Real Salt Lake 4 at D.C. United 6
August 1, 2015; RFK Stadium
Real Salt Lake (7-8-8, 29 points); D.C. United (12-7-5, 41 points)
Man of the Match: Kyle Beckerman blended seamlessly in his return to the RSL lineup after missing the month of July while away with the U.S. National Team at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Eh not only netted his first goal of the season on a blast from outside the box, but was a threat in the attack throughout the match with four shots and three shots on goal, both game-highs for Salt Lake. He also had a personal season-high with 96 touches and completed 88.9-percent of his 91 passes.
Telling Stat: Saturday was the final match against the Eastern Conference for RSL and it was a story of home and road results. At Rio Tinto Stadium, RSL went 2-0-3 against the East, but on the road, it posted just a 1-4-0 record. In those five road contests, RSL was outscored 16-7. The one victory came in the shortest road trip of the five matches, a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire.
What You Missed: Late in the match, Luis Silva made his Real Salt Lake after a trade with D.C. United last month. In eight minutes, he completed eight of his nine passes. The 26-year-old midfielder led D.C. in scoring each of the last two seasons and is looking to get in the mix with RSL during the current stretch of five games in 15 days that includes four road matches.
So What: It was the best offensive performance of the season for RSL, led by two assists from Javier Morales and one goal and one assist from Joao Plata, giving both players four-match point streaks. That was a good start to the extended road trip for RSL, but the defensive side has to be cleaned up for the team to stay in contention for the postseason, especially with just three points separating Salt Lake from the final playoff spot.
