SANDY, Utah (Friday, June 24, 2016) – Real Salt Lake travels to face FC Dallas Saturday at 6:00 p.m. MT as the club hits the road for a rare midsummer away game, one of only two out of 10 total games from mid-June to late July. Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s team (8-4-3, 27 points) boasts Major League Soccer’s 2nd-best points-per-game average, at 1.80 per match, trailing only Colorado.
RSL seeks its second-ever win in Dallas Saturday, the 17th match it has played there in league, playoff or Open Cup competition, posting just a 1-13-2 all-time mark. However, the RSL attack is in blistering form, as Wednesday’s 2-1 come-from-behind win at home over New York Red Bulls gave RSL 15 goals in its last six games. FW Yura Movsisyan’s 63’ equalizer gave him 5 goals in his last 7 starts, while MF Jordan Allen’s game-winner – his third goal of the year and the fourth of his career – marked RSL’s 500th goal in 12 seasons of MLS play. FW Juan Manuel "Burrito" Martinez (4 goals in his last 5 starts) and FW Joao Plata (2 goals / 3 assists in last 5 games) are also playing at an all-star level.
Plata boasts 7 goals and 7 assists across all competitions this season (the only RSL player to have scored in CCL, MLS and Open Cup this season), accounting for nearly 55% of the club’s goals. Plata, Movsisyan and Martinez give RSL the unique distinction of being the lone MLS club this season with three players that each have 5 or more MLS goals thus far.
Since the beginning of 2008, RSL now boasts a 103-22-42 mark in its last 167 home games (all comps) in that span, during which it has outscored opponents by 173 goals (295-122), with an 82-17-37 reg. season mark (240/99), the 8-1-2 CCL record (21/7), 5-2-2 playoffs (11/4), as well as an 8-2-1 Open Cup mark (23/12).
The match will be televised in Utah via KMYU (English, David James & Brian Kamler) or heard via RSL outlets ESPN700 AM (English, Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran). Pre-game coverage airs live locally on ESPN700 AM at 7:00 p.m. MT, while KMYU’s three-hour window kicks off at 7:30 p.m. MT live from Sandy.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ FC Dallas
- Coverage Begins: 5:30 p.m. MT
- TV: KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) – David James & Brian Kamler
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL @ FC Dallas Matchup Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas is available by clicking HERE.
2016 REAL SALT LAKE NOTES –
RSL v. FC DALLAS – Sat., June 25, 2016 – 6:00 p.m. MT
RIMANDO NOW JUST ONE WIN AWAY: Wednesday’s victory was the 179th of RSL GK Nick Rimando’s illustrious MLS career, placing the veteran just one win behind fellow UCLA man Kevin Hartman for the all-time MLS lead … Hartman, a former Dallas/KC/LA/NYRB ‘keeper, will likely see his games played (416), games started (411), minutes (37,260) and saves records fall to the “Wall of the Wasatch” in the short-term, as Rimando already boasts the all-time clean sheet (125) and goals against average (1.19) marks …
POINTS FROM A LOSING POSITION: Wednesday’s win vs. NYRB was also RSL’s fourth victory this season (out of eight wins and 15 games played) after conceding the opening goal, as RSL also came from behind against both Seattle and Houston at home earlier in 2016, and on the road at NYCFC in early June … All of last year, it took RSL 30 games to notch a come-from-behind victory, Oct. 4 at Colorado …
On June 14 in Open Cup, RSL battled back from conceding the opening goal and digging an 0-2 hole to earn the draw and win in PKs …
SUMMER GETAWAY AT THE RIOT IN SANDY: Following the field renovation and the league-wide Copa America break in early June, RSL now is in the midst of playing six of seven and eight of 10 matches at home, leading into the annual MLS All-Star Break in late July … Rio Tinto Stadium also will host a Liga MX friendly TONIGHT, Friday, June 24 between Mexican powers Xolos de Tijuana and Santos Laguna, while RSL faces its first-ever European club at the RioT on either Tues/Wed, July 19/20, as legendary side Inter Milan arrives in Utah (confirmed date dependent on RSL’s Open Cup fate on June 28) … Included in those 10 home games over a five-week period are a pair of 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contests, as RSL advanced from Tuesday’s contest against Wilmington via PK shootout, the club now hosting Seattle Sounders FC in a #USOC2016 match on Tuesday, June 28 …
RSL will also enjoy another late-season stretch at home, playing six out of eight at Rio Tinto Stadium from late August to late October, prior to the season finale at Seattle on Oct. 23 …
RSL SEEKS TO RESTORE ROAR AT RIOT FORTRESS: While the 2-2 draw last Saturday against Portland provided the first blemish for RSL in its 5-0-1 MLS home record (and 0-0-2 in CCL/Open Cup) this season, the club ended its disappointing 2015 campaign with a 12-4-6 record at home across all competitions (just a 7-4-6 RioT mark in MLS play), with the pair of late-season 0-1 losses to Portland & Dallas just the club’s 4th & 5th home shutouts suffered in its last 48 home games overall, dating back to the 2013 Open Cup Final ... The six draws at home last year equaled the club’s all-time season high, set in 2006 and 2008 ...
