April 2016 in Review
RSL March record: 4-1-0
RSL season record: 5-1-2 (5-2-3 overall)
Results: @ Sporting Kansas City 2-1; vs. Colorado Rapids 1-0; vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0; @ LA Galaxy 2-5; vs. Houston Dynamo 2-1
Real Salt Lake remains among the top teams in MLS after posting a 4-1-0 record in five matches in April. After starting with a convincing road win over Sporting Kansas City, two straight home shutouts followed. A hiccup in LA against the Galaxy prevented another unbeaten month, but RSL bounced back for a come-from-behind 2-1 win at home over the Houston Dynamo to close out the month before embarking on a five-game, six-week stretch of road matches before returning to Rio Tinto Stadium on June 18 against the Portland Timbers.
Top Performer: Juan Manuel Martinez scored two goals, but his contributions went well beyond those tallies to the score sheet. He not only occupied defenders in each of his four appearances, but put them in his rearview mirror as he bobbed and weaved his way past the opposition.
Unsung Hero: it’s the Homegrown Heroes this month, as defender Justen Glad started all four wins for RSL in the month and forward Jordan Allen filled in on the wings when Joao Plata and Juan Manuel Martinez were out of action due to injuries. In Glad’s four starts, RSL allowed just two goals in winning all four matches, all while he scored a goal to start the month in Kansas City and added his first career MLS assist in the final match of the month against Houston. Meanwhile, Allen notched one goal and one assist while logging 273 minutes.
By The Numbers: Only twice in club history has Real Salt Lake earned its fifth win in fewer matches than the eight matches played thus far this season. In 2011 and 2012, RSL went 5-1-0 to start the season, with just the 2012 season seeing the fifth win come earlier on the calendar when the fifth win came on April 7.
Up Next: Five straight road matches start Saturday in Colorado against the surprising Rapids, who are 5-2-2 and tied atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with RSL and FC Dallas. Salt Lake posted a 1-0 win in March, but with the addition of Jermaine Jones has come a newfound level of confidence in Pablo Mastroeni’s locker room. Following that will be road contests against the last-place Houston Dynamo, always tough-to-contend-with Sporting Kansas City and the defending Eastern Conference champion Columbus Crew. It will be a grueling month that will test both the depth and quality of RSL, as well as the fortitude of the team. After that point, RSL will play NYCFC on the road in June before the home matches start to even out. Through the June 2 match against New York, RSL will have played nine of 13 matches away from Rio Tinto Stadium.
