SANDY, Utah (Saturday, March 25, 2023) – Real Salt Lake (1-3-0, 3 points) dropped a 4-0 result at America First Field to St. Louis City SC.
Against the undefeated 2023 MLS Expansion side the Claret-and-Cobalt looked to establish their dominance in the first half, more than doubling the scoring opportunities had by the visiting side. Throughout the first 45 minutes Real Salt Lake saw a slew of chances, including two shots on goal in the final five minutes from defenders Andrew Brody and Brayan Vera that forced the goalkeeper to make back-to-back saves.
Despite clearly having the offensive advantage, RSL was unable to put one past St. Louis’ ‘keeper and the first half ended in a 0-0 deadlock.
Real Salt Lake looked to continue its press for goal coming out of the first half, but an early corner kick saw St. Louis City SC take the 1-0 lead when Nicholas Gioacchini tapped in a cross in the 47th minute. The visiting side doubled its lead in the 61st minute when defender Justen Glad, attempting to clear the ball out of a dangerous area, put the ball in the path of João Klauss who slammed the ball into the back of the net. Klauss got his brace five minutes later when he picked off a pass from Pablo Ruiz to leave him unmarked in front of goal, taking the 3-0 lead.
St. Louis scored its final goal in the 76th minute with Rasmus Alm tucking his shot into the back of the net. Despite their efforts, Real Salt Lake was unable to pull one back and the match ended 4-0 in favor of St. Louis City SC.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake heads to Ohio where they will face Eastern Conference foe Columbus Crew on Saturday, April 1 at 5:30 p.m. MT, before returning to America First Field to host 2022 MLS Expansion side Charlotte FC on Saturday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. MT.
GOAL SCORING SUMMARY:
STL: Nicholas Gioacchini (Indiana Vassilev) 47th minute: Vassilev sent in a cross from a corner which Giocchini hit in with his left foot.
STL: João Klauss 61st minute: Pouncing on a poor clearance at the top of the box, Klauss slammed a right-footed shot into the back of the net.
STL: João Klauss 66th minute: Picking off a backwards pass from Pablo Ruiz, Klauss dribbled forward, unmarked in front of goal, before hitting a shot into the lower left corner.
STL: Rasmus Alm (Eduard Loewen) 76th minute: Loewen sent a low pass to Alm who dribbled towards the right goal post, tucking his shot past the goalkeeper for the goal.
NOTES:
- Defenders Brayan Vera and Emeka Eneli earned their Real Salt Lake debuts as starters along the backline, becoming the 191st and 192nd players in Club history to appear in a Major League Soccer match for the Claret-and-Cobalt. Forward Ilijah Paul became the 193rd player when he came on as a second-half substitute for
- Midfielder Pablo Ruiz made his 2023 debut, missing the first three matches of the season due to the process of acquiring his green card.
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-4-2): Zac MacMath; Emeka Eneli, Justen Glad, Brayan Vera, Andrew Brody; Jasper Löffelsend, Pablo Ruiz, Damir Kreilach (Ilijah Paul 72’); Andres Gomez (Danny Musovski 72’), Anderson Julio (Maikel Chang 72’), Justin Meram (Jefferson Savarino 60’)
Subs not used: Tomas Gomez, Delentz Pierre, Scott Caldwell, Bertin Jacquesson, Moses Nyeman
St. Louis City SC (4-4-2): Roman Buerki; Jake Nerwinski, John Nelson, Lucas Bartlett, Tim Parker; Tomas Ostrak (Rasmus Alm 60’), Jared Stroud (Isak Jensen 60’) Eduard Loewen (Njabulo Blom 77’), Indiana Vassilev (Akil Watts 77’); Joao Klauss, Nicholas Gioacchini (Celio Pomeu 86’)
Subs not used: Josh Yaro, Sam Adeniran, Selmir Pidro, Isak Jensen, Ben Lundt
Stats Summary: RSL/STL
Shots: 17/11
Shots on goal: 6/5
Saves: 3/5
Corner Kicks: 8/3
Fouls: 5/9
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Damir Kreilach (caution) 24’
STL: Lucas Bartlett (caution) 55’
RSL: Emeka Eneli (caution) 68’
RSL: Justen Glad (cautiona) 75’
STL: Rasmus Alm (caution) 85’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Mark Allatin
Assistant Referees: Jason White, Diego Blas
4th Official: Matthew Thompson
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
