HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, April 8, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (3-1-2, 11 pts, 2nd West) returns home Saturday against visiting Toronto FC, a brief respite between a pair of two-game road swings. Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium is at 6:00 p.m. MT, as Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side looks for a third consecutive home win in front of what could be a third straight sold-out RioT crowd on “Utah Jazz Night” in Sandy. Tickets remain at www.RSL.com/tickets for this weekend’s tilt.
RSL owns a 9-1-1 (W-L-T) all-time mark against Toronto FC on Utah soil, with the only loss coming at Rice-Eccles Stadium in 2007 to the expansion Canadian club. Since that time, RSL has failed to secure the full three points at home only once – a 2017 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium. With eight MLS wins over the years and another in CONCACAF Champions League group play (2010), the Claret-and-Cobalt boast a 26-9 aggregate goal advantage over the visiting maple leaf side.
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 v. Toronto FC
Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Saturday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL v TOR game Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Toronto 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 (3-1-2, 11 pts, 2nd West); Toronto FC (2-2-1, 7 points, 7th East)
Head-to-Head: As dismal as Toronto FC’s visiting prospects to Utah have been over the years, TFC has been nearly as dominant on RSL’s trips north of the border, with a 5-1-3 (W-L-T) mark across MLS / CCL competitions at BMO Field. RSL’s lone win at Toronto came in 2013. Overall, RSL holds a 10-win, 6-loss, 4-draw advantage across all competitions (9-6-3 MLS / 1-0-1 CCL).
RSL v TOR STORYLINES TO WATCH:
Manning Past and Present
Current TFC President Bill Manning held the same position at RSL from April, 2008 to August, 2015, overseeing a period of extreme growth off the field and excellence on the pitch during his time in Utah. RSL moved stadiums from Rice-Eccles to Rio Tinto under Manning’s watch, endured both partial (2009) and complete (2013) ownership transitions, advanced to seven consecutive MLS postseasons, won one MLS Cup (2009), dropped another (2013), as well as advanced to both U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League Finals in 2013. RSL was also the first American and MLS side to win a CCL group stage (2010) and the first to advance to a CCL Final (2011) in the modern era during the Manning regime, which also saw the Club attain both season ticket membership highs and corporate sponsorship zeniths.
Meram’s Dubai-Saudi-SLC-Denver Travelogue
In the midst of RSL’s early-season injury spate, veteran winger and locker room leader Justin Meram was called back into international duty for Iraq, under a new coach and a recalcitrant federation following Meram’s national team retirement last Fall. While missing RSL’s 0-1 loss at Kansas City on March 26, the former Columbus/Orlando/Atlanta forward dressed and did not play in Iraq’s 1-0 win over UAE in Riyadh, while receiving his 36th international cap by playing the final 24 minutes of their 1-1 draw with Syria in Dubai.
Meram then flew to Salt Lake City, landing Wednesday night at 11p MT. The 10-hour time difference wrecked his Thursday, Meram training lightly with RSL on Friday before flying to Denver in the afternoon for Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Cup match. The 7p MT kickoff saw Meram start and play 64 minutes in an eventual 1-1 draw, Meram drawing the late first-half penalty that led to the RSL goal.
The appearance marked Meram’s 300th of his MLS regular-season career, the 13th active player to hit that threshold. Meram has also played 20 postseason contests in his 12 years since matriculating out of the Univ. of Michigan, as well as 17 Open Cup and 3 CCL contests.
Yet Another Debutant
For a third consecutive week, RSL saw yet another player make his Club debut in MLS action. In Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Colorado, “extreme hardship” call-up Pierre Reedy played the final 7 minutes, making him the seventh different player with his RSL debut in the first 6 games of 2022.
Week One at Houston saw both MF Scott Caldwell and FW Sergio Cordova make their debuts, no surprise there. But rookie draft pick (81st overall) D/M Jasper Löffelsend was a late sub for Mastroeni and his staff. Snow-filled wins in Weeks Two and Three saw no unexpected subs, but the Week Four home win over Nashville featured the debuts for both veteran MLS centerback Johan Kappelhof and RSL Homegrown M/F Bode Davis. Week Five in Kansas City was notable for the MLS introduction of another RSL Homegrown, 17-year old DF Jaziel Orozco, while Week Six saw Reedy in Claret-and-Cobalt for the first time.
Full Circle for Salcedo
Mexican international and Toronto FC centerback Carlos Salcedo once called the RSL Academy home, spending time in Casa Grande, Arizona during his 2012/13 years after the Tigres UANL youth system released “El Titán." Salcedo became RSL’s fourth-ever Homegrown signing in January, 2013, making his MLS debut at 19 years old for RSL that May. During the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Salcedo amassed 25 appearances for the Utah side before transferring to Chivas de Guadalajara in January of 2015.
Three Consecutive Season-Opening Sellouts Quite Rare
Back on March 19 at Rio Tinto Stadium, 20,036 fans attended to give the Utah side its first back-to-back 20k crowds since late Summer 2016, and its first March with 40,000+ tickets sold since the 2013 and 2015 seasons. Should RSL sell out the RioT Saturday against Toronto, it would mark the first three-game sellout streak to open a season since 2015.
RSL to Honor Season Ticket Member “Starting XI” and “MVM” During Each 2022 Home Match
As part of RSL’s 2022 “Fan Experience” initiatives under David Blitzer and Ryan Smith, the Club will honor eleven long-time Season Ticket Members following each Rio Tinto Stadium match, with the RSL players providing autographed jerseys field-side upon the conclusion of each home game. This week’s RSL STM “Starting XI”
Also, this week’s Season Ticket Member of the Match is Melissa Brussow, who celebrates a birthday this Saturday at the RioT! Happy Birthday Melissa, so happy to have you as part of the RSL Family.
