HERRIMAN, Utah (Fri., August 30, 2024) – Real Salt Lake (12-6-8, 44 points, 3rd West MLS) resumes to its 2024 Major League Soccer slate Saturday night at home against the New England Revolution (8-14-2, 26 points, 12th East), the second of back-to-back home matches at America First Field in Sandy, UT, to close out the month of August. New England arrives in Utah for the first time since 2018, with two wins all-time against six losses and three draws here. Two of RSL’s most dominant home wins in its Sandy-based venue have come against the Revolution, with the Claret-and-Cobalt winning 6-0 and 5-0 in back-to-back 2009/10 visits by New England.
RSL remains in the thick of the Western Conference top-seed race, with the Claret-and-Cobalt hosting three of its next four matches and five of the final eight overall on Utah soil, where Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side has excelled this season. Kickoff Saturday is at 7:30p MT at America First Field in Sandy, with the match available via Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, as Mark Rogondino & Heath Pearce (ENG) provide the call, as will Moises Linares and Pablo Marino(SPN).
Prior to Saturday’s loss, RSL completed the most active summer transfer window in the team’s 20-year history, with five new players arriving on the Wasatch Front: FW Benji Michel, DF Javain Brown, M/F Lachlan Brook, MF Diogo Gonçalves and FW Dominik Marczuk. Three of the four signings – Portuguese Designated Player Gonçalves, former Vancouver centerback Brown and Australian youth international Brook – each made their RSL and/or MLS debutsSaturday, bringing the total number of debutants this year to 11, and the all-time number of RSL players in the Club’s 20-year MLS history to 215.
Due to P-1 visa acquisition process, Polish youth international Marczuk hopes to don the Claret-and-Cobalt for the first time this Saturday, August 31, at home against the New England Revolution, becoming the 12th player to debut this year and the 216th all-time. Outgoing RSL players during the recently-closed MLS window include MF Fidel Barajas (sold to Chivas Guadlajara in LIGA MX), FW Andrés Gómez (sold to Stade Rennais in French Ligue 1) and DF Bryan Oviedo (waived).
Last Saturday saw RSL drop an 0-2 home decision to San Jose in the Club’s first contest on Utah soil since its August 1 Leagues Cup match against Atlas FC (Liga MX), a 2-1 comeback win on goals from FW Anderson Julio (45+2’) and MF Nelson Palacio (79’).
Despite last week’s loss, the Utah side’s record on home soil this year is 9-3-1 / 28 points, with RSL welcoming both Dallas and Portland to the Wasatch Front on Sept. 18 and 21. Three RSL players made their Club debuts in Saturday’s 0-2 loss to the Earthquakes in front of yet another standing-room only crowd of 21,015 at America First Field, which has seen RSL produce seven consecutive sellouts and nine in 13 home games this season.
Real Salt Lake v. New England Revolution – MLS Matchday 30
America First Field – Sandy, UT
Saturday, August 31, 2024 – 7:30p MT
Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL v New England Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2024 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and New England can be found HERE. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact RSL Communications via email at RSLcommunications@RSL.com.
MLS GOLDEN BOOT LEADER CHICHO ARANGO QUESTIONABLE THIS WEEK ::
That August 1 Atlas FC home match represented the fourth and final match with MLS suspension imposed on RSL Captain, Colombian striker and MLS Golden Boot leader Chicho Arango, who also missed the 1-1 July 17 RSL draw at LAFC, the 2-3 loss at Colorado on July 20, the July 24 MLS All-Star Game against the Liga MX All-Stars …
Chicho – still the League’s Golden Boot leader, now even with D.C. United’s Christian Benteke and one ahead of LAFC man Denis Bouanga despite the Colombian’s scoring drought July 13-20 – did play the final 45 minutes of an 0-3 loss at Houston in RSL’s second Leagues Cup group stage match …
Last Saturday, Chicho started for RSL, but pulled himself out just a few minutes shy of halftime, feeling tightness in his right hamstring and taking extraordinary caution … Chicho could still be available this weekend, however, and is expected to be a full strength when RSL resumes MLS action on Sat., Sept. 14 in Houston …
