PREGAME FACTS AND INFO SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE @ NEW YORK RED BULLS
WED., JUNE 24, 2015 – 5:30 pm MT on KMYU / ESPN700 & 102.3 LaGranD
0 – Previous RSL/Monarchs doubleheaders, with the first taking place NEXT Wednesday, July 1, at Rio Tinto Stadium, as the Monarchs’ reception of defending USL champion Sacramento serves as the 5:00 p.m. MT undercard for that night’s 8:00 p.m. MT Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match between RSL and the Portland Timbers (MLS) … That match will mark the return of former DF Nat Borchers to Sandy, with the teams already slated to meet in mid-August in league play … The RSL/Timbers winner will host the LA/SJ winner in an Open Cup quarterfinal on Tuesday, July 21 …
1 – regular-season road wins in the RSL v NY Red Bull series, with RSL winning at Red Bull Arena back in 2011, a 3-1 win for the Claret-and-Cobalt in the 17th game of the series … RSL is now 1-4-3 in New Jersey, while posting a 4-0-5 home mark against the MetroStars/Red Bulls … However, NYRB did break through on the road when it counted, winning 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium in November, 2008, in that year’s Western Conference Final …
2 – road games in June/July, as RSL defends its Rio Tinto Stadium fortress for 8 home games in 10 total matches (8 MLS games, 2 US Open Cup) from June 7 through July 24 … Another potential home match is in the offing, as an RSL Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup win on July 1 would allow Rio Tinto Stadium to host a USOC Round of 16 match against Portland on July 1 …
3 – streak of consecutive games on the scoresheet for RSL FW Devon Sandoval, snapped May 27 in LA, as “Big Dev” notched game-winning assists on May 9 at Chicago and May 23 v NYCFC, to go along with his MLS Goal of the Week in the 1-4 loss at Montreal on May 16 … RSL is averaging 1.3 goals per 90 minutes with the third-year man out of New Mexico on the field (13 games played, 6 starts), compared to a 0.5 average when he is on the bench …
5 – number of RSL games recently missed by RSL #SwissArmyKnife Jordan Allen, who has spent the last 4 weeks in Auckland, New Zealand, representing the USA in the FIFA Under-20 Youth World Championship … Expecting a deep run from the U.S., RSL played 4 league games (1-2-1) and this week’s Open Cup match between his post-Montreal departure and last week’s return for the U-20 quarterfinalist …
6 – games in an 18-day period for RSL, starting Sunday … RSL chartered to face New York Red Bulls tonight, before hosting Columbus Crew SC next Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium … Wednesday, July 1 sees RSL host Portland in LHUSOC Round of 16 action, prior to an Independence Day visit by Kaka and Orlando City on Sat., July 4 … RSL then closes out the marathon with a Sat., July 11 visit to Denver to face the Colorado Rapids …
7 – consecutive playoff berths for RSL from 2008-14 (the longest active run in MLS), during which time the club has averaged 1.58 points per game) … RSL also owns a league-record 5 consecutive seasons with 15+ wins and 50+ points, matching LA’s active run from 2010 to present …
9 – consecutive seasons in an RSL uniform for GK Nick Rimando, MF Kyle Beckerman & MF Javier Morales … The longest-tenured RSL men also rank 1-2 amongst Major League Soccer’s active leaders in games/starts/minutes (Rimando: 384/384/34,723; Beckerman: 368/339/30,442) … Morales has either scored or assisted on nearly 25% of the club’s all-time 450 goals scored, with the Argentine “maestro” tallying 40 goals and 70 assists, despite missing most of the 2011 season and all of 2005/06 and more than half of 2007 …
11 – the number of current RSL players potentially involved in national team call-ups this summer, as MF Jordan Allen (U.S. U-20 at FIFA Youth World Championship), DF Boyd Okwuonu (U.S. U-23s at Toulon tournament), MF Luis Gil (U.S. U-23s + full U.S. national team), GK Nick Rimando & MF Kyle Beckerman (full U.S. national team), FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica), DF Abdoulie Mansally (The Gambia), DF Demar Phillips (Jamaica), DF Elias Vasquez (Guatemala), DF Justen Glad (U.S. U-18s) and FW Sebastian Saucedo (U.S. U-18s) all could disappear for one or more games at a time …