Last year’s ignominy snapped a 7-year run that had seen RSL average 2.00 points per game or more at home each MLS season from 2008-14, as well as a 5-year streak of 10 or more home wins in league play …
Since the beginning of 2008, RSL now boasts a 103-22-42 mark in its last 167 home games (all comps) in that span, during which it has outscored opponents by 173 goals (295-122), with an 82-17-37 reg. season mark (240/99), the 8-1-2 CCL record (21/7), 5-2-2 playoffs (11/4), as well as an 8-2-1 Open Cup mark (23/12) ...
EARLY PACING STILL BODES WELL FOR RSL: Despite the 2-2 draw at home to Portland Saturday, RSL’s 8-4-3 mark with 27 points from 15 games makes the Claret-and-Cobalt one of Major League Soccer’s top two teams with a 1.80 points-per-game average (RSL trails only Colorado at 2.00 ppg) … RSL remains on a club-record pace for 60 points in 2016, pacing which could (should?) improve as the club continues its Rio Tinto Stadium homestand, where six of RSL’s eight MLS games between mid-June and late July will occur …
ORIGINAL RIOT PITCH REPLACEMENT: Random facts and figures for the original Rio Tinto Stadium pitch, from Oct. 9, 2008 through April 30, 2016:
YEAR RECORD OVERALL
2008: 2-1-1
2009: 10-1-5 (12- 2- 6)
2010: 14-0-5 (26- 2-11)
2011: 14-4-4 (40- 6-15)
2012: 12-6-3 (52-12-18)
2013: 16-4-4 (68-16-22)
2014: 11-1-6 (79-17-28)
2015: 12-4-6 (91-21-34)
2016: 4-0-1 (95-21-35)
MLS Regular Season: 74-16-31 (2.09 PPG)
CONCACAF Champions League: 8-1-2 (2.36 PPG)
MLS Cup Playoffs: 5-2-2 (1.89 PPG)
U.S. Open Cup: 8-2-0 (2.40 PPG)
Largest Crowd: 21,004 – 9/19/15 (3-0 W over LA Galaxy)
Smallest Crowd: 7,620 – 6/28/11 [2-0 W over Wilmington (USOC)]
First Win: Oct. 18, 2008; 3-1 v FC Dallas
First Goal: Jamison Olave, 42’ equalizer, 10/9/08 v NYRB
First Shutout: Nick Rimando, 11/1/08 v Chivas USA
First Playoff Win/Shutout: Nov. 1, 2008; 1-0 v Chivas USA
First Playoff Goal: Yura Movsisyan, game-winner, 11/1/08 v Chivas
First CCL Win: Aug. 18, 2010; 2-1 v Arabe Unido (PAN)
First CCL Goal: Alvaro Saborio, 8/18/10 v Arabe Unido (PAN)
First CCL Shutout: Nick Rimando, 3/15/11 v Saprissa (CRC)
151st Game: April 30, 2016; 2-1 W v Houston Dynamo (95-21-35 overall mark)
Last Goal: Yura Movsisyan, 70’ game-winner, 4/30/16 v Houston
Last Shutout: Nick Rimando, 4/16/16 v Vancouver
