SANDY, UT (Wednesday, July 1, 2015) – Real Salt Lake put in another complete effort on Wednesday night in the Round of 16 of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and it led to a 2-0 win over the Portland Timbers, sending RSL to the Quarterfinal Round for the second time in the last three years.
FW Sebastian Jaime and MF Javier Morales each scored second-half goals and GK Jeff Attinella made two saves to earn the shutout in front of a crowd of 15,840 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake will meet the LA Galaxy in the Quarterfinal Round, with the date and time to be announced by U.S. Soccer on Thursday.
Things were back and forth through the first 50 minutes of the match before Real Salt Lake took control early in the second half.
Portland forward Gaston Fernandez put the ball in the back of the net on a one-two with Maxi Urruti, but was flagged offside and the 7th minute goal was waved off.
In the 28th minute, DF Aaron Maund got on the end of a long ball from Morales on a second effort after a free kick, but his header missed high for a goal kick.
That was the best effort in a first half that saw RSL outshoot Portland 6-2 in an otherwise even half.
In the 54th minute, that shooting advantage finally resulted in a goal. After Portland began to tilt the field in its favor with a series of corner kicks threatening the RSL goal, Salt Lake went the other way and corralled the lead.
FW Olmes Garcia pressed up the right side and led Jaime behind the Timbers defense. Jaime took a first-time shot on the rolling ball and put it past Adam Kwarasey and inside the far post for the goal and a 1-0 Salt Lake lead. It was the third goal in the last four matches across all competitions for Jaime.
RSL added to the lead with a PK from Morales in the 70th minute.
FW Joao Plata got into the box up the left side, hesitated, then was brought down by George Fochive, drawing the whistle from referee Jose Carlos Rivero, pointing to the spot.
On the penalty, Morales took a long run-up, then stutter-stepped before blasting the ball to the left. Kwarasey guessed correctly, but couldn’t get to the pacey ball and RSL took a 2-0 lead.
Jaime nearly added another in the 83rd minute, faking a shot, then putting his effort over the head of Kwarasey. The Portland keeper got a hand to it, but the deflection nearly bounced into the side netting, instead going just wide for a corner kick.
RSL closed out the victory and advanced to the Quarterfinal Round where it will face the LA Galaxy for the third time this season.
Next up for RSL in MLS play is an Independence Day home match against Orlando City SC, marking Salt Lake’s first match against the expansion club on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSLvPOR
- DF Elias Vasquez made his return to the RSL lineup just eight hours after he landed on a flight from Guatemala. He last appeared for Salt Lake on June 7 when he joined the Guatemala National Team for 2018 World Cup qualifying matches against Bermuda. Visa issues kept him in his home country, but on Monday he received his P-1 work visa and a new passport and was able to return to his club.
- Former RSL DF Nat Borchers made his first appearance at Rio Tinto Stadium since being traded to Portland in the off-season.
- MF Javier Morales has scored in both RSL U.S. Open Cup matches this year.
REAL SALT LAKE 2-0 PORTLAND TIMBERS
LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP; ROUND OF 16
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015
RIO TINTO STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 2 2
Portland Timbers 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
RSL: Sebastian Jaime (Olmes Garcia) 54’
RSL: Javier Morales (PK) 70’
Misconduct Summary:
None.
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-3-3): Jeff Attinella; Tony Beltran, Aaron Maund, Elias Vasquez, Demar Phillips; Luke Mulholland, Luis Gil, Javier Morales (C); Olmes Garcia (Abdoulie Mansally, 74’), Sebastian Jaime (Sebastian Saucedo, 90’), Joao Plata (John Stertzer, 84’).
Substitutes not used: Lalo Fernandez, Phanuel Kavita, Pecka, Devon Sandoval.
Portland Timbers (4-4-2): Adam Kwarasey; Taylor Peay, Nat Borchers, Liam Ridgewell (C), Jorge Villafana; Dairon Asprilla (Diego Valeri, 62’), Jack Jewsbury, George Fochive (Michael Nanchoff, 74’), Rodney Wallace; Gaston Fernandez, Maxi Urruti (Fanendo Adi, 81’).
Substitutes not used: Jake Gleeson, Norberto Paparatto, Alvas Powell.
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
Assistant Referees: Jeremy Hanson, Caleb Mendez
4th Official: Adam Zarrin
Attendance: 15,840
Weather: Sunny and 97
