SANDY, Utah (Monday, June 1, 2015) - Real Salt Lake learned its draw for the 2015-2016 CONCACAF Champions League on Monday after soccer's governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean announced the draw for the upcoming edition of the regional club championship in Miami, Florida.
RSL was drawn into Group G, joining Municipal from Guatemala and Santa Tecla from El Salvador. RSL will face each club in its group twice, once at Rio Tinto Stadium and once on the road. Matches will begin in August and run through October, with RSL playing in four out of six pre-determined dates for Group Stage play. The team with the highest point total in the Group Stage will advance to the Knockout Round, which features a home-and-away aggregate goal series starting in March of 2016.
Real Salt Lake earned its way into the 2015-2016 Champions League tournament with its regular season finish in the 2014 MLS regular season. RSL held a 15-8-11 record (56 points) to earn the third seed in the Western Conference. The two teams that finished ahead of Real Salt Lake in the standings - the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC - both qualified by winning MLS Cup and the Supporters' Shield, respectively, and Real Salt Lake was the next in line for a berth.
This is Real Salt Lake's third entry into the tournament. In 2010-2011, RSL reached the tournament final, losing to Monterrey from Mexico. It was the first time an MLS club had reached the final under the tournament's current format. The Montreal Impact matched that feat this year, but also lost in the final. In the 2012-2013 tournament, RSL failed to get out of the Group Stage.
