REAL SALT LAKE HOSTS MINNESOTA STARS FC IN TUESDAY’S LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP ACTION
Download Game Notes & Information for Third-Round Action Here
SANDY, Utah (Monday, May 28, 2012) – Major League Soccer’s top-of-the-table leaders Real Salt Lake (9-3-2, 29 pts.; West #1) kicks off its potential run to the 2013/14 CONCACAF Champions League with Tuesday’s debut in the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, hosting the defending NASL champion Minnesota Stars FC (4-0-4, 16 points, NASL #2). Kickoff for tomorrow’s match is at 7:00 p.m. MT. Tickets for RSL’s debut in the 99th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup are on-sale NOW, with tickets in all general seating areas at Rio Tinto Stadium costing just $10 for current Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders and only $15 for the general public.
Winning the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – U.S. Soccer’s National Championship tournament – would offer Real Salt Lake a road back to the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, the continental club championship the Utah side was on the cusp of winning last spring. Participation in MLS Cup 2012 and claiming the MLS Supporters’ Shield (regular season) title would provide alternate routes for qualification into the 2013/14 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. RSL finds out its group pairings in this year’s CCL tourney on Wednesday, May 30.
Should RSL defeat Minnesota, Rio Tinto Stadium will host a 4th Round match against NASL club Fort Lauderdale Strikers a week later on Tuesday, June 5 IF the Strikers down the MLS San Jose Earthquakes – currently 8-3-3 with 27 points for 2nd place in the MLS Western Conference. Should the Earthquakes win on May 29 against Fort Lauderdale, it will host either RSL or Minnesota on Tuesday, June 5 at Cagan Stadium on the Stanford University campus.
RSL History in the U.S. Open Cup
RSL has posted an all-time 5-7-0 record in games related to the longest-running tournament in U.S. Soccer history, scoring 20 goals and conceding 24 … The 2011 tournament ended for RSL with an 0-2 loss at FC Dallas at the Quarterfinal stage, the furthest the team has advanced (also dropped a 2007 Quarterfinal to the Colorado Rapids, 0-1) … On Utah soil, RSL is 4-1-0 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, outscoring opponents 10-3 … In last year’s tourney, RSL defeated USL club Wilmington Hammerheads, 2-0, at Rio Tinto Stadium, on goals by Tony Beltran and Jean Alexandre before the tournament’s largest crowd (7,620) prior to Seattle’s semifinal match … MLS teams have won 15 of the 16 Open Cup titles during the modern “professional era,” with only the 1999 Rochester Rhinos able to overcome the MLS Colorado Rapids in the title game …
A trio of RSL Technical Staff members – GM Garth Lagerwey, Head Coach Jason Kreis & Asst. Coach Jeff Cassar – were all members of the 1997 U.S. Open Cup-winning Dallas Burn … RSL Assistant Coach C.J. Brown won an incredible four U.S. Open Cup titles during his 13-year career with the Chicago Fire, in 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006 … One of his teammates in 2003 – MF Andy Williams – is now the team’s Head Scout after retiring as the last remaining “RSL Original” from the team’s 2005 expansion year … Williams won a ring in 2003 with the Fire, as did MF Ned Grabavoy during his rookie season in LA in 2005 … RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando each played for the ring with the 2000 Miami Fusion, which lost in the final to Brown and Chicago …
Last year’s appearance in the U.S. Open Cup proper marked RSL’s first since 2006, the final season in which all MLS teams automatically entered the competition’s earlier rounds. For four consecutive years from 2007-10, RSL was forced to try and earn its spot in the domestic tournament as one of at least nine Major League Soccer sides fighting for the two “play-in” positions allocated to America’s top-flight division. RSL’s all-time U.S. Open Cup history is as follows:
| REAL SALT LAKE – US OPEN CUP HISTORY | ||||||||
| vs. Team | GP | W-L-T | OT | ShO | GF | GA | Mtg. | Round |
Minnesota Thunder (USL) | 1 | 0-1-0 | 0-1-0 | 4 | 6 | 2005 | Rd of 16 | |
Virginia Beach (USL) | 1 | 1-0-0 | 1-0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2006 | Rd of 16 | |
Kansas City Wizards | 1 | 1-0-0 | 2 | 1 | 2007 | Play-in | ||
Colorado Rapids | 2 | 0-2-0 | 1 | 3 | 2007 | Quarterfinal | ||
Columbus Crew | 1 | 0-1-0 | 0 | 2 | 2008 | Play-in | ||
Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | 0-1-0 | 1 | 4 | 2009 | Play-in | ||
San Jose Earthquakes | 2 | 1-0-1 | 1-0 | 7 | 3 | 2010 | Play-in | |
D.C. United | 2 | 0-1-0 | 0-1-0 | 1 | 2 | 2010 | Play-in | |
Wilmington (USL) | 1 | 1-0-0 | 2 | 0 | 2011 | Rd of 16 | ||
FC Dallas | 1 | 0-1-0 | 0 | 2 | 2011 | Quarterfinal | ||
| TOTALS | 12 | 4-7-1 | 1-2-0 | 1-0 | 20 | 24 | ||
During the team’s inaugural 2005 season, RSL traveled to Minnesota to play its first-ever U.S. Open Cup contest against the Stars’ forerunner in Division II professional soccer in the area, the Minnesota Thunder. Despite a hat trick by former captain and current head coach Jason Kreis – the only three-goal performance in club history prior to Robbie Findley’s outburst in the 2009 home opener – RSL dropped the affair by a 4-6 score after 120 minutes.
The 2012 champion will earn a $100,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will collect $50,000 (both prizes awarded by U.S. Soccer). The top Division III (USL PRO) and Amateur Division clubs (USL PDL, USASA & NPSL) will each receive a $10,000 prize. The winner also will have the team’s name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, the oldest trophy in American team sports that is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. The tournament has crowned a champion for 98 consecutive years dating back to 1914.
For more information on the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, visit www.USsoccer.com or www.TheCup.us. Stay tuned to www.RealSaltLake.com or follow the club on Twitter @RealSaltLake for all the latest news and information on the tournament.
Tuesday, May 29:
U.S. OPEN CUP MATCH #1:
Real Salt Lake (9-3-2, 29 pts., West #1) v Minnesota Stars FC (4-0-4, 16 pts., NASL#2)
- Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT
- TV: none
- Radio: ESPN700 w/ Bill Riley & Brian Dunseth; Pre/post game with James Rust & Brian Kamler
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 FM "La Gran D" / 1600 AM w/ Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Tickets: RioTintoStadium.com or RealSaltLake.com
RSL Game Notes for Tuesday’s RSL-MIN Contest Now Available Online
Following are links to the Online PDF and Issuu.com versions of the Real Salt Lake Game Notes (along with Minnesota’s notes in advance of the Stars’ last league match) in advance of Tuesday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Minnesota Stars FC. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Trey Fitz-Gerald in the RSL Communications Department via email at tfitz@realsaltlake.com.
Click here to download the Issuu.com version of the RSL Game Notes against Minnesota
Click here to download the Online PDF version of the RSL Game Notes against Minnesota
www.RealSaltLake.com / www.RioTintoStadium.com / www.ESPN700Sports.com