13 – club-high goal total a year ago by RSL FW Joao Plata, who made his 2015 debut in the final minute May 23 before playing 38 minutes in LA on May 27 and 70 minutes on the Vancouver turf May 30, prior to 90-minute performances on June 7 v Colorado and last Tuesday in LHUSOC play against Sounders 2 … Plata broke the fifth metatarsal on his left foot in an indoor turf non-contact incident on January 29, in the club’s first preseason session … During the offseason, RSL purchased outright the contract for the 22-year old diminutive forward, making him one of the club’s three designated players …
13 – wins needed by RSL GK Nick Rimando in 2015 to become Major League Soccer’s all-time leader in that category, overtaking Kevin Hartman … Rimando now has 121 career shutouts, 9 more than Hartman in 35 fewer games all-time …
22 – players to have started a game for RSL this year in the club’s first 15 MLS games this season, as DF Justen Glad made his first XI debut May 30 in Vancouver … RSL boss Jeff Cassar has given 25 players league minutes this year, meaning everyone on the roster except GK Lalo Fernandez, DF Phanuel Kavita & DF Boyd Okwuonu (MF Fito Ovalle is on a season-long loan to the USL Monarchs) have seen MLS time … Okwuonu – who impressed by starting in 4 of 5 U.S. U-23 games at Toulon in recent weeks – got the starting nod in last Tuesday’s 2-1 Open Cup win over S2, while Kavita also made his RSL debut, playing the final 61 minutes after Glad’s precautionary removal (dizziness) …
26 – all-time PK denials by RSL GK Nick Rimando, who went 3-for-5 against opponents in his last seven games – denying Rapids MF Dillon Powers on June 7 to preserve a home point … Opposing PK takers have seen their conversion rates now drop to 43-for-70 against Rimando all-time, including 22-for-40 with Nick in an RSL uniform … Amazingly, Rimando has stopped 9 of the last 13 PKs faced and 11 of the last 17 … #WalloftheWasatch indeed …
26 – wins when FW Alvaro Saborio is not available at all for RSL due to suspension, injury or national team duty, the club recording a 26-12-8 mark in those instances … RSL is 43-6-13 mark all-time when the Costa Rican international finds the back of the net, but only 22-37-26 when he plays and doesn’t score …
27 – game-winning goals in the 75th minute or later for RSL in its 393-game all competition history, after Sunday night’s 93+ game-winner by FW Olmes Garcia to give RSL a 2-1 W over Kansas City … The Colombian forward had gone more than 1,050 minutes between goals, dating back to last August in Dallas …
59 – number of players in RSL’s 11-year, 124-player history to have scored at least one goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt, now that FW Sebastian Jaime opened his MLS account Sunday against Kansas City … Can either centerback Aaron Maund or Justen Glad make it 60 with their first on a set piece today?
82 – all-time yellow card cautions in 368 career games for RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman, the most in MLS history … The captain’s booking on Sunday’s foul – sticking up for maestro Javier Morales – allowed the dreadlocked leader to surpass former mentor Pablo Mastroeni, who had 81 cautions in 30 fewer games than KB5 … Beckerman is only 10 games away from becoming Major League Soccer’s all-time games played leader amongst field players … Beckerman trails Steve Ralston, Nick Rimando and Kevin Hartman in that category, while placing fifth in starts (339, two behind GK Joe Cannon and 33 behind Ralston) and minutes played at 30,418 (313 behind GK Joe Cannon, and 2,724 behind Ralston entering Saturday v. Columbus) …
102 – wins in his 8-year RSL career for GK Nick Rimando, with nearly 80% of the club’s all-time 125 victories …
450 – goals in the club’s 11-year MLS history, during which it has posted 125 wins in reg. season league play …
