HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, September 9, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (11-9-9, 42 pts, 6th West) returns to action Saturday with a critical 7:30 p.m. MT kickoff at home against East visitors D.C. United (7-17-5, 26 pts, 14th East), the Claret-and-Cobalt looking to bounce back from a loss for the 15th time in 16 games during the 42-match Pablo Mastroeni era and extend the Club’s State Street sellout streak to a Club-record 15 games.
Saturday’s match will be broadcast locally via KMYU (12 over the air, 22 satellite and 643 HD on cable), with streaming on the KSL Sports App, as well as ESPN700 AM radio. Spanish-speaking fans can tune in on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM, La Gran D 102.3 FM and KTUB 1600 AM for the local radio broadcast.
Real Salt Lake and D.C. United last met in 2019, RSL dropping an 0-5 decision at Audi Field and seeing former English legend and current Head Coach Wayne Rooney tally three goals in a 31-minute period prior to the game’s 65th minute. RSL owns an all-time 8-1-2 (W-L-T) mark on Utah soil against visiting DCU, a mark which has seen RSL outscore the visitors 23-10 and bring an active 10-game home MLS unbeaten run into Saturday, as D.C. United has not won on the Wasatch Front since its initial visit, in 2005, back at Rice-Eccles Stadium. However, D.C. did emerge victorious once at Rio Tinto Stadium, winning 1-0 on October 1, 2013, in that year’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.
Last Sunday’s 0-2 loss at League-leading LAFC snapped RSL’s second season-high four-game unbeaten run, as well as an active three-game road result streak. With four points from two games earlier last week at Dallas (1-1 road draw) and against Minnesota (3-0 home win), RSL owns the sixth-best points-per-game average amidst a very crowded Western table in the race for the MLS Cup Playoffs. Seven teams occupy 3rd – 9th places in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, separated by just 10 points, with anywhere from four-to-six games remaining, many of which against each other.
RSL kicks off another three-game week at home against D.C. United bolstered by a complete performance last Wednesday night in Utah, winning 3-0 over visiting Minnesota. Venezuelan FW Sergio Cordova extended his Club Golden Boot goalscoring total with his eighth goal of the season – what proved to be a sixth-minute game-winner – igniting an amazing and dramatic “Teddy Bear Toss” as part of the team’s “Kick Childhood Cancer” fundraising and awareness initiatives. Just 17 minutes later, Cordova’s countryman – DP playmaker Jefferson Savarino – knocked home a dangerous Aaron Herrera cross for RSL’s first pair of first half goals since a 3-0 home win over Colorado on July 24, 2021 – a span of 50 games. RSL last scored two goals in a game’s first 23 minutes in a 4-1 home win over New England back on Oct. 18, 2018 – a span of 129 contests.
Under Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s leadership, RSL is now 12-4-4 (W-L-T) on Utah soil against MLS opponents, boasting an impressive 10-1-4 “bounceback” record in games following losses during the Mastroeni era. Tickets for both Saturday’s match against former RSL GK David Ochoa and DCU as well as the Sat., Sept. 17 match against visiting FC Cincinnati are available for what should be RSL’s potential 15th and 16th consecutive sellouts on State Street can be purchased at www.RSL.com/tickets.
Real Salt Lake v. D.C. United
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT
Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7:30 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL v DCU Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and D.C. United can be found here. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact Meg Van Dyk in RSL Communications via email at meg.vandyk@rsl.com
2022 Records: Real Salt Lake (11-9-9, 42 pts, 6th West); D.C. United (7-17-5, 26 pts, 14th East)
