Real Salt Lake has been in this position before, facing a lower-level team in the early rounds of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Claret-and-Cobalt has won some and lost some in that situation and on Tuesday against the Wilmington Hammerheads, RSL will look to maintain the club’s strong start to the MLS regular season and return to action after a brief break for the start of Copa America Centenario with a victory.
However, Head Coach Jeff Cassar and his crew are not about to take Wilmington lightly, having seen firsthand the ability of USL and NASL teams to rise up and upset MLS opposition. Beyond RSL’s own misfortune in some early meetings, midfielder Luke Mulholland has played spoiler with the Wilmington Hammerheads and Tampa Bay Rowdies – beating Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC, respectively.
“At the end of the day, I look at these teams as a bunch of younger Luke Mulhollands,” Cassar said of Wilmington. “There are going to be one or two that have a chance on this team. Maybe three. They work hard. If they didn’t work hard, you could walk all over them. We have to not just match that, but we have to beat that, especially being at home.”
It’s a fine line for Cassar. On one hand, RSL wants to advance in the Open Cup and has a clear advantage over Wilmington, who is making a jump up two divisions to face the homestanding MLS club. On the other hand, it’s an opportunity for Cassar to get valuable experience to some younger players who have not seen much, if any, first team action this year. Unlike previous years, those players have been playing consistently throughout the first two months of the season while on loan with Real Monarchs in the USL.
Among RSL players on loan to the second team, goalkeeper Lalo Fernandez, defenders Boyd Okwuonu and Phanuel Kavita and midfielders Danilo Acosta and Omar Holness have all appeared in six or more of the 13 matches played by the Monarchs thus far. Any of those five could see time against the Hammerheads on Tuesday, conserving the playing time of the likes of Juan Manuel Martinez, Javier Morales, Yura Movsisyan and other veterans for the return to MLS action on Saturday against the Portland Timbers.
Those lineup choices and the performances of those players on the field will determine if RSL advances in the Open Cup against a team with some experienced professionals gunning to knock off an MLS club and gain some recognition.
“If you take them lightly, you run that risk,” Cassar said. “They’re a hard-working team. They have some players that have kinda sniffed the MLS and they’re good. They’re a quality team and their coach has them working hard together. They hunt in packs and they got a good result against a dangerous Miami FC team. They have a lot of offensive weapons. They got off to a fast start against them and managed the game from there. It’s a team that we’re not going to take lightly by any means. Should we beat them? Absolutely.”
Kickoff for Tuesday’s match is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT with a live stream on RSL.com.
