SANDY, Utah (Friday, September 1, 2023) – Following four consecutive losses and five out of six games played in Leagues Cup, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Major League Soccer league action over the last three weeks, Real Salt Lake (10-9-7, 37 pts, 6th West) continues its 2023 MLS campaign with a Saturday home match against Rocky Mountain Cup rivals Colorado Rapids (3-12-10, 19 pts., 14th West) on a Fireworks Night at America First Field in Sandy (7:30p MT; tickets available at www.RSL.com/tickets).
With a win Saturday, Real Salt Lake would capture its 12th Rocky Mountain Cup in the last 15 seasons, the fan-created rivalry staying on the Wasatch Front for a fourth consecutive year, including the disputed 2020 season. RSL dropped a 1-2 decision at Portland Wednesday, its eight-game MLS road unbeaten streak in snapped. RSL FW Chicho Arango scored his fourth goal for RSL this season in the 83rd minute on a **Brayan Vera** assist, but RSL could not find the late equalizer at Providence Park.
Since the **Pablo Ruiz** injury on August 8, RSL has now suffered four losses in as many matches across a trio of competitions, RSL dropping four in a row for the second time this season, each slide bracketing a run that saw Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s team lose just three games in a 23-game run from April 8 to August 4. The recent slide marks just the sixth, seventh and eighth times in Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s 89 matches at the helm that the team has dropped consecutive matches, and the first since March 25/April 1 of this season.
Saturday’s kickoff against Colorado starts at 7:30p MT on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass w/ Mark Rogondino and Heath Pearce (ENG), and Alejandro Figueredo & Jaime Macias (SPN). For local coverage, tune in at 6:30p MT for KSL Radio pre-game w/ David James & Jay Nolly via www.KSLSports.com / 1280 AM / 97.5 FM and www.KSLNewsRadio.com / 1160 AM).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CUP HISTORY
The late May back-to-back RSL @ Colorado wins – one MLS (3-2), one Open Cup (1-0), should rekindle the fan-created Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry, with RSL winning 11 of the last 14 RMC titles dating back to the Claret-and-Cobalt’s first-ever piece of hardware back in 2007. RSL can clinch a 12th RMC in 15 years with a home win over the Rapids on Saturday, with RSL returning to Denver on 2023’s “Decision Day” in late October.
All-time, RSL is 16-4-7 (W-L-T) at home against the Rapids with a 46-23 aggregate scoreline over Colorado, who won on Utah soil in 2005, 2006, 2007 – the first three years of the rivalry – as well as in 2020. RSL’s 17 MLS wins over Colorado since 2014 leads the League in wins over a single opponent during that time (credit to Opta). The 2020 #RockyMtnCup is disputed due to the Covid-affected campaign, which saw some games count towards the teams’ regular-season records and the third scheduled match not played due to a late-season Covid-19 outbreak running roughshod through the Rapids’ locker room.
With the back-to-back May wins just four days apart, RSL’s all-time road mark at Colorado is now 10W-11L-6T, outscoring the Rapids 37-33. The 10 RSL wins in Commerce City is the highest victory road total in RSL’s 19-year history, three more than RSL has at LA Galaxy and four more than the Utah side has enjoyed at San Jose and Chivas USA.
RSL’s 1-0 win on May 24 returned a long overdue favor to Colorado. The sides have competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup twice before, the Rapids winning in both 2006 and 2007 contests at RSL’s former Rice-Eccles Stadium home to eliminate the Utah side. RSL returned the elimination favor at DSG Park in the 2023 edition of the 109-year-old tourney, advancing on to a Quarterfinal home win over LA Galaxy.
