SANDY, Utah – (Friday, March 6, 2020) – Real Salt Lake is set to welcome the New York Red Bulls to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, March 7 at 12:00p MT to open the home portion of the 2020 Major League Soccer season. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting RSL.com or by calling 844.REAL.TIX.
Tickets to Saturday’s match start as low as $15 in the stadium’s south goal when code RIOT is used at RSL.com/promo. In the south goal, home of the club’s unified supporters group The RIOT, fans can experience the passion, culture, and history of Real Salt Lake each week. Seats in this area are general admission, not assigned seating.
RSL opened its 16th season in MLS last Saturday, playing to a scoreless draw with Orlando City SC in a match that saw Zac MacMath earn his first shutout for the club. MacMath joined Justin Meram and Giuseppe Rossi in making their debuts for RSL in the draw.
The Utah side enters Saturday’s home opener having earned a 6-1-8 all-time record in home-opening contests since 2005, including a 5-1-5 record at Rio Tinto Stadium since 2009. The club’s only home-opening loss came in 2018. In last season’s home opener, Albert Rusnák notched the lone goal against the Vancouver Whitecaps to claim the 1-0 victory.
The Red Bulls enter the match having topped FC Cincinnati 3-2 on opening weekend, earning its first victory of the year behind goals from Daniel Royer, Kaku and Kyle Duncan at Red Bull Arena. The match will be the 23rd all-time meeting between the sides with RSL having never suffered defeat to NYRB on Utah soil in 11 matches played, earning a 6-0-5 record.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake vs. New York Red Bulls – Saturday, March 7, 2020
·Coverage Begins: 11:30 a.m. MT
·Local TV: KMYU w/ David James (play-by-play), Brian Dunseth (color) & Samantha Yarock (sideline)
·Digital Streaming: KSL TV app
·English Radio: ESPN700 w/ Spencer Warne (play-by-play) & Jay Nolly (color)
·Spanish TV: N/A
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL vs. NYRB game Available Online
Those seeking the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and New York Red Bulls can be found here. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact Taran Meyer in the RSL Communications Department via email at tmeyer@rsl.com.
RSL finished the 2019 regular season seeing 12 different players notch goals for the club. The team was led in scoring by MF Albert Rusnák with 10 goals, followed closely by FW Sam Johnson with nine goals while Rusnák added an additional five assists. 2018 RSL Golden Boot winner MF Damir Kreilach remained a steady presence in multiple roles for RSL in 2019, providing six goals and five assists in 32 starts this season.
On the backline, defender Nedum Onuoha returns in 2020 after becoming a mainstay at centerback in his first full season with the club, featuring in 27 of the club’s 34 matches. The former Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers defender was been paired alongside fellow returners Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva and Erik Holt and Nick Besler. On both sides of the backline, Homegrown defenders Aaron Herrera and Donny Toia return as the club welcomes MLS veteran Ashtone Morgan and MLS debutant Alvin Jones. Herrera led the team in matches played and minutes in 2019 having featured in 32 of RSL’s 34 matches for 2,768 minutes played.
In goal, David Ochoa and Andrew Putna return to the goalkeeping core and welcome veteran Zac MacMath to the team for the 2020 season. Putna saw action in goal for RSL and Real Monarchs last season, starting five of RSL’s 34 matches while earning two shutouts on the year in RSL’s dominant 3-0 victory over 2019 expansion side FC Cincinnati on April 19 and a scoreless draw against New England on September 21.
