Real Salt Lake 1 at LA Galaxy 1
October 1, 2022; Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California
Real Salt Lake (11-11-11, 44 points); LA Galaxy (13-12-8, 47 points)
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On the emotional aspect of tonight’s game:
“Obviously, it was a bit of a rollercoaster. The guys played their hearts out, played some great stuff. We’re right where we want to be. It’s these external forces that come into the game and really change the game on its head, it’s really bizarre. But as far as our performance tonight, I couldn’t be more proud of the guys, the way they executed everything. The guys coming into the game did a fantastic job, some really good individual performances, but a fantastic collective performance. We had a few chances there at the end as well, and it just eluded us tonight. But to come to this place and play this team with a performance like that, I think if we have this same type of performance and determination and organization next week, then we’ll be in a very favorable position.”
On Justen Glad’s performance:
“The most important thing is that those are offensive aspects of the game and really, his responsibility is to do what he did for 90+ minutes tonight defensively. The back line, Zac [MacMath], the wing backs, I thought they were fantastic tonight. Obviously, scoring goals is the icing on the cake, but for me the work that he did defensively, organizing, and this contribution. Offensively, those moments happen and they’re tough. But again, his responsibility is not to score those goals, it’s to defend the way he did. I’m going to make sure that he knows that he had a fantastic game. That happens to all of us that play the game–sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t, but I thought he played a fantastic game.”
On fighting the current after dropping two points:
“Unfortunately we couldn’t find the second goal, but I believe the team put themselves into positions to score the second goal. Of course, now the reality is we have to win this weekend and hope that other results fall in our favor.”
Goalkeeper Zac MacMath
On the vibe following the result:
“It feels like points dropped. Probably a fair result overall, but I thought that the team did a really good job putting ourselves into a position to win this game. Unfortunately, that’s how it works sometimes. We couldn’t find that second goal. Now we’ve got to wait and see, come home next week, and beat Portland.”
On helping Justen Glad bounce back from missing two headers:
“Obviously, it’s devastating not only for him but for us. All year long, we’ve picked each other up through thick and thin. It’s going to sting for a couple of days, but what matters is getting his head right and everyone’s head right by next Sunday.”
On saving early PK:
“We did some scouting beforehand, so I’ve got a pretty good idea of tendencies for their top penalty takers. At that point of the game, you’re running on adrenaline and hoping to get something to it. Thankfully, I got two good paws to it.”
