On Wednesday night, Real Salt Lake will face the Portland Timbers in a crucial match in the Round of 16 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at Rio Tinto Stadium in a historic day in Utah soccer.
With the highly-important match falling in the same window as a previously scheduled match for Real Monarchs SLC, the MLS and USL clubs decided to put their heads together and make the matches a doubleheader. RSL season ticket holders will have entry to both events – the Monarchs match against Sacramento Republic FC at 5 p.m. MT and RSL’s Open Cup tilt with Portland to follow at 8 p.m. MT using the ticket labeled BONUS GAME.
“It’s a great night of soccer. You get to see some youth (with the Monarchs) and you’ll probably see some youth in our team. But it’s just going to be good soccer,” RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “Sacramento is a very good team – champions from last year. Portland is obviously a very good team. So it’s going to be a good night of soccer and hopefully they see two Salt Lake teams winning.”
The Real Salt Lake vs. Portland Timbers match is a "win-or-go-home" elimination match in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, America's longest-running continuous tournament. Now in its 102nd season, 14 of the 16 teams in the current round vying for a Quarterfinal spot come from Major League Soccer. Should RSL win against Portland on Wednesday - either in regulation, extra time or in penalties - the Claret-and-Cobalt will host the winner of San Jose Earthquakes and Los Angeles Galaxy later in July at Rio Tinto Stadium in a quarterfinal matchup.
Monarchs season ticket holders will also have access to both matches, but need to contact Andy Atwood at (801)727-2777 and will likely have their seats reassigned, while season ticket holders to both clubs will have the option to exchange their July 1 ticket to the Monarchs match for extra tickets to the Wednesday doubleheader or additional seats to a future Monarchs match.
The match continues a stretch of six games in 19 days that will conclude on Saturday against Orlando City SC in an Independence Day clash at Rio Tinto Stadium. It has been a tough stretch for RSL, but the club has come through with a 2-1-1 record through the first four matches.
“It’s not easy, but credit to the players,” Cassar said. “Their intensity over the last three games is really what is going to continue to push us forward.”
Additional tickets for Wednesday’s doubleheader are available at RealSaltLake.com/tickets.
