Real Salt Lake 0 vs. Toronto FC 0
March 4, 2017; Sandy, Utah; Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake (0-0-1, 1 point); Toronto FC (0-0-1, 1 point)
Man of the Match: Nick Rimando netted his 130th career shutout, starting the season off with a stellar performance against an explosive attack. He finished the afternoon with three saves – including one on a penalty that we will discuss later. He also thwarted several second-half opportunities before they turned into shots, helping limit Toronto to just one second-half shot in the match.
Telling Stat: Three players made their Real Salt Lake debut on Saturday – Albert Rusnák, Chad Barrett and Ricardo Velazco. Among them, they had five of RSL’s 17 shots in the match while Rusnák, the lone starter of the trio, had a game-high five chances created.
What You Missed: In the 31st minute, Toronto forward Sebastian Giovinco stepped to the spot for a PK. The “Atomic Ant” had converted seven of his eight penalty attempts in his two prior MLS seasons … but he was no match for the “Wall of the Wasatch.” Giovinco powered a shot to the lower left corner and Rimando sprung to make the save, keeping the match scoreless with his 29th career penalty save (most in MLS history) and 10th since 2010. According to Opta, no other keeper has more than six in that time.
So What: The draw keeps Real Salt Lake unbeaten all-time in home openers (5-0-8 all-time, 4-0-5 at Rio Tinto Stadium) and unbeaten in the last eight home matches (7-0-1) against Toronto FC. The draw gets RSL off to a good start to the 2017 season – while you might like to see more sharpness in the final-third, the prowess and effort on the defensive side of the ball and the cohesion with new a new playmaker in Rusnák leaves a lot to be optimistic about.
