SANDY, Utah (Friday, March 17, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (0-1-1, 1 point, t-7 West) continues its 13th Major League Soccer season with a return home Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. MT kickoff against perennial rival LA Galaxy (0-2-0, 0 points, 9th West) at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Fewer than two thousand tickets currently remain for Saturday’s contest, with the Rio Tinto Stadium box office open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p or available by visiting www.RSL.com/tickets or by calling 844.Real.Tix for more information. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702. Also, more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets/Royalty.
Saturday’s home contest is the last chance for RSL fans to see MF Albert Rusnák (Slovakia) and GK Nick Rimando (USA) prior to their upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying games next week, and the last home game prior to RSL road trips at New York Red Bulls (Sat., March 25) and the expansion Minnesota United FC (Sat., April 1) for Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s team. RSL will return home twice in April, hosting Vancouver (Sat., April 8) and expansion Atlanta United FC (Sat., April 22) surrounding the club’s initial Rocky Mountain Cup tilt on Sat., April 15 at Colorado Rapids and an April 29 visit to rival Sporting Kansas City.
All-time, RSL is 8-3-7 against LA on Utah soil in MLS regular-season/playoff and U.S. Open Cup play, outscoring the Galaxy 32-22. However, the Galaxy have eliminated RSL in each of the Claret-and-Cobalt’s last two trips to the MLS Cup Playoff playoffs in 2014 and 2016, with RSL emerging victorious over LA en route to both MLS Cup trips, in 2009 and 2013. LA won the fifth postseason series between the clubs, winning an one-game Western Conference Final in 2011.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. LA Galaxy – Sat., March 18, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:30 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran, Jamison Olave & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLGameday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL v. LA Galaxy Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy is available by clicking HERE.
The game will be televised via KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call, and can also 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 & Jamison Olave).
Two weeks ago in RSL’s 2017 season-opening 0-0 home draw against reigning Eastern Conference champions Toronto FC, RSL GK Nick Rimando secured his 130th career clean sheet (94th in Claret-and-Cobalt) before 19,516 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Rimando’s heroics were highlighted by his denial of TFC FW Sebastian Giovinco’s penalty kick attempt in the 30th minute, the 29th failed attempt (21st save) for opposing PK takers in Rimando’s storied MLS career.
Last Saturday’s trip to Chicago saw Real Salt Lake fall, 0-2, to the Fire, the first time RSL lost at Toyota Park since the 2009 regular season. Despite two non-traditional goals scored in the 11th and 15th minutes, RSL was encouraged by the MLS debut of rookie centerback Justin Schmidt, the 2017 RSL debut of winger Luis Silva and the continued tempo-dictation by Slovakian playmaker Albert Rusnák. Homegrown attacker Ricardo Velazco also saw his most extensive MLS action just one week after making his first-team debut, playing the final 64 minutes after FW Jordan Allen suffered a 26th-minute quadriceps strain.
RSL hopes to see the return this week for previously injured players, including FW Joao Plata (hip contusion), DF Aaron Maund (hamstring), and DF Chris Schuler (foot), as well as Allen. DF Justen Glad is expected to miss additional time with a bone bruise of his tibial plateau, while his U.S. U-20 teammates Danny Acosta, Brooks Lennon and Sebastian Saucedo should get their first full training week of 2017 with RSL in the run-up to Saturday.
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season kicks off on the road on March 25, with the first game at Rio Tinto Stadium under Head Coach Mike Petke and company on April 1 againt Phoenix. Season Tickets for the Real Monarchs third season in 2017 are now on sale; please call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, Real Salt Lake's regional training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening in Fall, 2017, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.
