SANDY, Utah (Thursday, June 29, 2017) – Real Salt Lake continues its 2017 Major League Soccer campaign Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium against visiting Orlando City SC. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. MT, with post-game fireworks capping off a nationally-televised ESPN game which includes the return of former RSL luminaries Jason Kreis, C.J. Brown, Miles Joseph, Luis Gil and Donnie Toia. Orlando City is led by Brazilian legend Kaká, the last man not named Messi or Ronaldo to be named the FIFA World Player of the Year.
Real Salt Lake (5-11-2, 17 points, 11th West) seeks its fourth consecutive home victory at Rio Tinto Stadium, with the club welcoming back Slovakian international MF Albert Rusnák, who recently missed both the 1-0 home win over Minnesota and last week’s 2-1 loss at San Jose representing his country in the UEFA European U-21 group stage.
Real Salt Lake is now 5-8-0 since April 8 in its new era under Head Coach Mike Petke, a total which includes three consecutive one-goal home wins in recent weeks over NYCFC (2-1), Philadelphia Union (1-0) and Minnesota United (1-0).
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Orlando City – Fri., June 30, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 7:30 p.m. MT
- Local TV: ESPN – Dan Kelly & Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:30 p.m. MT) –Bill Riley & Jay Nolly, w/ Tom Hackett & Spencer Warne (pre-/post-game shows)
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Friday’s RSL v. Orlando City game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Friday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Orlando City is available HERE. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Matt Gaschk in the RSL Communications Department via email at mgaschk@RSL.com.
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season is ongoing, the third-year club the highest-scoring team in the Western Conference with 33 goals scored in just 14 games, claiming first place overall in the USL with an incredible 12-1-1 start and 37 points, three ahead (with a game in hand over 10-1-4 San Antonio, which suffered its first loss Saturday in Colorado Springs).
Head Coach Mark Briggs’ team – now on a 10-game unbeaten run following last week’s 1-1 draw at Phoenix, which snapped a league-record nine-game win streak – has allowed just five goals in the last 764 minutes ahead of Saturday’s trip to Tulsa to face the Roughnecks. Playmaker Sebastian Velasquez has earned four USL Team of the Week nods in the last seven weeks (and five overall), while moving near the top of the USL attacking charts with six goals and six assists on his campaign.
FW Chandler Hoffman ranks third overall in the USL with eight goals on the season, while MF Charlie Adams’ five assists is the third highest in USL. The Monarchs goalkeeping tandem of Lalo Fernandez and Connor Sparrow have combined for five shutouts, which would rank as the second-highest total.
The Monarchs then return to Rio Tinto Stadium this Wednesday, July 5 against OKC Energy (7:00 p.m. MT kickoff) with sights set on a ninth consecutive home victory and an extension of the club’s unbeaten run. In the club’s last home game against Reno, :
USL Winning Streaks (regular season)
9 games: Real Monarchs (April 22 – June 19, 2017)
8 games: Orlando City SC (2014)
7 games: Swope Park Rangers (2016-17)
7 games: Orlando City SC (2011-12)
7 games: New York Red Bulls II (2016)
The Monarchs enter July 5 on an eight-game HOME win streak at Rio Tinto Stadium, dating back to last season, an active run which currently ranks tied for third-best in the USL’s all-time record book:
USL Home Winning Streaks (incl. playoffs)
13 games: Orlando City SC (2014)
11 games: Rochester Rhinos (2015-16)
8 games: Real Monarchs (2016-present)
8 games: Swope Park Rangers (2016-17)
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, the Zions Bank Real Academy opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. Including the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium as well as the Zions Bank Training Center, the Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science / Technology / Engineering / Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls. View recent video of the Zions Bank Real Academy project HERE.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona