SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake suffered its first defeat of the 2015 MLS season and its first home defeat since June of 2014, but it didn’t come without a near-Herculean effort. Vancouver Whitecaps FC put just one shot on goal, but it proved to be the back-breaker for RSL in a 1-0 loss at Rio Tinto Stadium, coming after RSL was down to ten – and later, nine – men, dropping the Claret-and-Cobalt to 2-1-3 (nine points) on the season.
FW Sebastian Saucedo was sent off for a tackle in the 76th minute and DF Jamison Olave saw red after receiving his second yellow card in the 89th minute and Vancouver took advantage with an 80th-minute goal from FW Darren Mattocks.
The defeat was RSL’s first home loss to a Canadian team after going 12-0-3 in its first 15 matches.
RSL started the match on the strong foot. In the fourth minute, FW Alvaro Saborio got in behind the Vancouver defense on a ball from MF Kyle Beckerman, but the opportunity to take the early lead missed high and wide of the near post.
FW Jordan Allen had the only shot on goal in the first half, as the two team’s split possession in the first 45 minutes. RSL head a 5-3 advantage in the first half and had the better of the half, but couldn’t get that elusive first goal.
In the 63rd minute, FW Olmes Garcia crossed the ball in from the right side and found Saborio floating free for a header in the middle of the box, but he smashed it right into the arms of David Ousted for the save and the match remained scoreless.
The turning point came in the 76th minute, though, as RSL was forced to play down a man for the final 14 minutes when Saucedo was shown a red card for his tackle of Mauro Rosales in RSL’s attacking third in the 76th minute.
Vancouver quickly took advantage when Mattocks scored his second goal of the season in the 80th minute. Russell Teibert pressed up the left side and swung a cross into the box where Mattocks elevated and headed his shot on frame, freezing RSL GK Nick Rimando and putting it inside the far post to put RSL behind 1-0.
RSL fought for an equalizer and nearly found it in the 88th minute when Saborio hit a free-kick on frame after a Vancouver handball 26 yards from goal. Ousted was there for the save, though.
Moments later, Olave was shown a second yellow card for a foul in the midfield and was summarily ejected from the match in the 89th minute, leaving RSL with just nine men for the final minutes of the match.
RSL was able to threaten Vancouver’s net, but couldn’t break through and the match ended with the Whitecaps taking three points.
Real Salt Lake will face the New England Revolution on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in RSL’s only match of the season against the defending Eastern Conference champions.
Real Salt Lake Match Notes – RSL-VAN
- Salt Lake DF Chris Schuler was a late scratch, replaced in the lineup by DF Elias Vasquez.
- RSL MF Javier Morales was rested for the match after suffering a mild groin strain.
- Vancouver MF Pedro Morales served a red-card suspension and missed the match.
- FW Jordan Allen will depart Sunday for Austria, where he will join the U.S. U-20 National Team. The camp runs from April 18-26 and includes matches against Qatar and Croatia.
- The goal in the 80th minute by Darren Mattocks ended Real Salt Lake’s shutout streak at 262 minutes.
- FW Sebastian Saucedo’s red card in the 76th minute was the first ejection of the season for Real Salt Lake.
REAL SALT LAKE 0-1 VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015
RIO TINTO STADIUM
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 0 0
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
VAN: Darren Mattocks (Russell Teibert) – 80’.
Misconduct Summary:
VAN: Russell Teibert (Yellow; Foul) – 6’
RSL: Jamison Olave (Yellow; Dissent) – 41’
RSL: Sebastian Saucedo (Red; Foul) – 76’
VAN: Sam Adekugbe (Yellow; Foul) 83’
RSL: Jamison Olave (Yellow; Foul) – 89’
RSL: Jamison Olave (Red; Second Yellow) – 89’
RSL: Kyle Beckerman (Yellow; Foul) – 95+’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-3-3): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran (John Stertzer – 83’), Jamison Olave, Elias Vasquez, Demar Phillips; Kyle Beckerman (C), Luke Mulholland (Devon Sandoval – 87’), Luis Gil; Jordan Allen (Sebastian Saucedo – 64’), Alvaro Saborio, Olmes Garcia.
Substitutes not used: Jeff Attinella, Abdoulie Mansally, Aaron Maund, Pecka.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4-2-3-1): David Ousted; Steven Beitashour, Kendall Waston, Pa-Modou Kah, Sam Adekugbe; Gershon Koffie, Matias Laba; Darren Mattocks, Nicolas Mezquida (Mauro Rosales – 71’), Russell Teibert; Octavio Rivero.
Substitutes not used: Paolo Tornaghi, Jordan Harvey, Erik Hurtado, Deybi Flores, Kekutah Manneh, Robert Earnshaw.
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referees: Jeff Muschik, Adam Garner
4th Official: Tyler Ploeger
Attendance: 20,414
Weather: Sunny and 64
