It’s been a busy week for Real Salt Lake, but after seven days and 3,926 air miles, RSL returns to Rio Tinto Stadium for the final match in a three-game week on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium against the Chicago Fire.
It’s one of the nuances of the soccer schedule that creates challenges for the technical staffs around the league, but it isn’t unmanageable.
“We’re rotating players where we think we can still stay really competitive, but also where it needs to be done,” RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “I think this is a game where everyone is going to have to dig as deep as they possibly can and then we’ll have to make the subs.”
This marks RSL’s third three-game week since returning from the Copa America break on June 14. The first two fell on back-to-back weeks, making for six matches in just 18 days. While three games in seven days is far more manageable, the travel to Philadelphia and Toronto makes this sojourn plenty challenging.
Although the way the team handles the days surrounding matches on the trip makes a difference, RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said that preparation really starts in the winter.
“It’s something you prepare yourself for in the offseason and our coaches do a good job of maintaining our fitness levels and making sure we’re recovering,” Beckerman told media on Friday. “Especially after losing the last game, we’ve got a game to respond right away.”
Real Salt Lake returns home after a road-heavy stretch and will have four of the next five matches at Rio Tinto Stadium, where the Claret-and-Cobalt holds an unbeaten 5-0-5 record this season. With seven of the final 11 regular season matches at home, getting back to consistently dominating at home can propel RSL into the playoffs for the eighth time in the last nine seasons after missing out on the postseason last year.
“We’re just excited to get back home and always looking to improve no matter if we win, lose or draw the game before. Same here, we’re trying to improve on the performance,” Beckerman said. “We just want to get back to winning and playing in front of our fans.”
Even with the unbeaten home record and a road mark that is among the best in MLS at 4-7-2, the club knows it has room to improve and that drives the players.
“I think we still haven’t really played our best soccer and I keep saying that’s a positive,” defender Chris Wingert said. “Eventually we’re going to have to bring that out and no better time than now.”
Cassar indicated on Friday that he hopes forward Yura Movsisyan will be available after missing the last three matches with a strained hip flexor. With the potential of having the club’s leading scorer back on the field and backed by the motivation to earn goalkeeper Nick Rimando his 181st career MLS victory – thus passing Kevin Hartman to sole possession of the league record for career wins – it sets up to be a big night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“We have to seize these opportunities when we have them and it starts tomorrow,” Cassar said.
