Real Salt Lake starts the path that could lead to its first championship of 2015 on Tuesday when it hosts the USL’s Seattle Sounders FC 2 in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday at 8 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Although it doesn’t carry the same prestige as MLS Cup, RSL is still set in its focus on winning the Open Cup title.
“You want to win any tournament there is,” midfielder Luis Gil said. “Any opponent you have in front of you, you want to win, so it’s going to be important, every single game from here on out.”
Real Salt Lake is balancing the schedule this week, as Tuesday’s match starts a stretch of four games in 12 days, with three MLS matches on Sunday against Sporting Kansas City, June 24 on the road against the New York Red Bulls, then back at home at June 27 against Columbus Crew SC. Head Coach Jeff Cassar will take that schedule congestion into consideration, but the first priority is advancing in the Open Cup.
“We’re going to put out teams that we feel can win every game,” Cassar said. “We have to be mindful that we have a game on Sunday against Sporting which is arguably really important as well. This roster’s depth is going to be tested and we are definitely going to need people to step up in certain positions.”
RSL reached the tournament final in 2013, losing the title to D.C. United in a heart-breaking 1-0 defeat. Along the way, it topped two NASL teams and one USL club before facing its first MLS opposition in the semifinal round.
With a 4-5-6 record in MLS play thus far this season, RSL is looking to use the tournament to gain momentum for the MLS schedule.
“We don’t know them very well, but what we do know is we need a win,” Javier Morales said of Sounders FC’s USL affiliate. “Especially after the last couple of games at home. We need to win to get confidence. We have to improve and play better.”
In Sounders FC 2, RSL will face the No. 2 team in the USL’s Western Conference. S2 has posted a 7-4-2 record thus far on the strength of a potent offense that has gotten five goals each from Andy Craven and on-loan forward Darwin Jones and four goals from Pablo Rossi. Craven has also added a team-high four assists.
Seattle reached the fourth round with extra time wins over the Kitsap Pumas (PDL) and Portland Timbers 2 (USL). In those matches, Craven and Rossi have added three goals apiece.
“They’ve got a healthy rotation of players that they use. It’s a good team,” Cassar said. “They’ve got good size, good technical ability. They play very similar to the first team. But it’s a game that we’ve got to make sure that they’re playing at our speed and keeping the rhythm and tempo high.”
The long-running tournament features 91 teams from all levels of the U.S. Soccer pyramid and opened with the Preliminary Round in April. RSL and the other 16 U.S.-based Major League Soccer teams enter in the fourth round.
