SABORIO HAT TRICK POWERS RSL
TO 3-0 WIN OVER PORTLAND
Costa Rican International’s 2nd-half Outburst Snaps 4-game Winless Streak & Rio Tinto Stadium Drought
SANDY, Utah (Saturday, July 7, 2012) – Real Salt Lake (11-6-3, 36 points, West #2) ended a four-game winless streak in style Saturday night, getting three second half goals from FW Alvaro Saborio in the span of 15 minutes to smash the Portland Timbers 3-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Saborio’s three-goal haul – the second MLS and third overall hat trick in RSL history – gives him 10 goals on the year, tops on the team and third in the league.
RSL dominated Portland – which played a man down after Diego Chara was shown a red card for a handball on the goal line in the 74th minute – throughout the game, holding a 63-37 possession advantage and outshooting the Timbers 18-5 on the night.
Real Salt Lake nearly scored on several occasions in the first half, with DF Jamison Olave –making his return to the starting lineup after missing the last three games due to injury – coming closest when he headed MF Javier Morales’ free kick just over the bar in the 35th minute. MF Will Johnson was active as well, forcing Timbers GK Troy Perkins into solid saves in both the 19th and 24th minutes.
RSL’s strong play continued after the break, with the team putting Portland under pressure right from the start of the second stanza. Saborio broke through to give RSL the lead in the 60th minute, rising above Portland DF Futty Danso to head RSL captain Kyle Beckerman’s ball across the face of goal and inside Perkins’s left post. The goal put an end to RSL’s 251-minute scoreless streak, dating back to the 79th minute against San Jose on June 23.
Saborio put RSL up 2-0 less than two minutes after his first strike, beating Timbers left back Steven Smith to a sublime, curling cross from DF Chris Wingert before nodding the bouncing ball home from 10 yards. The Costa Rican international had to wait just a little bit longer to complete his hat trick, but complete it he did; coolly burying a 75th minute penalty kick given after Chara was ejected for handling a Saborio header that was ticketed for the back of the net.
Tempers flared in the 64th minute, when several RSL players took exception to the one of a series of hard fouls on Morales and got into a skirmish with multiple Timbers. The scuffle led to two Timbers – Chara and DF David Horst – and one RSL player – Johnson – getting shown yellow cards.
Real Salt Lake is now 2-0-0 against Portland in 2012, having beaten the Timbers 3-2 on March 31 at JELD-WEN Field. The team is now unbeaten in its last two matches and carries a two-game shutout streak into its next match, a Western Conference showdown at league-leading San Jose next Saturday, July 14. That game will be televised LIVE in HD across Utah on KTVX ABC 4 at 8:30p MT, with Rob Stone and Brian Dunseth on the call.
Click here to access video highlights and the MLSsoccer.com MATCHCENTER for RSL v POR
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSL 3-0 POR
· Real Salt Lake’s record of 11-6-3 (36 points) is tied on points and one win ahead of the 2010 mark (10-4-6) for the best 20-game start in team history … The team’s 7-3-1 home record is the second-best mark through 11 home games in the team’s eight-year history (2010, 8-0-3, 27 pts).
· Saborio’s hat trick was his first in a RSL uniform and just the third in RSL history … Current head coach Jason Kreis scored RSL’s first-ever hat trick in a 2005 U.S. Open Cup match at Minnesota, while former RSL FW Robbie Findley netted the only other league hat trick in club history the 2009 home opener, a 4-1 win over Columbus … Taking just 15 minutes, Saborio’s hat trick was the quickest in RSL history.
· Saborio’s successful penalty kick conversion in the 75th minute makes him 10-for-10 from the spot in his RSL career … The Costa Rican international now has 12 game-winning goals and 44 total goals in 78 games across all competitions for RSL.
· Tonight’s win gives RSL GK Nick Rimando 131 career wins, tying him with former MLS GK Zach Thornton for second place all-time in league history.
· Olave, DF Tony Beltran and MF Ned Grabavoy all returned to the starting lineup after missing games due to injury … Olave returned to the first team after missing out on the starting XI in the last three games, while Grabavoy came back after two matches and Beltran returned after being absent from the starting lineup for one game.
· Unfortunately, Grabavoy had to be taken off in the 24th minute of the match after picking up an apparent knee injury, replaced by MF Luis Gil.
· Real Salt Lake returns to Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, July 21, when the team will continue its battle for the Rocky Mountain Cup against the rival Colorado Rapids. Tickets for the rivalry match – which will feature post-game fireworks in honor of Pioneer Day – can be purchased at www.RealSaltLake.com or by calling (801) 727.2701.
REAL SALT LAKE 3 : 0 PORTLAND TIMBERS FC
SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2012
RIO TINTO STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 3 3
Portland Timbers 0 0 0
Scoring Summary: RSL – Alvaro Saborio (Kyle Beckerman, Luis Gil) – 60’
RSL – Alvaro Saborio (Chris Wingert) – 62’
RSL – Alvaro Saborio (PK) – 75’
Misconduct Summary: RSL – Will Johnson (Argument) – 65’
POR – Diego Chara (Foul) – 65’
POR – David Horst (Argument) – 66’
RSL – Kyle Beckerman (Foul) – 66’
POR – Lovel Palmer (Foul) – 67’
POR – Steven Smith (Foul) – 68’
POR – Diego Chara (Hand, Ejected) – 74’
POR – Futty Danso (Foul) – 90’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2) – Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave (Kwame Watson Siriboe, 83’), Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert; Kyle Beckerman (c), Ned Grabavoy (Luis Gil, 24’), Will Johnson, Javier Morales; Paulo Jr. (Emiliano Bonfigli, 54’), Alvaro Saborio
Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Reynish (GK), Kenny Mansally, Jonny Steele, Yordany Alvarez
Portland Timbers (4-5-1) – Troy Perkins; Kosuke Kimura, Mamadou Danso, David Horst, Steven Smith; Diego Chara, Lovel Palmer (Mike Fucito, 69’), Jack Jewsbury (c), Eric Alexander (Hanyer Mosquera, 76’), Darlington Nagbe; Danny Mwanga (Kris Boyd, 69’)
Substitutes Not Used: Joseph Bendik, Kalif Alhassan, Mike Chabala, Sal Zizzo
Referee: Mark Geiger Referee's Assistants: Sean Hurd, Jeremy Hanson 4th Official: Allen Chapman
Attendance: 16,444
Time of Game: 1:55
Weather: Clear and 90 degrees
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