobalt reaches the halfway point on the 2016 season.
Real Salt Lake was on the doorstep in the 17th minute as MF Javier Morales touched the ball off to Martinez at the top of the box. Martinez made a run up the left side before crossing for Movsisyan at the edge of the 18. He had two shots on the play but both were defended by a sprawling Bill Hamid for the first two of his eight saves on the night to keep the match scoreless.
For the half, RSL outshot D.C. 9-4 and forced Hamid into four saves, but couldn’t crack the net and after 45 minutes they went into the break scoreless at 0-0.
RSL finally broke through in the 57th minute when Martinez netted his sixth goal of the season.
Movsisyan got into the box up the left side and held up his run, as D.C. had it well defended. He dropped the ball back to Martinez entering the box up the middle. He cut around his defenders up the left side and then lofted the ball over Hamid and softly into the net for the 1-0 lead.
RSL continued to put D.C. under pressure, but chance after chance was thwarted by Hamid, including a breakaway by FW Olmes Garcia in the 90th minute.
Those missed opportunities left the door open for D.C. to net the equalizer and former RSL forward Fabian Espindola earned the assist on the play, sending a corner kick into the box for Jeffrey on a near post run. His header went uncontested and he found the back of the net for his first goal of the season, a stoppage-time equalizer to leave the final score at 1-1.
Real Salt Lake will take the rest of the weekend off and return to action on Saturday, July 9 against the Montreal Impact.
GAME NOTES – RSLvDCU
- RSL MF Sunday Stephen underwent successful surgery to repair a fractured orbital. He is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
- FW Yura Movsisyan earned Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month honors for June after netting three goals in three starts to help RSL to a 2-1-1 record in league play for the month, the lone defeat coming in the only match he didn’t start. He joins FW Joao Plata among RSL players to earn the honor after Plata was voted Player of the Month in March.
- With his first-half yellow card, DF Tony Beltran will serve a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation when RSL faces Montreal on July 9.
- Friday marked former RSL forward Alvaro Saborio’s first match as a visitor at Rio Tinto Stadium after his midseason trade to D.C. United last year. He left the field to a rousing ovation from the home fans in the 76th minute.
REAL SALT LAKE 1-1 D.C. UNITED
FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016
RIO TINTO STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 1 1
D.C. United 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
RSL: Juan Manuel Martinez (Yura Movsisyan) 57’
DCU: Jared Jeffrey (Fabian Espindola) 92+’
Misconduct Summary:
DCU: Taylor Kemp (Caution; Foul) 3’
RSL: Tony Beltran (Caution; Foul) 19’
RSL: Kyle Beckerman (Caution; Dissent) 42’
DCU: Bobby Boswell (Caution; Foul) 81’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Aaron Maund, Justen Glad, Demar Phillips (Chris Wingert 90’); Kyle Beckerman, Luke Mulholland; Juan Manuel Martinez, Javier Morales, Joao Plata (Olmes Garcia 82’); Yura Movsisyan.
Substitutes not used: Jeff Attinella, Omar Holness, Jamison Olave, Devon Sandoval, John Stertzer.
D.C. United (4-3-3): Bill Hamid; Sean Franklin, Kofi Opare, Bobby Boswell, Taylor Kemp; Marcelo Sarvas (Julian Buscher 75’), Nick DeLeon, Lamar Neagle; Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio (Alhaji Kamara 76’), Luciano Acosta (Jared Jeffrey 65’).
Substitutes not used: Travis Worra, Steve Birnbaum, Jalen Robinson, Rob Vincent.
Referee: Juan Guzman
Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Jonathan Johnson
Fourth Official: Baboucarr Jallow
Attendance: 20,389
Weather: Partly Cloudy and 88
