PREGAME FACT & INFO SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE v. PORTLAND TIMBERS
SAT., JUNE 18, 2016 – 8:00 p.m. MT – RIO TINTO STADIUM
on KMYU, ESPN700 & 102.3 LaGranD / 1600 AM
0 – PREVIOUS VISITS BY EUROPEAN TEAMS TO FACE REAL SALT LAKE, prior to this Summer’s mid-July visit by Italian power Inter Milan to Rio Tinto Stadium … The legendary club – one which has won 39 total trophies, including a FIFA Club World Cup, three UEFA Champions League titles (most recently in 2010), three UEFA Cups, two InterContinental Cups, 18 Serie A titles, seven Italian Cups and five Italian SuperCups … The game will be played on either July 19 or 20, based on RSL’s Open Cup advancement scenarios June 28 at home against Seattle …
.800 – ALL-TIME #RioT WINNING PERCENTAGE for RSL in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, the club owning an all-time 8-2-1 record, outscoring visitors 23-12 … Against lower-division clubs, RSL is now 5-1-1 at home, losing its 2012 Round of 32 match before more than 17,000+ in a 1-3 shocker to the Minnesota Stars of the NASL … The following year saw RSL host five consecutive games en route to the 2013 LHUSOC Final, which it ultimately lost, 0-1, to D.C. United …
Including MLS “qualifiers” or “play-in” games from 2007-10, RSL’s all-time record in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup contests is 11-11-2, the lone draw prior to Tuesday coming back in 2010 at San Jose, RSL advancing via shootout at Buck Shaw Stadium … All-time, RSL has outscored opponents 43-41 in LHUSOC competition …
1.77 – POINTS PER GAME FOR RSL THROUGH 13 GAMES, TIED FOR #2 OVERALL IN MLS exiting the league’s Copa America hiatus … RSL trails only Colorado (2.00) as Head Coach Jeff Cassar’s pacing is impressive, with RSL on a record-setting extrapolation to 60 points for the Claret/Cobalt, especially with 9 of the previous 13 games away from home, where RSL is a perfect 4-0-0 in league action this season, with 6 of the next 8 at the friendly RioT confines …
3 – CONSECUTIVE ROAD WINS AT RIO TINTO STADIUM BY PORTLAND, making the Timbers the first-ever visitor to Utah to defeat RSL in three straight games … Last year, Portland won a pair of 1-0 games at the RioT, after winning 3-1 in June 2014; LA Galaxy won here in back-to-back games in 2012 and 2013 … Back in the Rice-Eccles era, Columbus (2005/06), Colorado (2006/07) and Chivas USA (both in 2008) won 2 straight at RSL …
3 – COMEBACK WINS ALREADY THIS YEAR, both coming in 2-1 home victories over Seattle and Houston, as well as the 3-2 win last time out at NYCFC - tripling the total deficits erased during the entire 2015 season … That lone come-from-behind win to capture the full 3 points from a losing position happened last October at Colorado, RSL winning 2-1 with late first-half goals by FW Joao Plata and MF Luke Mulholland …
3 – GOALS SCORED FOR RSL IN EACH OF THE LAST THREE MLS GAMES, a 3-2 win at New York and a 3-1 win at Kansas City sandwiched around a 3-4 loss at Columbus … The three goals scored each of the last three weeks marks the first time EVER in RSL’s 367 career MLS contests that the club scored 3+ in a trio of consecutive matches; however, in 2013, RSL did score 3 or more goals in 4 consecutive games (2 Open Cup games + 2 MLS games) …
6 – WEEKS BETWEEN HOME GAMES FOR RSL, as Rio Tinto Stadium hosted its “Grand Reopening” on Tuesday for RSL’s debut in the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against Wilmington Hammerheads (USL) … RSL rebounded from an 0-2 deficit on goals from FW Joao Plata and FW Juan Manuel Martinez in the second half, then emerged on penalties in order to host Seattle Sounders on June 28 at Rio Tinto Stadium … A year ago, RSL was eliminated from the Open Cup at the Semifinal stage by eventual champion Sporting Kansas City, which won 3-1 at what is now Children’s Mercy Park …
+8 – MARGIN FOR RSL so far this season when Javier Morales and Juan Manuel Martinez are on the field together (556 minutes), as RSL outscores opponents by an 11-4 margin … On the offensive side, the Argentine duo bring a creative flair unlike many in MLS, with the combination of metronomic tempo and unpredictable flash providing a constant threat …
10 – GAMES OUT OF THE LAST 14 WITH MULTIPLE GOALS SCORED BY RSL THIS SEASON, finding the back of the net twice on six occasions prior to posting three goals at KC, Columbus and New York, prior to the multiple-goal effort against Wilmington …
12 – POINTS IN FOUR HOME GAMES SO FAR THIS YEAR, as RSL owns a perfect 4-0-0 league mark with 1-goal wins over Seattle and Houston (2-1), as well as Colorado and Vancouver (1-0) … RSL returns to its Rio Tinto Stadium home TONIGHT for league action against Portland, following the current five-game road trip and four days after its 2016 Open Cup debut …
