SANDY, Utah (Saturday, July 24, 2021) – Real Salt Lake (5-4-5, 20 points) earned an emphatic 3-0 win over the Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids on Saturday night in front of 17,325 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium who joined to celebrate Pioneer Day.
Bobby Wood notched his first goal for the Club before Rubio Rubin scored his fifth goal of the season in the win. David Ochoa was forced to make just one save on the night to secure his third career MLS shutout.
Postgame Press Conferences with Freddy Juarez, Booby Wood and Ashtone Morgan.
RSL broke the deadlock in the 14th minute through unorthodox means as a simple back pass from Lalas Abubakar was mishandled by goalkeeper William Yarborough and trickled across the line for the opening goal. From there RSL didn’t let off the gas and in the 30th minute Wood struck for his first goal with RSL when his breakaway effort hit the back of the net to give RSL the 2-0 lead at halftime.
In the 64th minute, Colorado thought it cut the lead in half when a header from Auston Trusty was cleared instinctively off the line by Ashtone Morgan. In the 76th minute RSL found its third goal of the night when Damir Kreilach slipped Rubin into the 18-yard box with a clever pass before he finished toward the far post to secure the 3-0 win for the home side.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake will now travel to Texas to face Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday, July 31 at BBVA Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. MT and can be seen live on KMYU and the KSL TV app.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RSL: William Yarbrough (Own Goal) 14th minute – From a simple pass backwards, Yarborough mishandled the collected of the ball as it trickled underneath his foot and across the line for the own goal.
RSL: Bobby Wood (Albert Rusnák) 30th minute – Winning the ball in the defensive half, RSL broke forward with Rusnák playing the ball forward into the path of Wood. Wood took on two defenders and separated himself with room to shoot. He then took a left-footed effort from inside the box that easily found the back of the net to double the RSL advantage.
RSL: Rubio Rubin (Damir Kreilach) 76th minute – After RSL won the ball near the touchline, Kreilach received the ball in the center of the field where he clipped a clever pass to Rubin at the top of the area. Rubin took a touch before firing a low shot into the far side netting to secure the full three points for RSL.
NOTES:
- Midfielder Damir Kreilach made his 100th regular season appearance for the club.
- Forward Bobby Wood scored his first goal for RSL in the 30th minute.
- Winger Jonathan Menéndez made his RSL and MLS debut in the match, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 72nd minute.
- Forward Douglas Martinez was unavailable while away with the Honduras U-23 National Team at the Olympics in Tokyo. He played 90 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Romania on Thursday and Honduras meets New Zealand in the second match of the Group Stage on Sunday at 2 a.m. MT.
- Defender Ashtone Morgan made his first RSL start. He started in 92 of his 127 appearances with Toronto FC before his arrival at RSL prior to the 2020 season.
- Defenders Toni Datković, Andrew Brody and Zack Farnsworth were unavailable due to injury. Datković is recovering from a quad strain suffered in training on Monday. Brody underwent successful surgery after suffering a toe injury in RSL’s 1-0 loss to LAFC on July 3.
- Real Salt Lake had three RSL Academy products in the XI and five on the 20-man roster. Additionally, two starters and three players on the 20-man roster were previously signed to the Monarchs.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs. Colorado Rapids
Date: July 24, 2021
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Weather: Sunny and 90 Degrees
Attendance: 17,325
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 2 1 3
Colorado Rapids 0 0 0
RSL: William Yarbrough (Own Goal) 14’
RSL: Bobby Wood (Albert Rusnák) 30’
RSL: Rubio Rubin (Damir Kreilach) 76’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): David Ochoa; Aaron Herrera, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Ashtone Morgan (Donny Toia 72’); Nick Besler, Damir Kreilach; Maikel Chang (Jonathan Menendez 72’), Albert Rusnak (Everton Luiz 83’), Justin Meram (Anderson Julio 83’); Bobby Wood (Rubio Rubin 55’)Subs not used: Zac MacMath, Erik Holt, Justin Portillo, Pablo Ruiz
Colorado Rapids (4-5-1): William Yarbrough; Keegan Rosenberry, Danny Williams (Steven Beitashour 45’+1), Lalas Abubakar, Auston Trusty; Jack Price (Oliver Larraz 86’), Collen Warner, Nicolas Mezquida (Braian Galvan 55’), Michael Barrios, Cole Bassett; Andre Shinyashiki (Nicolas Benezet 55’)**
Subs not used: Clint Irwin, Drew Moor, Kortne Ford, Dantouma Toure
Stats Summary: RSL / COL
Shots: 5 / 9
Shots on Goal: 2 / 2
Saves: 1 / 0
Corner Kicks: 2 / 6
Offside: 1 / 1
Fouls: 9 / 10
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
COL: Danny Williams (caution) 23’
COL: Andre Shinyashiki (caution) 45’+1
RSL: Ashtone Morgan (caution) 61’
COL: Lalas Abubakar (caution) 65’
RSL: Damir Kreilach (caution) 88’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
Assistant Referees: Corey Rockwell, TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Brandon Stevis Jr
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr
AVAR: Jeremy Hanson
