SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake will look to stay unbeaten in 2014 on Saturday, when it will host Western Conference foe FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium at 7:30 p.m. MT. Saturday’s match will be broadcast live on ABC4, ESPN 700 and 102.3 La Gran D FM. An extremely limited number of tickets are available to Saturday’s contest and can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.
If RSL gets a result on Saturday, the Claret-and-Cobalt will tie the all-time MLS record for an unbeaten start to a season at 12 games. The record is currently held jointly by the 1996 and 2010 LA Galaxy, and the 2000 Kansas City Wizards. RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar is also looking to move into the record books on Saturday, as a result would move him into a tie for first all-time with 1996 LA Head Coach Lothar Osiander for longest unbeaten streak to start a MLS managing career at 12 games.
Real Salt Lake won its last match, defeating Colorado Rapids 2-1 last Saturday to improve its unbeaten run to 6-0-5. RSL FW Joao Plata notched the first goal, his sixth of the year which ties him with FW Alvaro Saborio for the club lead. The strike now gives Plata an average of .97 goals per 90 minutes, second in the league among players with more than 400 minutes played. RSL MF Javier Morales recorded his fourth goal of the season, converting a penalty kick drawn by FW Devon Sandoval to double the lead early in the second half. RSL currently sits second in the Western conference with a total of 23 points, two points behind Seattle Sounders FC, which has a game in hand on RSL.
Saturday’s contest between RSL and FC Dallas will be the first meeting between the sides in 2014. The Claret-and-Cobalt posted a 1-1-1 record against the Texas side last year, moving its all-time record to 9-13-4 against FCD in MLS play. Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas last met on Oct. 5, 2013 at Rio Tinto Stadium, resulting in a 1-1 draw. RSL previously lost 2-0 in Frisco on March 23, 2013, before defeating Dallas 3-0 at Toyota Stadium on July 13, 2013 for the club’s first-ever win in Texas. Real Salt Lake has been relatively successfully at home against FC Dallas, posting an 8-4-2 all-time record against the Hoops in the Beehive State.
Real Salt Lake will be without its starting trio of Captain Kyle Beckerman, GK Nick Rimando and FW Alvaro Saborio for the second-straight match. Beckerman and Rimando were named to the USMNT’s final 23-man roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Thursday and are currently training with the team in Palo Alto, Calif. Saborio is currently at the Costa Rican national team’s pre-World Cup training camp in San Jose, Costa Rica. He was named to Costa Rica’s preliminary 30-man World Cup roster last week; Costa Rica’s final 23-man roster will be announced at a later date. Last week’s win over Colorado moved RSL to 3-2-2 in MLS play since the start of 2013 when Beckerman, Rimando and Saborio have all been missing from the lineup.
FC Dallas enters Saturday’s tilt in third in the Western Conference with a total of 17 points and a 5-6-2 record to start the 2014 season. Dallas is 0-5-1 in its last six games after losing 2-1 at LA Galaxy on Wednesday. Saturday’s contest will be Dallas’ third MLS match in seven days.
Real Salt Lake will hit the road after Saturday’s match, taking on Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, May 31 at 2:00 p.m. at CenturyLink Field. RSL won’t return home until Saturday, June 7 when it hosts Portland Timbers at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to the RSL-Portland contest can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. FC Dallas
- Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. MT v. FC Dallas
- TV: ABC4
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m. MT)
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter Feed will provide match updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL-DAL 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 FC Dallas. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Media Services Manager Sam Stejskal in the RSL Communications Department via email at sstejskal@realsaltlake.com.
Click here to download the PDF version of the MLS Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL-DAL matchup
RSL History v. FC Dallas
Saturday’s contest between RSL and FC Dallas will be the first meeting between the sides in 2014. The Claret-and-Cobalt posted a 1-1-1 record against the Texas side last year, moving its all-time record to 9-13-4 against Dallas in MLS play. Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas last met on Oct. 5, 2013 at Rio Tinto Stadium, resulting in a 1-1 draw. RSL previously lost 2-0 in Frisco on March 23, 2013, before defeating Dallas 3-0 at Toyota Park on July 13, 2013 for the club’s first-ever win in Texas.
Real Salt Lake has been relatively successfully at home against FC Dallas, posting an 8-4-2 all-time record against the Hoops in the Beehive State.
