SANDY, Utah (Friday, April 5, 2019) – Real Salt Lake is set to face Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field in Week 5 of the 2019 MLS regular season on Saturday, April 6. Kickoff from the Emerald City is set for 8:00p MT with coverage on KMYU and the KSL TV app slated to begin at 7:30p MT.
RSL claimed a 2-0 victory over Seattle on June 2, 2018, at Rio Tinto Stadium in the latest meeting between the two sides to complete the season sweep of the Sounders. A pair of second-half goals from FW Corey Baird and Luis Silva and yet another shutout performance from GK Nick Rimando helped see the Utah side go two-for-two against the Cascadia side in 2018 on consecutive weekends.
Coming off a 4-2 loss at home to FC Dallas last week, RSL will be looking to claim the full three points against Seattle to break a three-match winless run. The match against FC Dallas saw FW Jefferson Savarino and DF Marcelo Silva each notch goals in the loss, with Silva’s goal marking his first in an RSL uniform. On Saturday RSL will be without MF Damir Kreilach after he received a red card in the first half the match against FC Dallas.
RSL has continued a valuable trend in MLS through its first five matches of 2019, playing its Academy products in all five games. Heading into Saturday’s match against Seattle, RSL currently leads the league in minutes played by its Academy products with 1,587 through five weeks, piggybacking on a 2018 campaign that saw RSL set a league-record 10,826 minutes played by its Academy products. In its March 23 match against LAFC Head Coach Mike Petke elected to start a now league record six Academy products, two of which were making their MLS debuts, FW Tate Schmitt and DF Erik Holt.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @. Seattle Sounders FC – Sat., April 6, 2019
· Coverage Begins: 7:30 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 @ SEA game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Sounders FC 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.
