SANDY, Utah (Thursday, April 18, 2019) – Real Salt Lake returns to the road to face 2019 Major League Soccer expansion side FC Cincinnati on Friday. Kickoff from Nippert Stadium is set for 5:30p MT and can be seen live on KMYU and the KSL TV app.
Last weekend RSL broke a four-match losing skid when it topped Orlando City SC 2-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium, a match that saw FW Sam Johnson score his first goal for the club before MF Damir Kreilach notched his second of the year in the win. Kreilach together with MF Albert Rusnák, now sit tied atop the club’s goal scoring charts with two goals apiece in 2019.
Friday’s meeting will be the first between RSL and FC Cincinnati as the league’s 24th team continues its inaugural season. In its 15-year history, RSL is 4-7-1 all-time in its first meeting against an expansion side. Cincinnati arrived at the MLS landscape after three years spent in the USL Championship where it featured as one of the league’s most successful, prominent clubs. Most recently, Cincinnati capped its final season in the USL Championship having claimed the USL Championship Shield after playing to the league’s best record in 2018.
RSL Academy products continue to reign supreme during the 2019 Major League Soccer season having played a total of 2,178 minutes through seven matches. Former RSL Academy men DFs Aaron Herrera along with veterans DF Nedum Onuoha and GK Nick Rimando have played every minute for RSL this season.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ FC Cincinnati – Fri., April 19, 2019
· Coverage Begins: 5:00 p.m. MT
· Local TV: KMYU with David James (play-by-play), Brian Dunseth (color) & Samantha Yarock (sideline)
· Digital Streaming: KSL TV App
· English Radio: ESPN700 with Bill Riley (play-by-play) & Jay Nolly (color)
· Spanish Radio: 107.1 FM
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL @ FCC game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Friday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and FC Cincinnati is available 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 Taran Meyer in the RSL Communications Department via email at tmeyer@rsl.com.
Petke’s squad features a balanced attack that saw six players score five goals or more last season, led by club MVP and Golden Boot winner MF Damir Kreilach’s 12 goals to go with eight assists in his first MLS season. Rusnák finished last 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. Reigning AT&T MLS Rookie of the Year 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.
Regular contributors in that group of young and rising talent from 2018 return as DF Justen Glad, DF Aaron Herrera, FW Sebastian Saucedo and the club’s Defensive Player of the Year, DF Brooks Lennon all look poised to be regulars for the side once again. Meanwhile, club legends MF Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando and DF Tony Beltran lead a young group into the club’s 15th season in the country’s top flight.
RSL welcomed nine new players to its squad for the 2019 season as FWs Julian Vazquez, Tate Schmitt and Sam Johnson; MFs Justin Portillo, Luis Arriaga and Everton Luiz join DFs Donny Toia and Erik Holt as well as GK David Ochoa all became new faces in the offseason.
