2015/16 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL LEG TWO
PREGAME FACT & INFO SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE v. TIGRES UANL
WED., MARCH 2, 2016 – 8:00 pm MT – RIO TINTO STADIUM
on FOX SPORTS 2, ESPN700 & 102.3 LaGranD / 1600 AM
0 – goals conceded by veteran RSL GK Nick Rimando at home in CCL play in his last 316 minutes played, last conceding in the 44th minute of RSL’s 0-1 loss in the 2011 Final to Humberto Suazo and Monterrey … When RSL’s defense allowed the 60’ goal last Sept. 24 against Santa Tecla, that snapped the club’s overall shutout streak at 586 minutes, a new CCL record … RSL also shares the competition record of 5 straight clean sheets with Alajuela (CRC) and Pachuca (MEX) … RSL allowed 7 goals in its first two all-time SCCL matches (2010: 5-4 loss @ Cruz Azul; 3-2 win v Arabe Unido), but has allowed a total of only 9 goals in its last 11 SCCL games …
1 – previous advancement to the CCL knockout stage prior to 2016, RSL becoming the first-ever non-Mexican team to win its 4-team group back in 2010, overcoming Cruz Azul (MEX), Toronto FC (CAN) and Arabe Unido (PAN) to kick off the club’s magical run in 2010/11 to the CCL Final, culminating in a heartbreaking loss to Monterrey (MEX) 2-3 on aggregate after eliminating Columbus Crew (USA) and Saprissa (CRC) … With a 3-0-1 / 10-pt. mark in the 2015/16 group stage, RSL earned the 3rd overall seed and joined 3 other MLS sides – LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders and D.C. United – in the 2016 Quarterfinals, each facing Liga MX clubs …
2 – goals needed tonight by RSL without conceding to Tigres in order to reverse the series deficit and force extra time after conclusion of the 180-minute, aggregate goal series … Should RSL score 3 unanswered goals tonight, it can advance to the Semifinal stage without needing 30 minutes of extra time or PKs … However, any Tigres score will require RSL to win by three, certainly a tall task against the Mexican power …
3 – assists by RSL MF Javier Morales on the club’s last 3 SCCL goals, including the game-winning helper on a 42nd-minute corner kick in October, headed home by DF Jamison Olave to defeat Municipal 1-0 and clinch Group G … In the third of four group games, the Argentine #maestro came off the bench for two assists to lead the Claret-and-Cobalt to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Santa Tecla … Morales – despite a hip flexor strain that kept him out of a league game 72 hours later in San Jose – set up two goals five minutes apart by Olmes Garcia & Juan Manuel Martinez in the final half-hour against the Salvadoran side to boost RSL atop Group G …
3 – all-time road wins in CCL play following last Fall’s group stage to improve RSL’s all-time road mark in the tourney to 3-4-4 through 11 away games in the 2010/11, 2012/13 and 2015/16 tournaments … The August win in Guatemala was the first coming outside of Panama (2010 at Arabe Unido, 2-1; 2012 at Tauro FC, 1-0) … RSL’s road losses prior to last Wednesday in Mexico came in 2010 at Cruz Azul (4-5 at group stage), 2011 at Saprissa (gaining critical away goal to advance with a 1-2 loss in Semifinal stage) and in 2012 at Herediano (0-1 loss in group stage after 55’ Nat Borchers red card) … RSL drew in trips to Toronto FC (1-1 in 2010 group), Columbus Crew (0-0 in 2011 Quarterfinal) and at Monterrey (2-2 in 2011 Final) …
4 – goals in CCL play by RSL’s maestro, MF Javier Morales, the club’s active leader in the tournament … Morales, now a 36-year old Argentine, hit on a deadly free kick in Toronto in the 2010 group stage to secure passage to the knockouts, and also provided the critical road equalizer in the first leg at Monterrey of the 2011 final … Current RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman owns 2 career CCL goals, while DF Jamison Olave headed home his 3rd last October … Former RSL man Alvaro Saborio scored 10 goals in 14 CCL games for the Claret-and-Cobalt …
6 – Active RSL players who wore the Claret-and-Cobalt during the club’s 2011 CCL run, as GK Nick Rimando, DF Tony Beltran, DF Jamison Olave, DF Chris Wingert, Captain/MF Kyle Beckerman and MF Javier Morales each started at least one game in the final series against Monterrey … Also part of the group back in in 2011 were current Head Coach Jeff Cassar (then an assistant coach) and current Head Scout Andy Williams (a starting midfielder in 2011) …
7 – Overall Quarterfinalist seed for Mexican club Queretaro, which will host tonight’s RSL/Tigres series winner in the Semifinal stage on Tuesday, March 15 in the first leg … RSL, as the #3 seed, and Tigres, as the #6 seed after the group stage, would then host Queretaro in the second leg of the Semifinals on Tuesday, April 5 … CONCACAF will confirm matchups, dates, times and TV on Friday, with Santos Laguna awaiting the winner of tonight’s Seattle Sounders/Club America victor …
8 – all-time home CCL wins for RSL in its previous two iterations, the club amassing a dominant 8-1-1 mark in group and knockout play … The club’s overall record of 11-4-5 in the tournament includes two heartbreaking home blemishes –the 0-1 home loss to Monterrey (MEX) in the 2011 Final Second Leg, as well as the 0-0 home draw against Herediano (CRC) in the 2012 group stage, when RSL just needed any scoring draw to advance – forever leaving a mark, preventing advancement …
27 – all-time wins on Utah soil against international opponents in either CCL play (8-1-1, with a 20/6 goal advantage), exhibitions (7-4-4, 20/17 difference) or against visiting Canadian MLS teams (12-2-3, with a 32/14 +/-) … At Rio Tinto Stadium, RSL has 22 wins, 2 losses and 6 draws against int’l clubs or in CCL competition …
60 – number of players in RSL’s 11-year, 126-player, 354-game league history to have scored at least one MLS goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt, now that FW Juan Manuel Martinez opened his MLS account last Sept. 12 in Houston … Martinez, nicknamed “Burrito,” joins a group that includes Brian Dunseth, Robbie Findley, Matias Mantilla, Kenny Deuchar, Pablo Campos, and Luke Mulholland to have scored in their first-ever MLS start for RSL, while three players – Luis Tejada, Kyle Brown and Paulo Junior – each scored in debut starts outside of league play …
73 – span of home games dating back to June, 2012, since RSL suffered back-to-back losses at Rio Tinto Stadium as it did Oct. 14/17 last year, a pair of 0-1 losses to Portland and Dallas to close out the home portion of the 2015 MLS regular season … 2012 was also the same year that saw RSL also suffer consecutive shutouts at home (October, 2012, a span of 62 games) … RSL snapped both skids with a CCL group-clinching 1-0 win over Municipal (GUA) on Oct. 20 …
98 – home wins since 2008, as RSL has amassed a 98-22-39 mark on home soil in all competitions in its last 159 home matches, during which it has outscored opponents by 168 goals (283-115) … TONIGHT marks RSL’s first home match of 2016 at Rio Tinto stadium, the club amassing a 77-17-36 record in MLS reg. season games (231-95 goals), and an 8-1-1 CCL mark (20-6), a 5-2-2 playoff resume (11-4), and an 8-2-0 ledger in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (21-10) …
