SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, May 23, 2023) – Real Salt Lake (4-6-3, 15 pts., 11th West) continues a fourth consecutive three-game week Wednesday in suburban Denver, traveling to face Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids (2-6-6, 12 pts, 12th West) in a 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 contest. The winner of Wednesday’s elimination match will host the winner of LAFC / LA Galaxy in the June 6/7 Quarterfinal window.
Wednesday’s match can be streamed at 8:00p MT on CBS Sports GOLAZO, the free, 24/7 soccer streaming network on connected TVs, desktop and mobile on @CBSSports, @PlutoTV and @ParamountPlus, as well as the B/R Football and USSoccer YouTube pages. For local coverage, tune in at 7:00p 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).Â
Saturday at the Rapids’ Commerce City home, RSL won 3-2, riding first-half goals from Pablo Ruiz, Danny Musovski and Damir Kreilach to command control of this season’s three-game Rocky Mountain Cup series. RSL has won 11 of the last 14 fan-created Cups, with the 2020 edition disputed due to that year’s Covid-19 disruption. RSL can clinch No. 12 in the last 15 years with a victory on Sept. 2 at America First Field in Sandy.
Thanks to a Pablo Ruiz burner in the games’ 12th minute, RSL took the early lead at Colorado on a goal that snapped a 382-minute scoring drought in MLS action, the third-longest scoreless streak in the Club’s 19 seasons. Ten minutes later, second-year RSL man Danny Musovski poked home a loose ball for his first-ever MLS goal for the Utah side, although the former LAFC player does have three goals in his last seven games (two in Open Cup action this year). Shortly before halftime, RSL Captain Damir Kreilach notched what proved to be the eventual game-winner, the 13th of his career, and the second of the season for the sixth-year Croatian.
Real Salt Lake @ Colorado Rapids – Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Rd of 16
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, Colo.
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 – 7:30p MT
Game Notes for Wednesday’s RSL @ COL match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2023 RSL Game Guide in advance of Wednesday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids 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.comÂ
2023 Records:Â Real Salt Lake (4-6-3, 15 pts, 11th West); Colorado Rapids (2-6-6, 12 pts, 12th West)
RSL v COLORADO PREVIEW
Real Salt Lake (4-6-3, 15 pts., 11th West) remains on the road for three consecutive matches away, with another MLS road tilt at Minnesota Saturday following the midweek Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match in Colorado this Wednesday. While RSL has suffered just two losses in its last 10 matches across all competitions – posting a 5W-2L-3T mark – and has posted defensive clean sheets in three of its last five MLS contests, Saturday’s first-half outburst of three goals snapped a 382-minute goal drought in MLS, which was the Club’s 3rd-longest in 19 years, just 5 minutes shy of a 2015 streak and 188 minutes shy of the record set during RSL’s 2005 expansion year.