18 – GOALS ALLOWED IN LAST 24 GAMES AT RIO TINTO STADIUM BY RSL, an average of just 0.75 … By contrast, the club has now allowed 58 goals in its last 27 road games dating back to last season, an astonishing 2.13 goals per game, three times more than at home … On 12 occasions – nearly half of the last 27 road games – RSL has allowed 3 or more goals, posting a 6-17-3 mark away dating back to last Easter …
18 – DENIALS IN 46 PK ATTEMPTS for RSL GK Nick Rimando, as the “Wall of the Wasatch” extended his stellar run of success by stoning Galaxy MF Steven Gerrard from the spot on April 23 … Rimando’s denial on a total of 18 of 46 attempts during his 10 MLS seasons with RSL is about 30% higher than average, and his 8 PK saves in the 2013-16 seasons double the total of any other GK … For his MLS career, Rimando has now saved 27 of 76 attempts from the spot, in addition to his scintillating efforts in shootout tiebreakers to enable RSL to advance to and win MLS Cup 2009 (also engaged in playoff PK shootouts in 2004 with D.C. United and 2013 for RSL) … So so close last game out against David Villa and NYCFC …
19 – CAREER GOALS SCORED by returning RSL FW Yura Movsisyan in MLS action, the Armenian international scoring June 2 to surpass former boss Jason Kreis and move into 8th all-time in the RSL golden boot race … Yura has scored 19 league goals for RSL (15 from 2007-09, prior to a six-year career in Denmark and Russia that saw him score another 77 across all competitions, including the Armenian National Team; and one in each of three matches this year at Portland, vs. Houston and at Kansas City) … Amongst active RSL players, Yura ranks fourth overall, behind Javier Morales (45), Kyle Beckerman (25) and Joao Plata (25) …
23 – GAMES WITHOUT DF TONY BELTRAN IN THE STARTING XI out of the last 186 starting selections since March, 2012 in either Jeff Cassar’s or Jason Kreis’ selections across all competitions, after battling Robbie Russell and Chris Wingert for time early in his career as part of a three-outside back rotation … Beltran came off the bench on June 2 in New York, was not in the 18 v. Wilmington, but is back in the XI tonight vs. Portland …
26 – GAMES PLAYED IN LAST THREE SEASONS WITHOUT CAPTAIN KYLE BECKERMAN FOR RSL, the club amassing an overall 10-9-7 mark across all competitions without #KB5 … Earlier this season, RSL won by one at Kansas City on April 2 and on June 2 at NYCFC, while losing by one at Columbus on May 28; last year, with Kyle at Gold Cup or other USMNT duty, the club went 6-4-3 in MLS, CCL or Open Cup play, while posting a 2-4-3 record in 2014 with the Captain at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil or out due to other absences …
102 – HOME WINS since 2008, as RSL has amassed a 102-22-40 mark on home soil in all competitions in its last 164 home matches, during which it has outscored opponents by 172 goals (289-117) … The 2-1 win over Houston on April 30 marked RSL’s most recent match at Rio Tinto Stadium, the club amassing an all-time home 81-17-36 record in MLS reg. season games (236-96 goals), and an 8-1-2 CCL mark (21-7), a 5-2-2 playoff resume (11-4), and an 8-2-0 ledger in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (21-10) … RSL reopens the RioT tonight in Open Cup action and June 18/22 in MLS play …
127 – players to have represented the Claret-and-Cobalt in MLS ACTION in the club’s first 12 seasons, as MF Stephen Sunday Obayan – nicknamed “Sunny” – became #127 on March 6 as he started the 2016 opener in Orlando, prior to being sacrificed after the Phillips red card … Last year saw HC Jeff Cassar give several players – Justen Glad, Phanuel Kavita, Boyd Okwuonu, Elias Vasquez, Demar Phillips, Sebastian Saucedo & Pecka – their MLS debuts … 28 players saw league minutes last year, meaning everyone on the roster except GK Lalo Fernandez participated in league action …
178 – CAREER WINS for RSL icon Nick Rimando, who needs just 3 more this season to surpass all-time MLS leader Kevin Hartman for all-time victories (180) … Rimando – already the all-time MLS leader in shutouts (125) by 13 over Hartman, despite playing 11 fewer games – could eclipse the longtime LA/DAL/KC/NY ‘keeper in several categories, including wins (needs 3 to surpass), starts (6 entering Saturday vs. Portland), games (12) and minutes (658) … “The Wall of the Wasatch” is roughly ½ a season away from securing G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of All Time) status …
207 – DF Tony Beltran made his 207th career MLS reg. season appearance on June 2, extending his status as the fifth active man in a select group to have reached 200+ games played for the Claret-and-Cobalt … Beltran joins a group of six overall with the honor, including Nick Rimando (260), Kyle Beckerman (241), Javier Morales (220), Chris Wingert (213) and Nat Borchers (205)...
