SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake will look to extend its club record winning streak to eight games across all competitions on Wednesday night, when it will host the Philadelphia Union at 8:00 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Wednesday’s match – which will be followed by a postgame fireworks display – will be broadcast live on CW30, ESPN700 AM and 102.3 La Gran D FM/1600 AM. CW30 will air its 30-minute Ford Postgame Show immediately following the match; ESPN 700 will begin its pregame coverage at 7:00 p.m. MT and will air an hour-long postgame show immediately following the final whistle.
RSL enters Wednesday’s game on an absolute roll, winners of its last seven games across all competitions and unbeaten in its last 10 games in all comps. The Claret-and-Cobalt picked up its first ever win in Canada on Saturday, getting a 45th minute goal from MF Yordany Alvarez to beat Toronto FC 1-0 at BMO Field.
Real Salt Lake has been both prolific in front of goal and stout in the back during its recent hot streak, outscoring its opponents 25-7 during its 10-game unbeaten run. RSL has posted shutouts in its last three matches and hasn’t allowing a goal in 372 minutes, last conceding in the 18th minute of its 120-minute Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup victory over the Charleston Battery on June 12.
Both teams will be missing multiple players on Wednesday night due to CONCACAF Gold Cup call-ups. The Claret-and-Cobalt will be without stalwarts Captain Kyle Beckerman (U.S.), DF Tony Beltran (U.S.), GK Nick Rimando (U.S.) and FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) while the Union will be without MLS leading scorer FW Jack McInerney (U.S.) and MF Keon Daniel (Trinidad & Tobago).
The international absences will put RSL’s depth to the test on Wednesday night. That depth has shown incredibly well so far this year, with Claret-and-Cobalt Head Coach Jason Kreis starting a league-high 24 players in regular season play in 18 games this year. By comparison, RSL only started 23 players in the entire 2012 MLS regular season.
The Claret-and-Cobalt enters Wednesday’s tilt looking for the 100th MLS regular season win. The club currently has an all-time MLS regular season record of 99-103-68. Since the start of the MLS Cup winning season of 2009 Real Salt Lake has accumulated a record of 68-43-35.
While not as dominant as RSL, Philadelphia has been steadily climbing the standings as well. Unbeaten in its last four and in five of their last six matches, the third-place Union tied FC Dallas 2-2 on Saturday, giving up a very late equalizer to draw FCD at PPL Park.
RSL’s first team will have a short layoff following Wednesday’s game, not returning to action until Saturday, July 13, when it will travel to face FC Dallas in MLS action at FC Dallas Stadium.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Philadelphia Union
- Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (Pregame begins at 7:00 p.m. MT)
- Spanish Radio: La Gran D 102.3 FM & Juan 1600 AM
- Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter Feed will provide live match updates
Game Guide for Wednesday’s RSL-PHI Match
Click here to download the PDF version of the MLS Game Guide for Wednesday’s RSL-PHI matchup
RSL History v. Philadelphia Union
Real Salt Lake is 2-0-3 all-time against the Philadelphia Union. The Claret-and-Cobalt drew its last match against Philadelphia, tying the Union 0-0 on Aug. 24, 2012 at PPL Park.
RSL has a perfect record against the Union at Rio Tinto Stadium, posting a 2-0-0 mark and outscoring Philadelphia 5-1 in two games at Rio Tinto Stadium.
