SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, October 31, 2018) – Real Salt Lake is in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons, traveling to face LAFC on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. MT in a nationally-televised Knockout Round match. RSL enters the postseason as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference after posting a 14-13-7 record (49 points), meeting expansion LAFC who landed the No. 3 seed with a 16-9-9 record (57 points). The winners will advance to the Western Conference Semifinal – if RSL wins, it will host Sporting Kansas City on Sunday at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Thursday’s match will be televised live nationally on ESPN2 and UniMas, with local radio coverage on ESPN 700 starting at 7:30 p.m. MT.
Head Coach Mike Petke’s squad features a balanced attack that saw six players score five goals or more, led by club MVP and Golden Boot winner MF Damir Kreilach’s 12 goals to go with eight assists in his first MLS season. MF Albert Rusnák finished the season with 10 goals and seven assists while FW Joao Plata had eight goals and eight assists and FW Jefferson Savarino notched seven goals and a team-leading 11 assists. AT&T MLS Rookie of the Year finalist FW Corey Baird leads a dynamic crop of Homegrown talent from the Real Salt Lake Academy, scoring eight goals with five assists in his debut professional season. Other regular contributors in that group of young and rising talent are DF Justen Glad, DF Aaron Herrera, FW Sebastian Saucedo and the club’s Defensive Player of the Year, DF Brooks Lennon, who finished the season with five assists. FW Luis Silva rounds out the top scorers with five goals, three of which came in a substitute role. Meanwhile, club legends MF Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando led a young group to the postseason for the ninth time in RSL’s 14 seasons in Major League Soccer.
This will be the third all-time meeting between the two clubs, with LAFC winning both previous regular season matches this season.
Real Salt Lake will be hosting an official watch party at Beer Bar (21+) in downtown Salt Lake City (161 E, 200 S).
How to Follow Real Salt Lake at LAFC – Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Knockout (West)
- Coverage Begins: 8:00 p.m. MT on THURSDAY
- National TV: ESPN2 – Adrian Healey and Taylor Twellman with Sebastian Salazar
UniMas (Spanish) – Raul Guzman and Diego Balado with Marcelo Balboa - English Radio: ESPN700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley and Jay Nolly with Spencer Warne and Tom Hackett (pre-/post-game)
- Spanish Radio: 104.7 / 107.1 FM – Fernando Hortal, German Hortal and Carlos Artiles
Game Guide for Thursday’s RSL @ LAFC Matchup Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Thursday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and LAFC will be available by clicking HERE. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact RSL Director of PR Matt Gaschk in the RSL Communications Department via email at mgaschk@RSL.com.
