SANDY, Utah (Friday, March 31, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (0-2-2, t-9 West) continues its 13th Major League Soccer season Saturday with a 6:00 p.m. MT kickoff at expansion Minnesota United FC (0-3-1, t-11 West) at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. RSL heads east seeking its first win of the season – and its first road win on an artificial surface since November, 2013, in the Western Conference Finals at Portland, a span of 16 games – following last Saturday’s road shutout at New York Red Bulls.
The game will be televised locally via KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call, and can also heard via RSL outlets ESPN700 AM (English, Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal, Nelson Moran & Jamison Olave).
RSL’s lone road win at an expansion club’s venue during their inaugural season came in Sept., 2008, at San Jose, when a Yura Movsisyan brace gave the Claret-and-Cobalt a 3-2 win, at the time just its third come-from-behind road win in team history. All-time, RSL is just 1-6-1 on the road at expansion teams in their inaugural seasons, being outscored 17-5 (the other point earned away by RSL came in a 2010 draw at Philadelphia).
Serving as Interim Head Coach for the club again this week is veteran MLS assistant
Daryl Shore
, now in his fourth year with Utah’s MLS side. Shore served as an assistant with the Chicago Fire for 10 seasons, also boasting head coaching experience with the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers of the NASL from 2010-13. RSL named
Mike Petke
– who will be in attendance Saturday in Minnesota – as the permanent replacement for former boss Jeff Cassar on Wednesday, after Cassar was dismissed on March 20.
RSL’s 0-0 road draw at Red Bull Arena last week was the club’s first clean sheet away in nearly two seasons, with the rare point earned at New York – which had conceded just three draws in its last 16 home games – snapping a run of seven consecutive road losses for RSL in MLS reg. season and playoff competition dating back to last July 31, when a 2-1 victory at Philadelphia was the fourth and final road win of 2016. RSL also won at Kansas City twice last year, by 2-1 and 3-1 scorelines, and pulled out a 3-2 win in its last visit to New York City, downing NYCFC 3-2 on June 2 last year.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ Minnesota United FC – Sat., April 1, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 5:30 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (5:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL @ Minnesota game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Minnesota United is available by clicking HERE. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Trey Fitz-Gerald in the RSL Communications Department via email at tfitz@rsl.com.
Saturday, RSL celebrates the return of iconic veteran duo of GK Nick Rimando – who missed last weekend while on U.S. Men’s National Team duty for recent FIFA World Cup qualifiers at San Jose, Calif., and Panama City, Panama – and Captain Kyle Beckerman, who served a one-game suspension after being booked with a pair of cautions in the first half of the March 18th 1-2 loss to LA Galaxy at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Also returning for RSL this week is playmaking MF Albert Rusnák, the 22-year old who played the final few minutes of Slovakia’s 3-1 win at Malta last Sunday in a UEFA World Cup Qualifier.
Early last week, it was announced that world power Manchester United would visit Utah for the first time ever, facing RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday, July 17. RSL “Royalty” Season Ticket Members have exclusive access to this game, with the ability to secure their seats ongoing since this Tuesday, March 28. MT. Pro-rated 15-game Season Ticket packages for Real Salt Lake's 2017 campaign at Rio Tinto Stadium remain on sale; please visit www.RSL.com/tickets/royalty or call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season kicked off on the road with a 2-1 win last Saturday in Portland, giving then-Monarchs and now new RSL Head Coach Mike Petke his first three points for the club. Saturday at 4:00 p.m. MT against Phoenix, the Monarchs look to stay perfect in newly-promoted Head Coach Mark Briggs’ debut. Season Tickets for the Real Monarchs third season in 2017 are now on sale; please call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, Real Salt Lake's regional training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.