SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake advanced to the Quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night, scoring five unanswered goals – including three in extra time – to defeat the USL Pro Charleston Battery 5-2 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Real Salt Lake will host the NASL Carolina RailHawks in the Open Cup Quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, June 26. Tickets for the June 26 U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal match go on sale at 10:00 a.m. MT on Thursday at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com and over the phone at 801-727-2700. While the Carolina #USOC100 match is NOT included in the Real Salt Lake 2013 season ticket package, RSL “PRIDE” Season Ticket Holders will have until Thursday, June 19 to secure their seat location, and can also purchase additional seats to the match for a preferred price. Visit www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets for more details on pricing for tickets to the match.
Real Salt Lake fell behind early, giving up two goals in the first 20 minutes. Charleston opened the scoring in the 16th minute. FW Dane Kelly ran behind the defense and collected a long ball on the left wing, dribbling into the box before curling a 15-yard right-footer past diving RSL GK Josh Saunders and inside the far post.
Things went from bad to worse for RSL just two minutes later, with Battery MF Nicki Paterson tapping home a rebound to put Charleston up 2-0 in the 18th. MF Quinton Griffith made the play, collecting a ball in the right side of the area and smashing a low drive off the left post. The rebound bounced directly to Paterson, who slotted home easily from eight yards out with his first touch.
Content with its 2-0 lead, Charleston began to sit back, dropping 10 and occasionally 11 players behind the ball. RSL controlled the lion’s share of possession and started creating opportunities, with FW Devon Sandoval registering a pair of half chances in the 30th and 34th minutes. RSL had its best look of the half in the 42nd minute, when MF Sebastian Velasquez unleashed a hard left-footer from the top right corner of the box that deflected off of MF Javier Morales in the center of the box and whizzed by the far post.
The Claret-and-Cobalt came out strong in the second half, nearly pulling a goal back through captain Kyle Beckerman on two different occasions in the 55th minute. Beckerman collected a ball in the center of Charleston’s third and ripped a 30-yarder that flew past Battery GK Odisnel Cooper and bounced off the left post. RSL collected the rebound and eventually cycled the ball back to Beckerman, who hit a 25-yard left-footer off of a Charleston player and just wide of the left post from the center of the park.
RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis made a double substitution in the 63rd minute, bringing FW Joao Plata on for DF Aaron Maund and inserting MF Khari Stephenson for Velasquez. The changes made an immediate impact, with Plata in particular livening things up for the Claret-and-Cobalt with dynamic on-the-ball runs down the left wing.
Real Salt Lake pulled back a goal three minutes after the double switch, with Sandoval heading home a DF Tony Beltran cross in the 66th minute. Beltran played a very nice ball from the right wing to the back post and Sandoval did the rest, rising over his man and nodding his header across the face of goal and inside the right post.
RSL continued pushing after the goal, with Plata eventually earning a penalty in the 78th minute after he was chopped down in the left side of the area by a Battery defender. The Ecuadorian attacker buried the ensuing spot kick in the 79th, sending Cooper the wrong way before drilling the penalty into the top left corner to tie the game at 2-2.
Though it came close a few times in regulation, the Claret-and-Cobalt would have to wait until extra time to find the winner. Sandoval put the Utah side on top for good in the 96th minute, heading home a Plata cross to give RSL the 3-2 lead.
Stephenson added to RSL’s lead in the 105th minute. The powerful Jamaican collected a Morales pass in the middle of Charleston’s third, unleashing a trademark rocket into the top right corner to double the Claret-and-Cobalt’s advantage. Morales iced the game in stoppage time of the first period of extra time, coolly converting a penalty kick that Sandoval earned to put RSL up by three.
Real Salt Lake doesn’t have another first-team game until Saturday, June 22, when it will host Seattle Sounders FC in MLS action at 7:30 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium. The RSL Reserves will play this weekend, taking on USL Pro side Phoenix FC at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. at 8:30 p.m. MT.
Click here to access video highlights and the RealSaltLake.com MATCHCENTER for RSL 5-2 CHR
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSL 5-2 CHR
- With tonight’s two-goal performance, rookie RSL FW Devon Sandoval moved into a first-place tie with current Head Coach Jason Kreis, Head Scout Andy Williams and Captain Kyle Beckerman with three goals all-time in the club’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup annals.
- Tonight’s offensive output of 3+ goals marked the fourth consecutive match (in all competitions) that RSL reached that threshold, as well as in five of its last six matches dating back to May 19. Since losing at home on April 27 to Los Angeles (0-2), RSL has posted a 7-1-1 record across league and Open Cup play, scoring multiple goals in eight of the nine games. In that span, RSL has outscored opponents 25-11, with only the 1-1 home draw on May 25 to Chicago blemishing the scoring output.
