SANDY, Utah (Friday, May 3, 2019) – Real Salt Lake returns to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday to face Western Conference rivals the Portland Timbers at 7:00p MT.
RSL has won two of the last three matches, posting a 2-1 home win over Orlando City SC on April 13 and a 3-0 road win over FC Cincinnati on April 19 before falling 2-1 to the LA Galaxy on Sunday. DF Donny Toia scored his first goal of the season and just the second of his MLS career, but a late goal from the Galaxy proved too much to overcome, ending the two-game winning streak.
The match against the Timbers will be the first meeting between the two sides this season. Portland won both meetings in 2018, with RSL taking both results in 2017. The teams are split at 7-7-7 in the all-time series, with both teams scoring 29 goals. Across all competitions, RSL is 11-7-7 with two wins in the MLS Cup Playoffs and two wins in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers – Sat., May 4, 2019
· Coverage Begins: 6:30 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 vs. POR game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Sunday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and the Portland Timbers 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.
