RSL Vies for Western Conference Final Berth

HERRIMAN, Utah (Saturday, November 27, 2021) – Real Salt Lake continues its Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoff run on Sunday, November 28 at 1:00 p.m. MT against Western Conference rivals Sporting Kansas City for the Western Conference Semifinal.  

The match will be nationally broadcast on ABC and ESPN Deportes in the United States and TSN and TVA Sports in Canada. ESPN700 will carry the local English radio broadcast and Spanish-speaking fans can tune in on KBMG Latino 106.3, La Gran D 102.3 and KTUB 1600.   

Despite being on the road, fans can still support the team by attending one of two watch parties. Nick Rimando is set to host festivities for those 21+ at Beer Bar in downtown Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, Jamison Olave will be on site for the all-ages event at the Rio Tinto Stadium Midfield Club located on the second floor. Both watch parties will begin at 1:00 p.m. MT.  

Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City

Children’s Mercy Park; Kansas City, Kansas

Sunday, November 28 at 1:00 p.m. MT 

Game Notes for Tuesday’s RSL @ SKC game Available Online

Those seeking the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Sunday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City 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 the RSL Communications Department via email at meg.vandyk@rsl.com. 

Records: Real Salt Lake (14-14-6, 48 points, 7th in West, 0-0-1, 6-5 SOW in Round 1); Sporting Kansas City (17-8-9, 60 points, 3rd in West, 1-0-0 in Round 1) 

Head-to-Head: Real Salt Lake has a 15-11-8 all-time mark against Sporting Kansas City, including the most dramatic regular-season win in Club history, when Damir Kreilach scored the game-winner to send the team to the playoffs in the very last second of the game on November 7 at Children’s Mercy Park. Since losing at KC via 20-round shootout in MLS Cup 2013, RSL has posted a 4-1-3 regular-season record at Children’s Mercy Park, the only loss coming in 2017 

How We Got Here: On Tuesday night in Seattle, Real Salt Lake shocked the sporting world, taking down MLS giants Sounders FC on their home turf. The Utah team made history, becoming the first side to ever advance in the 26-year history of Audi MLS Cup Playoffs without taking a single shot. After five rounds of penalty kicks, in which Aaron Herrera, Pablo Ruiz, Damir Kreilach, Marcelo Silva and Bobby Wood all nailed their shots, goalkeeper David Ochoa blocked former RSL player Kelyn Rowe’s PK, leaving it all in the hands of Homegrown Justen Glad. The defender stepped up and pinged his shot from one post to the other, past 2021 MLS Save of the Year winner Stefan Frei, securing a berth in the Western Conference Semifinal against Sporting Kansas City. 

Connections: Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia was a member of Real Salt Lake during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, serving as a backup to RSL legend Nick Rimando. Since joining Sporting KC in 2015 he has appeared in 167 matches and was named 2015 MLS Comeback Player of the Year and 2017 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.