2015 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP – SEMIFINAL
PREGAME FACTS AND INFO SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE @ SPORTING KANSAS CITY
WED., AUGUST 12, 2015 – 6:30 pm MT
on USsoccer.com/YouTube, ESPN700 AM & 102.3 LaGranD
0
– road wins all-time by RSL in its 11 years of LHUSOC play, posting an 0-7-1 mark, including 0-5-1 against MLS teams … RSL did advance via a shootout at San Jose in 2010 … RSL has also never won here at Sporting Park, dropping games in 2011 and 2012 prior to MLS Cup 2013’s shootout loss (technically a draw), and notching 0-0 clean sheet draws in 2014 and 2015 for an all-time 0-2-3 record at one of North America’s finest venues …
2
– appearances in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals by Utah teams in now 102 iterations of the tourney, previously accomplished by Real Salt Lake back in 2013 during the club’s run to the Final, as well as this season … RSL has advanced to the QuarterFinal stage in 2006, 2011, 2013 and now 2015 …
3
– RSL men
Elias Vasquez
,
Olmes Garcia
and
Devon Sandoval
starting tonight after appearing last Tuesday in Guatemala AND Saturday in Vancouver, Vasquez and Garcia going 180 minutes in each of those games, Sandoval amassing 94 …
4
– teams to suffer 3 or more losses to RSL in a single season in the last 4 years, IF RSL can manage to defeat Kansas City tonight … RSL has posted a 2-0-1 mark against SKC this season, drawing 0-0 at Sporting Park in April prior to a pair of 2-1 wins at Rio Tinto Stadium in June and July … RSL swept Colorado in 3 matches last year, after posting 4 wins against Portland in 2013 and 3 against the Timbers in 2012 …
6
– players tied for RSL’s all-time LHUSOC scoring lead, with 3 goals all-time, as active players
Kyle Beckerman, Devon Sandoval, Joao Plata
and
Javier Morales
, as well as former players
Andy Williams
– now a scout for the club – and Jason Kreis all have found the back of the net the trio of occasions in Cup or qualifying action …
7
– consecutive playoff berths for RSL from 2008-14 (the longest active run in MLS), during which time the club has averaged 1.58 points per game) … RSL also owns a league-record 5 consecutive seasons with 15+ wins and 50+ points, matching LA’s active run from 2010 to present …
8
– changes to tonight’s starting XI from Saturday, as RSL boss
Jeff Cassar
has reinserted GK
Nick Rimando
, DF
Tony Beltran
, Captain
Kyle Beckerman
and MF
Javier Morales
– none of whom traveled to Vancouver – into tonight’s lineup, where they will be joined by DF
Demar Phillips
, DF
Aaron Maund
, MF
Luke Mulholland
and FW
Sebastian Jaime
, each of whom were on the bench but did not play in Saturday’s 0-4 debacle …
9
– with a win tonight, RSL would advance to the club’s NINTH final of a conference, league, domestic or continental variety since 2008, as it seeks to add hardware to a trophy case which includes only MLS Cup 2009 and the Eastern/Western Conference silverware from 2009/2013 …
10
– all-time road or neutral site elimination games in RSL’s 11-year history including tonight’s LHUSOC Semi at Kansas City, the club emerging from the first seven in postseason and CCL play prior to MLS Cup 2013 here at Sporting Park and last year’s 0-5 loss at LA in the West Semis …
11
– teams to have advanced to both the U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup Finals in the same season, the last being RSL back in 2013 … RSL lost the Open Cup Final at home, 0-1, to D.C. United, just weeks prior to dropping MLS Cup here in the shootout after a 1-1, 120-minute AET score … RSL has the distinction of being the only club out of the 11 instances to win neither Final …
12
– Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles won by current RSL technical staff and executives, including one by an active player (Abdoulie Mansally, NE Revolution, 2007) … RSL President Bill Manning won the 1991 title with Brooklyn Italians (despite his 29’ red card in the match), while current head coach Jeff Cassar and assistant Ted Eck were members of the 1997 LHUSOC-winning Dallas Burn side, with Garth Lagerwey and Jason Kreis … RSL assistant Daryl Shore won 3 Open Cup titles with the Chicago Fire in 2000/03/06, while scout Andy Williams played on that 2003 team … Assistant Tyrone Marshall also owns 3 rings, winning in 2005 with the LA Galaxy and in 2009/10 with Seattle … Finally, RSL Technical Director Craig Waibel won an Open Cup with LA in 2001 at the outset of his career …
26
– all-time PK denials by RSL GK
Nick Rimando
, who went 3-for-5 against opponents in his last eight games – denying Rapids MF Dillon Powers on June 7 to preserve a home point … Opposing PK takers have seen their conversion rates now drop to 43-for-70 against Rimando all-time, including 22-for-40 with Nick in an RSL uniform … Amazingly, Rimando has stopped 9 of the last 13 PKs faced and 11 of the last 17 … #WalloftheWasatch indeed …
1,334
– club-high U.S. Open Cup minutes played by veteran RSL DF
Tony Beltran
, whose 15 games played and 13 starts in the tourney also lead RSL’s all-time … Former DF Nat Borchers is second with 944 minutes, but he is likely to be surpassed by Captain Kyle Beckerman, who will start his 12
th
LHUSOC match for the club, entering tonight with 915 career minutes …
11,000+
– air miles zig-zagging across the continent the first two weeks of August for RSL, as the club wraps up the road marathon tonight after a 4-6 loss at D.C. United on August 1, recovering for a 1-0 win over Municipal last Tuesday in Guatemala City to open CONCACAF Champions League play, prior to last Saturday’s 0-4 loss at Vancouver …
$250,000
– prize money granted by U.S. Soccer to the winning team in the Open Cup, the 17 American-based MLS sides requiring five wins to earn that cash as well as a berth in the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League …
