HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, June 17, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (7-4-4, 25 pts, 3rd West) returns home to its Rio Tinto Stadium fortress in this weekend’s resumption of Major League Soccer regular-season action, hosting the San Jose Earthquakes (3-6-6, 15 pts, 13th West) for a 7:30p MT kickoff as part of Saturday’s Juneteenth celebration. A standing-room only crowd is expected once again in Sandy, with RSL welcoming 20,000+ fans for a team-record seventh consecutive match to kick off its 2022 campaign.
Saturday’s match will be broadcast locally via KMYU (12 over the air, 22 satellite and 643 HD on cable), with streaming on the KSL Sports App, as well as ESPN700 AM radio. Spanish-speaking fans can tune in on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM, La Gran D 102.3 FM and KTUB 1600 AM for the local radio broadcast
RSL seeks to bounce back from a disappointing loss in the Club’s last match, a stunning 2-1 loss at Vancouver that was decided by a stoppage-time penalty kick, negating winger Justin Meram’s early second-half equalizer, his 50th career MLS goal. During the Pablo Mastroeni era, RSL has lost back-to-back games just once, posting a 7-1-2 (W-L-T) in matches following a loss (last November, RSL suffered back-to-back losses to San Jose and Portland). RSL is 9-2-1 at home under Mastroeni, who became the Club’s sixth manager last August.
In RSL’s last home appearance on May 28, a dominant 3-0 Claret-and-Cobalt win over visiting Houston marked RSL’s third-consecutive victory, one which extended this year’s home record to 5-0-1 (W-L-T) – matching the best-ever home start in the Club’s 18-year history (2010, 2016). That win also marked Real Salt Lake’s quickest-ever accumulation of 25 points (14 games), matching the 2014 standard. Finally, 20,489 witnessed goals from FW Bobby Wood, FW Sergio Cordova and DF Justen Glad in a match which will be remembered as FW Jefferson Savarino’s return to Utah.
However, San Jose enjoyed great success on Utah soil a year ago, becoming just the second team ever to win twice in Utah in the same season (Portland, 2014), the ‘Quakes emerging victorious in both appearances in shocking fashion. On May 7, two late Chris Wondolowski goals in the final 10 minutes erased a 1-0 RSL lead, courtesy Rubio Rubin’s eventual MLS Goal of the Year. Then, on October 30, San Jose ran out to a 4-1 lead in a game RSL needed to win or tie to clinch a playoff berth, only to concede two late goals to Maikel Chang and Albert Rusnák for a 4-3 scoreline – the same scoreline that saw RSL win in San Jose on Sept. 15.
All-time, San Jose enjoys one of the best records in Utah amongst all Western Conference visitors, holding RSL to just a 6-5-7 (W-L-T) mark; only Portland has enjoyed more success on RSL’s home pitch (6-6-2) during MLS regular-season play.
Real Salt Lake v. San Jose Earthquakes
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT
Saturday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. MT
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL v SJ Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2022 MLS Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and San Jose can be found here. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact
Meg Van Dyk in RSL Communications via email at meg.vandyk@rsl.com
2022 Records: Real Salt Lake (7-4-4, 25 pts, 3rd West); San Jose Earthquakes (3-6-6, 15 pts, 13th West)
OTHER 2022 RSL NOTES:
HOME SWEET HOME FOR MOST OF THE SUMMER
This Saturday’s June 18 match against San Jose Earthquakes kicks off a run of home opportunity for RSL, as three of the next five matches and five of the next seven occur at Rio Tinto Stadium, where the Claret-and-Cobalt has posted a 5-0-1 (W-L-T) mark at home this season, capturing 16 of a possible 18 points throughout the first one-third of the year. All six of the “RioT” contests have witnessed crowds of 20,000-plus, RSL opening a season with six consecutive sellouts for the first time ever. Saturday’s contest – which kicks off a run of 10 games in the next 56 days – will match the Club record of seven consecutive sellout crowds at any point in a season, set July-Sept. of 2015 (various 2014 attendance marks compromised by the “Pass of All Passes” program inclusion).
SIX CONSECUTIVE SEASON-OPENING SELLOUTS FOR FIRST TIME EVER
RSL experienced an unprecedented sixth consecutive sellout to open a season against Houston on May 28, the first time in the Club’s 18-year history to start a year with six straight SRO crowds. With Memorial Day Weekend and DP FW Jefferson Savarino’s return in the rear-view mirror, RSL is expecting sellouts for the upcoming dates: June 18 vs. San Jose, June 25 PRIDE Night (with Fireworks) and July 9 Rocky Mountain Cup.
