HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, October 12, 2023) – Real Salt Lake (13-12-7, 46 pts., 6th West) continues its 2023 season Saturday night at LA Galaxy (8-13-11, 35 pts., 13th West) at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif., for RSL’s penultimate match of the regular season.
Saturday’s kickoff starts at 8:30p MT on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass w/ Mark Rogondino and Sacha Kjlestan *(ENG) and Pablo Ramirez and *Carlos Ruiz (SPN). For local coverage, tune in at 7:30p MT for KSL Radio pre-game w/ David James & Jay Nolly via www.KSLSports.com / 1280 AM / 97.5 FM and www.KSLNewsRadio.com / 1160 AM).
Real Salt Lake @ LA Galaxy – MLS Matchday 38
Dignity Health Sports Park – Carson, Calif.
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 – 8:30p MT
TOP FOUR SEED STILL TO PLAY FOR :: With two regular-season contests remaining, Real Salt Lake (13-12-7, 46 pts., 6th West) has now officially clinched a postseason berth into the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, possibly finishing anywhere from second to seventh in the West table. RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni – the ONLY active boss in MLS to lead his side to three consecutive postseason berths – enters the final two games of the season in pursuit of a top-four seed in the West, with a game in hand over all other contenders. With 46 points accumulated through 32 games of the 2023 MLS campaign, Real Salt Lake enters the final 14 days of the season as part of a five-team glut from 2nd to 6th place in the Western Conference separated by just four points in the race for a top-4 seed in the West bracket of the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, with RSL guaranteed its first home postseason match since 2019. Please visit www.RSL.com/tickets for postseason ticket information.
ROAD WARRIORS REDUX :: Real Salt Lake’s road record of 7-5-3 (24 pts.) is the best in the West, the seven MLS wins – as well as its 10 road wins across all competitions – establishing new Club records for road wins in a single-season. Victories in both of RSL’s remaining two away matches could potentially allow RSL to secure the No. 2 seed in the West, leapfrogging both Seattle and LAFC behind St. Louis, and giving RSL home-field advantage in the Round One “Best of 3” series in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, which begin in late October.
SAVE THE PLAYOFF DATES :: This year’s Audi MLS Cup Playoffs kick off with the Wild Card Round on Oct. 25/26, with a new “Best-of-Three” Round One series kicking off on Sat., Oct. 28 and running through the weekend of Nov. 12. Following the November FIFA break, the Conference Semifinals (Nov. 26 weekend), Conference Finals (Dec. 2 weekend) and MLS Cup 2023 (Sat., Dec. 9) will determine this season’s MLS Cup Champion and any remaining 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup berths.
STANDINGS GLUT IN THE WEST :: Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side arrives at the final two games of the season with its 46 points one shy of Vancouver and two behind Houston, four points adrift of Seattle and five behind LAFC, with all four of those teams having played 33 games. The Utah side owns a “game-in-hand” on each of these contenders, fully in control of its destiny and potentially finishing No. 2 in the West should it win both matches and see others drop points. Currently, RSL has distanced itself from both Portland and San Jose (43 points each) and is four or more points ahead of Dallas (42 points), Kansas City and Minnesota (41 points each).
PERENNIAL POSTSEASON APPEARANCES :: For a third consecutive season under the guidance of Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni, RSL advances to the postseason yet again. As a Club, RSL is playoff-bound for the fifth time in six seasons – missing only the Covid-affected 2020 campaign – and for the sixth time in the last nine seasons (2015 / 2017).
Overall, RSL has qualified for the postseason in 13 of its 16 seasons played since first advancing to the postseason in 2008, RSL’s fourth season in existence. RSL won MLS Cup in 2009, defeating the star-studded LA Galaxy via penalty-kick shootout. Four years later, RSL fell via the same tiebreaker in MLS Cup 2013 at Kansas City.
Again, Real Salt Lake is joined by Seattle and LAFC as Western Conference teams to have qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in five of the last six seasons, overcoming both internal and external volatility in the last six years through three different ownership situations and three different head coaches, as well as soon-to-be four different MLS Cup Playoff formats during this period.
Two perennial postseason obstacles for RSL – Portland and Seattle, the lone two West sides to represent the conference in MLS Cup Finals from 2015-21, prior to LAFC last year – can still qualify for this postseason after seeing their recent four-year Playoff runs snapped in 2022. Minnesota can also potentially join RSL, Seattle, LAFC and Portland with the 5-out-of-6 qualification distinction; however, Minnesota has advanced just once and LAFC twice, compared to RSL’s three advancements in the previous four years.
In the Eastern Conference, three teams – Philadelphia, New York City FC and Red Bull New York – have qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs five consecutive years from 2018-22. However, only Philadelphia have won in the playoffs and advanced three times in the previous five campaigns.
The perennial nature of RSL’s 13 postseason appearances in 16 years is remarkable when considering the League’s growth, volatility and various changes dating back to 2008. Since RSL’s first postseason appearance in 2008, the Utah side has advanced to 10 Conference Semifinal rounds and 5 Conference Finals – only SEA has reached more (12 Semis, 6 Finals). LA Galaxy also with 5 Conference Final appearances.
AN HISTORIC WIN LAST TIME IN L.A. :: Real Salt Lake utilized a staunch, gritty approach to frustrate a home LAFC side back on Oct. 1, winning 1-0 and notching its first-ever MLS reg. season win at BMO Stadium in six tries, eventually seeing the clean sheet from GK Zac MacMath and an impenetrable full-team defense upheld by yet another glorious Chicho Arango goal, assisted by substitute Rubio Rubin.
Chicho’s game-winner was his eighth goal in 16 games with RSL across all competitions, giving him career goal No. 99 as a professional – all while wearing the Captain’s armband for the first time with the Claret-and-Cobalt. Real Salt Lake’s massive 1-0 road win Oct. 1 at LAFC vaulted RSL into second place in the West, a place RSL can re-obtain with six points in its final two games of the season, as well as Decision Day points dropped by LAFC and Seattle.
FOUR RSL PLAYERS TO MISS WEEKEND FOR INTERNATIONAL DUTY :: RSL will miss four players – FW Jefferson Savarino (Venezuela), MF Braian Ojeda (Paraguay), FW Rubio Rubin (Guatemala) and D/M Kevon Lambert (Jamaica) – for its game at LA Galaxy on Sat., Oct. 14 … The quartet will join their respective nations for the upcoming FIFA window, and will return to the Utah side in time to prepare for Decision Day at Colorado on Sat., Oct. 21 …
OTHER KEY PLAYERS OUT v GALAXY :: RSL will also miss two who have worn the Captain’s armband in recent weeks, as talismanic FW Chicho Arango will not travel due to a hamstring injury suffered in the first half-hour last weekend against Kansas City … Chicho is week-to-week, while Homegrown DF Justen Glad will miss this weekend due to the early red card received last week against Kansas City …
