Real Salt Lake 1 at San Jose Earthquakes 2
October 1, 2016; San Jose, California; Avaya Stadium
Real Salt Lake (12-11-9, 45 points); San Jose Earthquakes (8-10-13, 37 points)
Man of the Match: Sunny’s return to the RSL midfield didn’t come in victory, but he certainly made an impact on the game. Connecting on a season-best 94.5 percent of his 55 passes, Sunny also had three tackles and a shot on goal in a balanced game. It was just his second start since June 22, but he blended in well with the group.
Telling Stat: Real Salt Lake has just two points from its last five matches and Justen Glad’s first-half goal broke a 310-minute scoreless stretch. A team that has earned points throughout the season by coming from behind, RSL hasn’t held a lead since a 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on August 26.
What You Missed: Nick Rimando made two stellar saves on the night – both coming on reaction saves when Chris Wondolowski broke free in the box. Rimando finished the night with four saves, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Quakes out of the win column.
So What: Real Salt Lake held onto fourth place in the Western Conference, but the opportunity was there to climb higher and distance itself from the suddenly-surging Seattle Sounders. With just two games remaining, Salt Lake is in desperate need of a win to build some sort of momentum heading into the postseason. Key to that will be the upcoming weekend off between games as MLS pauses for an international break. That will allow three-fourths of the RSL attack to get healthier as Yura Movsisyan, Joao Plata and Javier Morales all battled injuries in recent weeks that have contributed to the stalled attack.
