HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, April 1, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (3-1-1, 10 pts, T-1st West) continues a two-game rivalry road swing this Saturday, April 2 against Colorado, the first leg of the 2022 Rocky Mountain Cup giving the Claret-and-Cobalt a chance to get back into the win column after last week’s 0-1 loss at Kansas City.
Saturday’s match will be broadcast locally on KMYU (2.2 over-the-air, 643/22 Comcast, 12 Satellite). The match is also available to stream via the KSL TV & KSL Sports apps, as well as via KSLSports.com. Fans can also follow via 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 at Colorado Rapids
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park; Commerce City, Colo.
Saturday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL @ COL game Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Colorado 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 (3-1-1, 10 pts, T-1st West); Colorado Rapids (2-1-1, 7 points, t-3rd West)
Head-to-Head: Real Salt Lake and Colorado resume the fan-created Rocky Mountain Cup for the 18th year, the Rapids winning in 2005 and 2006 prior to RSL capturing honors 12 times in the next 15 years, including 2021. All-time, RSL boasts a 25-15-11 (W-L-T) mark against that team from the other side of the Rockies, while the Claret-and-Cobalt’s eight wins as part of an 8-11-5 road mark in suburban Denver is the Club’s most away from home.
Since RSL (2009) and Colorado (2010) each won MLS Cups, RSL is 6-6-2 (W-L-T) at Colorado, failing to win there only twice (2016, 2021) since 2013. In that same span, RSL owns a 15-5-2 (W-L-T) mark against these rivals.
This year’s Rocky Mountain Cup series is only two games (the teams meet again at Rio Tinto Stadium on July 9), adding importance to Saturday’s tilt.
STORYLINES TO WATCH:
Mastroeni Returning Home
RSL boss Pablo Mastroeni was both an iconic player and coach for Colorado from 2002-17, captaining the Rapids to an MLS Cup 2010 victory over Dallas and leading the Club to its best-ever MLS regular season in 2016, with 58 points and only six losses. All told, Mastroeni guided the Rapids for 136 games from 2014-17, amassing 43 wins and 35 draws to go with 58 losses. A year ago, Mastroeni’s jersey #25 was retired by the Rapids, a first for the organization.
Next Man Up Indeed
One week after RSL Homegrown Bode Davis became the 20th RSL Academy product to make his MLS debut in the 2-1 home win against Nashville, last week’s 0-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City saw the Club’s spate of injuries create even more opportunities for new and young players in the Claret-and-Cobalt.
Minutes before kickoff, rookie D/M Jasper Löffelsend garnered his first-ever MLS start when DF Johan Kappelhof suffered calf tightness in warmups that prevented his participation. FW Sergio Cordova and FW Jonathan Menendez were receiving their first starts of the season due to a Friday training injury to Bobby Wood and the international absence of winger Justin Meram (Iraq). Late in the first half, DF Erik Holt tore the plantar fascia in his left foot, forcing the addition of 17-year old centerback Jaziel Orozco into the action, the RSL Academy man becoming the 21st HG player to receive MLS minutes.
Late in the match, RSL stalwarts Damir Kreilach and Rubio Rubin entered the fray, Kreilach making his first appearance since the Club’s Feb. 27 opener at Houston and Rubin seeing action for the first time in the 2022 season.
With Justen Glad (hamstring), Aaron Herrera (calf), Zack Farnsworth (ankle), Nick Besler (nose), David Ochoa (quad) all expected out in addition to Wood (hamstring), Holt (foot), Kappelhof (calf) and Menendez (adductor), who seizes the inevitable opportunity in Colorado?
Record Start Still in Play
Despite the 0-1 loss suffered last week in Kansas City, an encouraging performance provides hope as the team battles injuries and the road in the midst of a four-game, five-week road swing that sees only April 9 against Toronto played in Utah. With the four-game unbeaten run to start the season a thing of the past, a win in Colorado would still enable RSL to capture 13 of a possible 18 points, a six-game start which would be second only to the 2011 and 2012 RSL seasons.
Connections: RSL GK Zac MacMath played in and started 31 games for Colorado from 2015-2018, playing more than 2700 minutes during the Rapids' Tim Howard era. MacMath - coached by Pablo Mastroeni for the majority of that period - amassed a record of 12-12-7 (W-L-T) with 8 shutouts and a 1.14 Goals Against Average. In Rocky Mountain Cup tilts against RSL, MacMath went 1-3-0 with a clean sheet (May 7, 2016 in a 1-0 COL win at DSG Park). MacMath also backstopped 3 draws against RSL while a member of the Philadelphia Union from 2011-14, including a 2012 shutout against the Claret-and-Cobalt.
