SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake learned on Tuesday night that it will host the NASL Atlanta Silverbacks on Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium in the third-round of the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Atlanta advanced to the third-round by defeating the National Premier Soccer League's (NPSL) Georgia Revolution 3-2 in second-round action on May 21.
The May 28 U.S. Open Cup match is included in the Real Salt Lake 2013 season ticket package as Bonus Game A. RSL “PRIDE” Season Ticket Holders can purchase additional seats to the match for $10. Tickets to the general public are currently on sale and can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online or over the phone at 801-727-2700. Visit www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets for more details on the special pricing for tickets to the match.
A year ago, RSL was bounced out of the Open Cup in the third round, losing 3-1 to the NASL’s Minnesota Stars in front of a record-setting crowd of 17,212 at Rio Tinto Stadium on May 29, 2012. The Claret-and-Cobalt’s best Open Cup finishes came in 2006 and 2011, when the Utah side advanced to the Quarterfinals of the tournament.
Real Salt Lake is 5-8-0 all-time in U.S. Open Cup play, scoring 21 goals and conceding 27 in the tournament. RSL is 2-2-0 against lower division teams in Open Cup action, with both losses coming against Minnesota. Members of the Claret-and-Cobalt have had success in the Open Cup away from RSL, with two players (and five members of the technical staff lifting the Dewar Cup a combined 10 times while with other teams.
The winner of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will be granted a berth in the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League tournament. Real Salt Lake competed in the 2010-11 and the 2012-13 editions of the CCL, becoming the first – and still only – MLS club to reach the final in 2011 before falling out of the continental tournament in the Group Stage last October. Participation in MLS Cup 2013 and claiming the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the regular season points leader would provide alternate routes for qualification into the 2014-15 CCL.
Now in its 100th year of competition, the Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup is an annual, single-elimination competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. This year’s tournament proper kicked off on Tuesday with 15 first-round matches contested across the country, with 11 of those games won by the home side. The tournament's 16 winners from tonight and Wednesday, May 22 are set to meet the 16 American MLS sides in the third-round next week, on May 28 and 29. The U.S. Open Cup fourth-round will be held on June 12, followed by the Quarterfinals on June 26, the Semifinals on Aug. 7 or 21 and the Final on Oct. 1 or 2.
Along with a berth into the 2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League, the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup winner will receive a $250,000 cash prize from U.S. Soccer. The runner-up will collect $60,000 and the team that advances the furthest from each lower division league will win $15,000.
For more information on the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, including a full list of all third-round possible pairings, visit www.USsoccer.com or www.TheCup.us.
Real Salt Lake (6-5-2, 20 points, West #2) will kick off a critical four-game MLS homestand this Saturday, when it will take on Eastern Conference foe Chicago Fire at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Fire are the lone MLS opponent to boast a +.500 mark on Utah soil since RSL's inception in 2005, posting a 3-2-2 mark. Chicago authored RSL's worst-ever home loss in its last visit in 2011, defeating Jason Kreis' team 3-0 in a match marred by an early Kyle Beckerman red card and a Marco Pappa hat trick for the Fire, whom RSL defeated in the 2009 Eastern Conference Championship 5-4 in penalty kicks to earn a berth to MLS Cup 2009, the state of Utah's lone major-league professional championship in 40 years.
Saturday’s match will kick off at 7:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on CW30, ESPN 700 AM, 102.3 La Gran D FM/1600 AM. CW30 will air the 30-minute Ford Postgame Show immediately following the match; ESPN 700 will air an hour-long pregame show starting at 6:00 p.m. MT and an hour-long postgame show after the final whistle. RSL goes on to host a trio of West rivals in June, as the San Jose Earthquakes (Sat., June 1, 7:30p MT kick), Los Angeles Galaxy (Sat., June 8, 7:30p MT) and Seattle Sounders FC (Sat., June 22, 7:30p MT) each visit Rio Tinto Stadium, which will also host a critical United States Men's National Team World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday, June 18, the U.S. and RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando welcoming Honduras to Utah.