- RSL now advances to the Quarterfinal stage of the LHUSOC for the third time in the club’s nine-year history, winning its first two games, both at home against minor-league opponents, both needing 120 minutes, by an aggregate score of 8-4, before an average crowd of nearly 14,000. 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, only to lose on the road against Western Conference MLS rivals Colorado (2006) and Dallas (2011), both by 0-2 score lines.
- Real Salt Lake is now 8-8-0 all-time in U.S. Open Cup play, scoring 29 goals and conceding 31 in the tournament (or qualification thereof). RSL is now 5-2-0 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 active players (MF Ned Grabavoy, 2005, LA Galaxy; DF Abdoulie Mansally, 2007, NE Revolution) and six members of the executive/technical staff (President Bill Manning, 1991, Brooklyn Italians; GM Garth Lagerwey, 1997, Dallas Burn; Head Coach Jason Kreis, 1997, Dallas Burn; Assistant Coach Jeff Cassar, 1997, Dallas Burn; Assistant Coach C.J. Brown, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, Chicago Fire; Head Scout Andy Williams, 2003, Chicago Fire) lifting the Dewar Cup a combined 11 times in their illustrious playing careers.
- The June 26 Quarterfinal concludes a run of seven consecutive home games at Rio Tinto Stadium for Jason Kreis’ club, including four MLS regular-season matches (May 25 1-1 T v CHI; June 1 3-0 W v SJ; June 8 3-1 W v LA; June 22 v SEA) and the three Open Cup contests (May 28 3-2 W v ATL; June 12 5-2 W v CHR and June 26 v CAR). On top of those 7 games in 31 days, Utah’s Rio Tinto Stadium also hosts an eighth - the critical United States National Team World Cup Qualifier against Honduras - on Tuesday, June 18, on the road to FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014, which kicks off exactly one year from today.
- With both Joao Plata and Javier Morales converting from the spot tonight, RSL continues its perfect 6-for-6 penalty kick conversion rate in Open Cup play. Joining the active duo are Will Johnson (1-for-1), Jason Kreis (1-for-1) and Jeff Cunningham (2-for-2).
- The five-goal, post-halftime comeback for RSL marked the second-greatest in club history, nearly reaching the heights of a 6-0 home win over New England on April 25, 2009, when all six goals were scored in the final 45. On July 24, 2009, RSL trailed at home against Dallas by a 2-0 score at half, only to storm back to capture a Pioneer Day victory with four goals in the second half.
- RSL DF Aaron Maund tonight became the 22nd field player – out of RSL’s 26 on the roster – to start a league or Open Cup match in 2013. Only MF Enzo Martinez, DF Rich Balchan, MF David Viana and MF John Stertzer have not yet been penciled in the starting XI.
REAL SALT LAKE 5–2 CHARLESTON BATTERY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2013
RIO TINTO STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 ET 1 ET 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 2 3 0 5
Charleston Battery 2 0 0 0 2
Scoring Summary:
CHS – Dane Kelly (Jarad van Schaik) – 16’
CHS – Nicki Paterson – 18’
RSL – Devon Sandoval (Tony Beltran) – 66’
RSL – Joao Plata (Penalty) – 79’
RSL – Devon Sandoval (Joao Plata) – 96’
RSL – Khari Stephenson (Javier Morales) – 105’
RSL – Javier Morales (Penalty) – 105+’
Misconduct Summary:
CHS – Nicki Paterson (Yellow; Foul) – 56’
CHS – Mike Azira (Yellow; Foul) – 57’
CHS – John Wilson (Yellow; Foul) – 93’
RSL – Devon Sandoval (Yellow; Foul) 94’
CHS – Cody Ellison (Yellow; Foul) 112’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-1-2-1-2): Josh Saunders; Tony Beltran, Nat Borchers, Aaron Maund (Joao Plata, 63’), Chris Wingert; Kyle Beckerman (C); Ned Grabavoy, Sebastian Velasquez (Khari Stephenson, 63’); Javier Morales; Devon Sandoval, Olmes Garcia (Robbie Findley, 75’)
Substitutes not used: Jeff Attinella, Lovel Palmer, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Yordany Alvarez
Charleston Battery (4-5-1): Odisnel Cooper; Mark Wiltse, Colin Falvey (C), Cody Ellison, John Wilson; Quinton Griffith (Taylor Mueller, 74’), Mike Azira, Nicki Paterson, Jarad van Schaik, Jose Cuevas (Zach Prince, 69’); Dane Kelly (Heviel Cordoves, 82’)
Substitutes not used: Kevin Klasila (GK), Shawn Ferguson, Maikel Chang
Referee: Jesus Cisneros
Assistant Referees: Baboucarr Jallow, Eduardo Mariscal
4th Official: Allen Chapman
Attendance: 13,763
Weather: Cloudy and 92 degrees