Will the RioT be filled on SUNDAY, July 17 against rival Sporting KC?
Back on March 19 at Rio Tinto Stadium, 20,036 fans attended to give the Utah side its first back-to-back 20k crowds since late Summer 2016, and its first March with 40,000+ tickets sold since the 2013 and 2015 seasons. With RSL selling out the RioT April 9 against Toronto for 20,136 fans, it marked the first three-game sellout streak to open a season since 2015, and only the second ever.
In that fateful non-Playoff 2015 season, RSL sold out 11 of the Club’s 17 home reg. season contests, including seven straight from late June through mid-September. RSL’s next home match – Sat., June 18 against San Jose – kicks off a run that sees three of four and six of nine at home for the Utah side, the last team in MLS to host back-to-back home matches (June 18/25 v San Jose & Columbus).
RIOT DECADE OF DOMINANCE
Currently, RSL owns an MLS-best regular season home record of 129-36-56, 443 points since 2009 (includes one “road” match against RioT tenant Vancouver in 2021). With a 5-0-1 home mark in 2022, and a glut of home matches to flip the road-weary early-season 2022 MLS schedule for Mastroeni & Co., perhaps a dominant home Summer of Soccer is in order for the Claret-and-Cobalt.
In Sandy, Utah, RSL has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage – posting a dominant 151-44-47 (Win-Loss-Draw) record across all competitions at home (2.07 points per game for a 0.721 win pct.) – since opening its permanent Rio Tinto Stadium venue in Sandy on Oct. 8, 2008, more than 13 years ago.
In 2021, RSL earned a 9-4-4 home record and set a new Club mark for most consecutive home wins, earning seven straight victories. Rio Tinto Stadium will host seven home matches in 11 games over 10 weeks between May 14 – July 23, including the Rocky Mountain Cup vs. Colorado on July 9 and hosting rival Sporting Kansas City on July 17 as the club looks to build upon its league-best regular season home mark and retain the Rocky Mountain Cup for the 13th time in 18 seasons. With back-to-back home games June 18/25, RSL becomes the 28th and final MLS side with home games in such close proximity.
FACES MAY CHANGE, BUT SONG REMAINS THE SAME
Despite innumerable injuries suffered and squad rotations that have forced Mastroeni and staff to utilize 28 players in MLS action already this year (MF Diego Luna made his 2022 MLS debut back on June 4 at Vancouver, while FW Jefferson Savarino made his 2022 debut on May 28 at home, with DF Chris Kablan made his RSL/MLS debut nearly four weeks ago at Montreal), the Claret-and-Cobalt have demonstrated wit, guile and resiliency, continuing its 2021 trends of scoring goals after the 80th minute and rescuing points from a losing position, setting the MLS standard each of the last two years.
Including loanee DF Chris Kablan, eight players have now made their RSL debuts this season, including Bundesliga loanee Sergio Cordova& MLS free agents Scott Caldwell and Johan Kappelhof, Homegrowns Jaziel Orozco & Bode Hidalgo, MLS SuperDraft pick Jasper Löffelsend and Monarchs college free agent Pierre Reedy, a roster hardship addition prior to April 2 at Colorado.
RSL Captain Damir Kreilach, FW Rubio Rubin, GK David Ochoa, DF Justen Glad, DF Aaron Herrera – each of whom played key roles in last year’s postseason run – have missed significant time through the first third of 2022. DF Erik Holt & M/F Joni Menendez – each of whom suffered injuries during or after the March 26 match at Kansas City (along with DF Johan Kappelhof & Löffelsend) – have also missed extensive time, but returned to full, uninhibited training in recent weeks, with Holt appearing multiple times for the Monarchs in MLS NEXT Pro action.
RECORD UNBEATEN RUN VERSUS SINGLE OPPONENT MATCHED
With the 3-0 win back on May 28 over Houston, RSL matched a Club-record 10-game unbeaten run against a single opponent. RSL’s active unbeaten streak against the Dynamo is now at 10 games, including February’s 0-0 road draw to open 2022. RSL owns a 5-0-5 (W-L-T) mark against Houston dating back to 2017; the Claret-and-Cobalt also created 10-game unbeaten runs against Philadelphia (4-0-6 from 2010-17) and Portland (7-0-3 from 2011-14, incl. playoffs).
