REAL SALT LAKE HOSTS THE HOUSTON DYNAMO IN REGULAR SEASON HOME FINALE
GK Nick Rimando’s Final Regular Season Home Match Highlights Potential Playoff-Clinching Affair in Sandy
SANDY, Utah – (Saturday, September 28, 2019) – Real Salt Lake welcomes the Houston Dynamo to Rio Tinto Stadium on Sunday, September 29 with kickoff set for 5:30p MT. Sunday’s match can be seen live on KMYU, the KSL TV app and on the radio on ESPN700. With a win on Sunday, RSL will book its place in the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the club’s 10th playoff appearance in the last 12 seasons.
Tickets to Sunday’s match start at just $15 at RSL.com or by calling 844.REAL.TIX.
GK Nick Rimando will take the field at Rio Tinto Stadium for the final time in the Major League Soccer regular season after a storied 20-year career in the league. Arriving at Real Salt Lake prior to the 2007 season following several standout years with D.C. United, Rimando cemented himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for the club. After 13 seasons in Utah and 20 total seasons in MLS, Rimando will hang up his gloves when the book has been closed on the 2019 season after becoming a cornerstone for RSL. During his time with the club, Rimando led the team to an MLS Cup championship and became the league’s record holder – and counting – in games played (512), starts (512), wins (221), minutes (46,156), saves (1698) and shutouts (153). In 2019, Rimando became the first player in league history to start and feature in 500 regular season matches.
At halftime of Sunday’s match, the club will honor longtime DF Tony Beltran who on September 15, announced that after the 2019 season he will be retiring from professional soccer. Drafted third overall by RSL in 2008, Beltran played the entirety of his career with RSL. A two-time MLS All Star and MLS Cup champion, Beltran is one of seven players in MLS history to play for just one team and start 230 career matches. Beltran will depart the club having made 245 regular season appearances while scoring one goal.
RSL enters the match against the Dynamo after a midweek clash with the LA Galaxy in front of a season-high crowd of 20,838 in Sandy. Ultimately falling 2-1 on the night, DF Nedum Onuoha notched his first goal for RSL since arriving at the club last September. The loss saw RSL remain in fifth place in the Western Conference with two matches remaining in the 2019 regular season.
RSL enters Sunday’s contest owning an 11-4-1 (34 points) home record in 2019 and have earned a 7-2-5 record against the Dynamo at Rio Tinto Stadium since 2006. The two sides have met once already in 2019, a 1-1 draw in the season-opening match at BBVA Compass Stadium that saw MF Albert Rusnák notch his first goal of the 2019 season. Should RSL claim victory over the Dynamo in its regular season home finale, it will book its place in the 2019 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs with seeding still to be determined.
Houston arrives in Utah on the back of a 3-1 loss to LAFC on Wednesday and with the loss, have been officially eliminated from playoff contention for the second consecutive season.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake vs. Houston Dynamo – Sunday, September 29, 2019
· Coverage Begins: 5:00 p.m. MT
· Local TV: KMYU w/ 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: N/A
Game Notes for Sunday’s RSL vs. HOUGame Guide Available Online
Media members seeking the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Sunday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and the Dynamo are asked to please contact Taran Meyer in the RSL Communications Department via email at tmeyer@rsl.com.
RSL enters the match seeing 12 different players notch goals for the club. The team is led in scoring by MF Albert Rusnák with 10 goals, followed closely by Designated Player FW Sam Johnson with nine goals while Rusnák has added an additional five assists.
2018 RSL Golden Boot winner MF Damir Kreilach has remained a steady presence in the midfield for RSL in 2019, providing five goals and five assists in 28 starts this season. Playmaker FW Jefferson Savarino has seven goals and five assists to his name, enough to earn a call-up to the Venezuelan Men’s National Team for the 2019 Copa America in Brazil this summer.
On the backline, DF Nedum Onuoha has been a mainstay at centerback in his first full season with the club, featuring in 25 of the club’s 32 matches thus far. The former Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers defender has seen been paired alongside Homegrown DFs Justen Glad, Erik Holt and Marcelo Silva and on occasion, MF Nick Besler. On both sides of the backline, Homegrown DFs Aaron Herrera, Brooks Lennon and Donny Toia have battled for starting positions at right and left back. Herrera leads the team in matches played and minutes in 2019 having featured in 30 of RSL’s 32 matches and leads the team in minutes played with 2,588.
In goal, legendary GK Nick Rimando has featured in 27 matches in 2019, earning nine shutouts. Prior to the commencement of the season, Rimando announced that 2019 – his 20th season in MLS would be his last. On July 6, Rimando became the first player in MLS to start and play in 500 regular season matches as he continues to set the bench mark for players across the league. GK Andrew Putna has also seen action in goal this season, starting five of RSL’s 32 matches while earning one shutout on the year in RSL’s dominant 3-0 victory over 2019 expansion side FC Cincinnati on April 19.
