SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 3, 2015) – Real Salt Lake concludes its six-game, 18-day stretch in league and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play with its annual Independence Day home match on Saturday night, as 2015 MLS expansion side Orlando City SC – led by former FIFA World Player of the Year Kaka – visit Rio Tinto Stadium for the first time. TV coverage for the SOLD OUT, standing-room only match kicks off locally at 7:30 p.m. MT on KMYU, with ESPN700 providing radio coverage beginning at 7:00 p.m. MT.
RSL owns an all-time 2-1-7 mark on the July 4 holiday in its previous 10 years, as last season’s 2-1 win over New England snapped a streak of three consecutive draws. RSL rode a pair of penalty kicks from FW Joao Plata and MF Javier Morales to that win a year ago against the Revolution.
Orlando will face an uphill battle Saturday, as RSL also owns an all-time 8-1-1 mark against expansion sides in Utah debuts, the Claret-and-Cobalt outscoring visitors 19-5. Earlier this season, RSL defeated Orlando’s expansion brethren, NYCFC, 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium, where RSL now boasts a 5-1-5 mark across all competitions this season.
Wednesday night, RSL advanced to the Quarterfinal Stage of the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the fourth time (2006, 2011, 2013) with an impressive 2-0 win over Western Conference rival Portland Timbers, as FW Sebastian Jaime scored his third goal in the last four games – includeing three consecutive at home – and Morales added an insurance PK to bolster a shutout performance from GK Jeff Attinella and the RSL defense. FW Olmes Garcia, who has scored in each of the last two home MLS games against Kansas City and Columbus, provided the game-winning assist Wednesday.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Orlando City SC
• Coverage Begins: 7:30 p.m. MT
• Television: KMYU – David James & Brian Dunseth
• English Radio: ESPN700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT pregame) – Bill Riley, Jeremy Horton & Brian Kamler
• Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
• Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter Feed will provide match updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL v. Orlando City SC Match Now Available Online
Following is the link to the Adobe PDF version of the MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Orlando City.
As previously mentioned, RSL is 5-1-5 in MLS regular-season play so far this season at its Sandy venue, including a pair of home wins in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Since the beginning of 2008, RSL boasts a 91-19-38 mark in its last 148 home games (all comps) in that span, during which it has outscored opponents by 160 goals (269/109), with a 73-14-35 reg. season mark (220/89), 6-1-1 CCL record (17/5), 5-2-2 playoffs (11/4) and 7-2-0 in the Open Cup (20/10).
RSL’s Open Cup Quarterfinal match against the LA Galaxy will be played at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday, July 14, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. MT. Tickets for the match go on sale this Monday, July 6, at 10:00 a.m., with RSL season ticket holders having an extended period to purchase their seats. Call 801.727.2700 for details or visit RealSaltLake.com.
June/July Slate Dictates Home Cooking for RSL; Open Cup / CCL Paths Determined
While Saturday’s match against Orlando concludes a run of six games in the last 18 days (five of which were at home), it does continue a crowded July slate that also sees five of six games at home, with the lone road match – July 11 at Colorado – allowing the team to remain in the Mountain Time Zone.
That will change quickly in August, as earlier this week RSL discovered its 2015/16 Champions League Group Stage competition dates, as the club will face Santa Tecla FC (El Salvador) and Municipal (Guatemala) with two home games and two away scheduled during six possible matchdates in August/September/October. RSL kicks off in Guatemala on Tuesday, August 4 – between road matches at D.C. United on August 1 and at Vancouver on August 8, criss-crossing the continent – before heading to El Salvador on Tuesday, September 15. RSL will host the final two group matches of this Fall’s CCL play, with both included in the club’s 2015 season-ticket package, on Thursday, September 24 against Santa Tecla FC (CONCACAF Game A) and Tuesday, October 20 (CONCACAF Game B) at Rio Tinto Stadium.
RSL’s 2-0 victory over NYCFC back on May 23 kicked off a run that sees RSL play 14 games in 60 days from Memorial Day to Pioneer Day (11 MLS reg. season matches plus three U.S. Open Cup contests), all while managing injuries, national team duty and disciplinary suspensions.
Should RSL win its Quarterfinal match on July 14 over LA Galaxy, it would travel to either Kansas City or Houston for the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinal, likely to be played on August 11 – on the heels of trips to Washington, D.C., Guatemala City and Vancouver.
Schedule Congestion Catalyst for Squad Rotation
As a result of the schedule congestion described above, RSL boss Jeff Cassar has distributed minutes all over the roster in anticipation of quick turnarounds and key absences due to international duty, suspension, injury and fatigue, as 23 different players have earned starts for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2015’s first 14 games, while 27 players – all but GK Lalo Fernandez – have logged MLS minutes in 2015. Saturday against Columbus, homegrown DF Phanuel Kavita made his first-ever league start, while rookie DF Boyd Okwuonu later made his MLS debut as well. Both players made their RSL debuts in the June 16th 2-1 victory over Sounders 2 in the Open Cup.
Returning to action this week is RSL maestro Javier Morales, who sat out last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Columbus after receiving a red card in the 41st minute of the club’s 0-1 loss at New York Red Bulls last Wednesday. Also returning to MLS action is DF Demar Phillips, whose 55th-minute ejection marked RSL’s league-leading fifth red card of 2015, a dubious mark extended to six with MF Jordan Allen’s straight red Saturday, in the club’s 18th game this season. Finally, RSL has celebrated the return of another DF, Guatemalan centerback Elias Vasquez, with a 90-minute performance Wednesday night, just hours after arriving from his home country with a new passport and a work visa from the U.S. State Department.
RSL “Maestro” Returns
RSL’s Morales sparked RSL’s Open Cup comeback two weeks ago against Sounders 2, assisting on the Joao Plata equalizer early in the second half and scoring the game-winner himself minutes later on an indirect free kick play. Days later against Kansas City, the Argentine playmaker assisted on both goals by FW Sebastian Jaime and FW Olmes Garcia, the first of the season for each attacker.
In MLS play, Morales now owns 40 goals and a club-leading 70 assists, giving the man who missed all of 2005/06 and most of 2007 and 2011 a foot in nearly 25% of every Claret-and-Cobalt MLS goal all-time. The 35-year old is showing no signs of slowing down, as his game-winning assist June 21 against Kansas City tied him with Kyle Beckerman for the all-time club lead (17 each).
After a scoreless, 9-man effort at New York, both Jaime and Garcia each struck again this past weekend at home against Columbus for their second goals of the season in as many home games in a 2-2 result. Jaime scored in his third straight home match Wednesday against Portland – a play started by Morales, who later converted a penalty kick created by a Plata foul in the box to insure the 2-0 win over the red-hot Timbers.
