RSL Ride Late Comeback to Slash Two-Goal Deficit

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts (Saturday, March 12, 2022) – Late-game heroics see Real Salt Lake (2-0-1, 7 points) steal all three road points in a dramatic 3-2 road victory over the New England Revolution Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.

Venezuelan FW Sergio Cordova scored his first goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt, while homegrown DF Justen Glad hit a late-game equalizer, one quickly followed by a stoppage-time goal from fellow Academy graduate Tate Schmitt to secure all three road points against the 2022 Supporter’s Shield winners.  

Postgame Quotes from RSL at NE

Postgame Video from RSL at NE 

For the sixth time in Club history, Real Salt Lake took the pitch in the midst of snow using an orange ball, this time at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The elements caused low visibility, which led to MF Maikel Chang receiving a knee to the head and Cordova entering the match in the 14th minute as a forced concussion substitute. For much of the first half, both teams struggled to maintain possession due to the inclement weather, but in the third minute of first half stoppage time Revs FW Emmanuel Boateng was able to find the opening goal, giving the home side a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break. 

At the start of the second half, FW Bobby Wood found the end of a forward pass in the box from winger Justin Meram, after which he attempted to chip it in with the outside of his foot, but New England GK Earl Edwards, Jr. was able to stick his leg out and block the shot. Shortly thereafter, New England doubled their lead when FW Jozy Altidore headed in a headed cross from Adam Buksa. 

However, Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s Salt Lake side were able to pull one back in the 78th minute when Wood was brought to ground, leaving a loose ball in the box for Augsburg loanee Cordova to pounce on for an easy tap in. This sparked a dramatic comeback as RSL equalized in the 88th minute when DF Justen Glad connected on a cross from Ruiz, sticking his right leg out to redirect the ball in past Edwards Jr. 

In the final minute of stoppage time, second-half substitute MF Jasper Löffelsend – signed to the Club just 14 days earlier – found an unmarked Schmitt at the top of the box. In the midst of falling to the ground, Schmitt unleashed a rocket into the top right corner to steal all three points with a 3-2 RSL victory at the death.

UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake return to Rio Tinto Stadium to host Nashville SC this Saturday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. MT for the second-ever matchup between the two clubs. 

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN 

NE: Emmanuel Boateng (Adam Buksa), 45+3rd minute: Buksa headed a ball through several RSL players to the feet of Boateng, who hit a left foot shot that skipped through the legs of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. 

NE: Jozy Altidore (Adam Buksa), 62nd minute: Sebastian Lletget hit a cross in towards the missile of the box, where Buksa flicked the ball back towards the far post and Altidore was able to run onto it, uncontested, to head it past Zac MacMath. 

RSL: Sergio Cordova (Bobby Wood) 77th minute: After beating two New England defenders, Bobby Wood was taken down at the top of the box, but the advantage was played and Cordova jumped onto the loose ball to tap it in for his first goal as a member of the Claret-and-Cobalt.  

RSL: Justen Glad (Pablo Ruiz) 88th minute: RSL earned a free kick at the top of the box, where Ruiz chipped a cross in over the defensive line directly in the path of Glad who stuck his right foot out and redirected it into goal. 

RSL: Tate Schmitt (Jasper Löffelsend) 90+3rd minute: In the final moments of stoppage time Löffelsend cut in towards the left post before pulling back to find an unmarked Schmitt, who hit a rocket of a shot into the far right corner, for his first Major League Soccer goal to secure all three points on the road. 

NOTES: 

-   Nick Besler, Zack Farnsworth, Damir Kreilach, Aaron Herrera, David Ochoa and Rubio Rubin were unavailable due to injury

-   Defender Marcelo Silva wore the captain’s armband for the second consecutive game while Club Captain Damir Kreilach was out due to injury

-  Real Salt Lake played its second-consecutive match in snow for the first time in Club history, improving to 5-1-0 all-time, across all competitions, when using the orange hi-vis ball

-  The three goals scored in 12 minutes are the fastest for RSL since September 1, 2018 when the team scored three in 10 minutes on their way to a 6-2 victory over LA Galaxy.

-The victory marked the first time since May 3, 2014 that RSL was able to overcome a two-goal deficit and secure all three points. 

Match: Real Salt Lake at New England Revolution

Date: March 12, 2022

Venue: Gillette Stadium; Foxborough, MA.

Weather: Snowy and 30 degrees

Scoring Summary:      1     2      F 

Real Salt Lake          0     3     3

New England         1     1     2

NE: Emmanuel Boateng (Adam Buksa), 45+3’
NE: Jozy Altidore (Adam Buksa), 62’
RSL: Sergio Cordova (Bobby Wood) 77’
RSL: Justen Glad (Pablo Ruiz) 88’
RSL: Tate Schmitt (Jasper Löffelsend) 90+3’ 

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake (3-4-2-1): Zac MacMath, Erik Holt (Jasper Löffelsend 84’), Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva; Andrew Brody, Pablo Ruiz, Scott Caldwell (Everton Luiz 72’), Justin Meram (Jonathan Menendez 72’), Tate Schmitt, Maikel Chang (Sergio Cordova 14’); Bobby Wood 

Subs not used: Tomas Gomez, Bode Davis, Chris Garcia, Johan Kappelhof 

New England Revolution (4-2-3-1): Earl Edwards Jr.; AJ DeLaGarza, Andrew Farrell, Jonathan Bell, Ryan Spaulding; Wilfrid Kaptum (Carlos Gil 59’), Maciel, Arnor Traustason (Sebastian Lletget 59’), Tommy McNamara, Emmanuel Boateng (Jozy Altidore 59’); Adam Buksa (Matt Polster 76’) 

Subs not used: DeJuan Jones, Gustavo Bou, Brad Knighton, Omar Gonzalez, Brandon Bye

Stats Summary: RSL / NE

Shots: 19 / 13

Shots on Goal: 6 / 5

Saves: 3 / 3

Corner Kicks: 8 / 6

Fouls: 9 / 9 

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
NE: Arnor Traustason (caution) 5’
NE: Wilfrid Kaptum (caution) 16’
RSL: Pablo Ruiz (caution) 35’
RSL: Scott Caldwell (caution) 65’ 
RSL: Justen Glad (caution) 90+2’ 

OFFICIALS:
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Gianni Facchini
4th Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Fotis Bazakos