SANDY, Utah (Saturday, April 30, 2022) – Real Salt Lake (4-2-4, 16 points) vanquished LA Galaxy in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,755, the Club’s ninth-largest crowd in Rio Tinto history, riding a second-half goal from defender Marcelo Silva and four saves from goalkeeper Zac MacMath to get the 1-0 victory, the Club’s first since March 19, snapping a five-game winless streak in Major League Soccer Competition.
On a sunny afternoon in front of its largest crowd since September 2019, Real Salt Lake looked to impose its dominance over LA Galaxy early, getting its first chance at goal in the 10th minute when Pablo Ruiz sent a shot just over the upper crossbar. The match, however, slowed down as both teams fought for chances back and forth within the midfield.
As the first half approached its close, RSL saw a flurry of chances inside the box as Bobby Wood fired off two consecutive shots, but both were blocked. In the 38th minute the Galaxy’s Efrain Alvarez stormed towards goal with empty field in front of him, and then out of no where Justen Glad swept in to strip the ball from the forward and prevent what seemed to be a sure goal. Just before the halftime whistle an injury to Sergio Cordova saw Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni forced to make an early substitution, bringing on Rubio Rubin. The first half finished shortly thereafter, deadlocked at 0-0.
Minutes into the start of the second half, Wood forced Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond to make a diving save, pushing the ball out of bounds for a corner kick. The ensuing corner kick, sent curving toward the center of the box by Ruiz, found the head of acting Captain Silva who powered a header deep into the back of the net to take the early second-half lead.
During second-half stoppage time, it appeared as if the Galaxy had found the sought-after equalizer, but after Video Assisted Review, the goal was disallowed due to a foul prior to the play. The match ended several moments later, improving RSL to 3-0-1 (W-L-T) at home this year, and 4-2-4 with 16 points on the 2022 campaign.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake is set to make its debut at GEODIS Park, the newest stadium in Major League Soccer, home to Nashville SC, in just the second-ever match since its opening, next Sunday, May 8 at 3:00 p.m. MT. The Club will then return to the Wasatch Front to host Austin FC for the fifth-annual Pride Night, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, on Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. MT.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN
RSL: Marcelo Silva (Pablo Ruiz) 49th minute: Winning a corner kick off a bending shot from Bobby Wood, Ruiz serviced the ball into the box where it found the head of Silva. The defender, positioned near the back post, flicked the ball directly into the back of the net to take the lead.
NOTES:
- Zack Farnsworth (right ankle), Bret Halsey (ankle), Erik Holt (left foot), Johan Kappelhof (left calf), Jonathan Menendez (adductor) and Damir Kreilach (back) were unavailable due to injury.
- Defender Jaziel Orozco was unavailable due to his call up to the U-20 U.S. Youth National Team.
- For the first time in Club history, RSL sold out its first four games of the season, this time setting a Club revenue record and welcoming a season-high number of fans into Rio Tinto Stadium. The crowd marked the ninth largest in RioT history, four of the top ten coming against LA Galaxy
- An injury to Sergio Cordova in the first half saw Rubio Rubin make an early appearances, coming on as a substitute in the 45th minute.
- Marcelo Silva netted his third goal as a member of Real Salt Lake, his first since July 2019. The goal marked the first goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 274 minutes of competition.
- Zac MacMath and the RSL defense registered their fourth clean sheet of the season, with back to back shutouts.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy
Date: April 30, 2022
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Weather: Sunny and 65 degrees
Attendance: 20,755
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 0 1 1
LA Galaxy 0 0 0
RSL: Marcelo Silva (Pablo Ruiz) 49’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-3-3): Zac MacMath; Aaron Herrera, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Andrew Brody; Pablo Ruiz, Everton Luiz (Scott Caldwell 72’), Maikel Chang (Jasper Löffelsend 72’); Justin Meram (Tate Schmitt 85’), Bobby Wood (Nick Besler 85’), Sergio Cordova (Rubio Rubin 45’)
Subs not used: David Ochoa, Chris Garcia, Bode Davis
LA Galaxy (4-3-3): Jonathan Bond; Julion Arauo, Derrick Williams, Eriq Zavaleta (Sacha Kljestan 61’), Raheem Edwards; Rayan Raveloson, Marky Delgado (Nick DePuy 83’), Efrain Alvarez; Kevin Cabral (Samuel Grandsir 61’), Douglas Costa (Dejan Joveljic 62’), Javier Hernandez
Subs not used: Kelvin Leerdam, Jonathan Kilinsmann, Daniel Aguirre, Jonathan Perez
Stats Summary: RSL / LA
Shots: 6 / 12
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 8
Fouls: 6 / 8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:RSL: Sergio Cordova (caution) 42’
RSL: Marcelo Silva (caution) 50’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Frank Anderson
4th Official: Joshua Encarnacion
VAR: Younes Marakchi
