SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake will play the second game of a three-game home stand on Saturday, when it will host fellow Western Conference power LA Galaxy at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Saturday’s match will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on CW30, ESPN700 AM and 102.3 La Gran D/1600 AM. CW30 will air its 30-minute Ford Postgame Show immediately following the match; ESPN 700 will begin its pregame coverage at 6:00 p.m. MT and will air an hour-long postgame show immediately following the final whistle.
RSL – which beat Chivas USA 1-0 at home last weekend – is nearly completely healthy as it heads into Saturday’s match. MF Cole Grossman (concussion) is the only player out for the game, while DF Chris Wingert (L quad soreness) is the only RSL player listed as questionable.
Real Salt Lake went 2-1-0 against LA last year. The away team took all three games between the two sides, with RSL beating LA 3-1 at the Home Depot Center in the season opener on March 10, LA downing RSL 3-2 at Rio Tinto Stadium on June 20 and the Claret-and-Cobalt defeating the Galaxy 2-1 in Carson, Calif. on Oct. 6. RSL’s two road wins against LA last year marked the first time a visiting team had won multiple times at LA in MLS history.
RSL has enjoyed a good amount of success against the Galaxy, posting a 9-8-5 regular season record against the Southern California side. The Claret-and-Cobalt’s nine wins against LA is tied for the second-most all-time for the Utah club, which now owns a 10-104 mark against Chivas USA and a 9-10-8 record against the Colorado Rapids.
RSL is 9-9-6 against LA when including MLS Cup Playoff games. The Claret-and-Cobalt famously beat the Galaxy in a penalty kick shootout to win the 2009 MLS Cup Final. RSL has outscored LA 40-37 in the 24 matches it has played against LA across all competitions.
Several RSL personalities have Southern California connections. RSL GK Nick Rimando (Montclair, Calif; UCLA), DF Tony Beltran (Claremont, Calif.; UCLA), MF Luis Gil (Garden Grove, Calif.) and DF Kwame Watson-Siriboe (Chino Hills, Calif.) are all from the LA-area, while MF Ned Grabavoy and GK Josh Saunders both won MLS Cups with the Galaxy, with Grabavoy taking home the 2005 trophy and Saunders winning Cup in 2011 and 2012.
The Galaxy has gotten off to a solid start this season, sitting in second-place in the Western Conference with 11 points through six games. The Claret-and-Cobalt is tied on points with LA, which has two games in hand on RSL. LA won its last match, getting goals from MF Marcelo Sarvas and FW Landon Donovan to beat Sporting Kansas City 2-0 at the Home Depot Center last Saturday.
RSL will close its three-game home stand next Saturday, May 4 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Tickets for the 7:00 p.m. MT kickoff 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. LA Galaxy
- Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah
- TV: CW30 (Ford Postgame Show to immediately follow final whistle)
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (Pregame begins at 6:00 p.m. MT)
- Spanish Radio: La Gran D 102.3 FM & Juan 1600 AM
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter Feed will provide live match updates
Click here to download the PDF version of the MLS Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL-LA matchup
RSL History v. LA Galaxy
Real Salt Lake is 9-8-5 against LA in MLS regular season action and 9-9-6 against the Galaxy across all competitions. RSL is 4-2-4 at home against LA. The Claret-and-Cobalt’s June 20, 2012 3-2 home loss to LA broke a six-game home unbeaten streak for RSL against the Galaxy – the Utah side had been 3-0-3 at home against LA in six matches from 2006-2012.
