SANDY, Utah – In conjunction with Arizona-based FC Tucson, Real Salt Lake announced on Thursday that it will participate in the 2013 FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup preseason tournament, which will be played at Kino Veteran Memorial Stadium in Tucson from Feb. 13-23.
This will be RSL’s second-consecutive year participating in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup. The Claret-and-Cobalt finished third in the 2012 edition of the tournament, beating the New York Red Bulls in the third-place game after failing to qualify for the tournament final.
RSL will be joined in Tucson by three other Major League Soccer teams: Seattle Sounders FC, New England Revolution and the New York Red Bulls. The final of the 2013 tournament will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
“Real Salt Lake is thrilled to head back to the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup for the second-straight year,” said RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey. “We’re hoping to participate in Desert Diamond Cup on a yearly basis, making Tucson – and this high-quality tournament – a regular winter destination for our fans and Utah media.”
The 2013 FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup will take place over the course of four days: Wednesday, February 13th; Saturday, February 17th; Wednesday, February 20th and Saturday February 23rd. The teams will play a round-robin format through the first three dates. The tournament final and third-place game will be played on Saturday February 23rd.
Real Salt Lake returns to MLS action on Wednesday, Oct. 17, when the club will travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Western Conference rival Seattle Sounders FC in the penultimate match of the regular season.
Schedule of Matches
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
New England Revolution vs. Seattle Sounders
New York Red Bulls vs. Real Salt Lake
Saturday, February 16th, 2013
Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake
New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution
Wednesday, February 20th, 2012
Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution
Seattle Sounders vs. New York Red Bulls
Saturday, February 23rd, 2011
MLS 3rd Place vs. MLS 4th Place
MLS 1st Place vs. MLS 2nd Place
Game times are TBA; schedule subject to change