PREGAME FACTS AND INFO SHEET
REAL SALT LAKE v. COLUMBUS CREW SC
SAT., JUNE 27, 2015 – 8:00 pm MT on KMYU / ESPN700 & 102.3 LaGranD
0 – Previous RSL/Monarchs doubleheaders, with the first taking place WEDNESDAY, July 1, at Rio Tinto Stadium, as the Monarchs’ reception of defending USL champion Sacramento serves as the 5:00 p.m. MT undercard for that night’s 8:00 p.m. MT Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match between RSL and the Portland Timbers (MLS) … That match will mark the return of former DF Nat Borchers to Sandy, with the teams already slated to meet in mid-August in league play … The RSL/Timbers winner will host the LA/SJ winner in an Open Cup quarterfinal on Tuesday, July 21 …
1 – career start for rookie DF Phanuel Kavita including tonight, as the former Highland H.S. and Sparta club standout – who started every game at Clemson in his four years there, including junior and senior campaigns as the Tigers’ captain – is the latest member of the Claret-and-Cobalt to make his 2015 debut, joining MF Wellington Paeckart (April 25 at NE) and DF Justen Glad (May 30 at VAN) … Only GK Lalo Fernandez (with the USL Monarchs tonight) and DF Boyd Okwuonu (in the 18 tonight) have not yet appeared in MLS play …
2 – road games in June/July, as RSL defends its Rio Tinto Stadium fortress for 8 home games in 10 total matches (8 MLS games, 2 US Open Cup) from June 7 through July 24 … Another potential home match is in the offing, as an RSL Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup win on July 1 would allow Rio Tinto Stadium to host a USOC Round of 16 match against Portland on July 21 …
3 – streak of consecutive games on the scoresheet for RSL FW Devon Sandoval, snapped May 27 in LA, as “Big Dev” notched game-winning assists on May 9 at Chicago and May 23 v NYCFC, to go along with his MLS Goal of the Week in the 1-4 loss at Montreal on May 16 … RSL is averaging 1.3 goals per 90 minutes with the third-year man out of New Mexico on the field (14 games played, 7 starts), compared to a 0.5 average when he is on the bench, after playing 90 minutes for a 9-man RSL Wednesday in NY …
4 – red cards received Wednesday night on either side of halftime to MF Javier Morales and DF Demar Phillips, reducing the club to nine men for just the fourth time in RSL’s 394-game history in MLS regular-season, playoff, Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League play … The first time RSL fell down to nine was on Feb. 22, 2011 in a CCL game at Columbus, a 0-0 draw on a 22-degree frozen field, as both DF Tony Beltran and DF Nat Borchers were ejected, as was Crew FW Renteria … Wednesday’s match marked the 2nd time in 2015 RSL fell victim to a pair of reds, as both DF Jamison Olave and FW Sebastian Saucedo were tossed in an 0-1 home loss on April 18 to Vancouver … Olave and FW Fabian Espindola were each ejected in an April, 2011 loss at San Jose …
5 – number of RSL games recently missed by RSL #SwissArmyKnife Jordan Allen, who has spent the last 4 weeks in Auckland, New Zealand, representing the USA in the FIFA Under-20 Youth World Championship … Expecting a deep run from the U.S., RSL played 4 league games (1-2-1) and this week’s Open Cup match between his post-Montreal departure and last week’s return for the U-20 quarterfinalist …
6 – games in an 18-day period for RSL, starting last Sunday … RSL chartered to face New York Red Bulls Wednesday, before hosting Columbus Crew SC tonight at Rio Tinto Stadium … Wednesday, July 1 sees RSL host Portland in LHUSOC Round of 16 action, prior to an Independence Day visit by Kaka and Orlando City on Sat., July 4 … RSL then closes out the marathon with a Sat., July 11 visit to Denver to face the Colorado Rapids …
7 – consecutive playoff berths for RSL from 2008-14 (the longest active run in MLS), during which time the club has averaged 1.58 points per game) … RSL also owns a league-record 5 consecutive seasons with 15+ wins and 50+ points, matching LA’s active run from 2010 to present …
9 – consecutive seasons in an RSL uniform for GK Nick Rimando, MF Kyle Beckerman & MF Javier Morales … The longest-tenured RSL men also rank 1-2 amongst Major League Soccer’s active leaders in games/starts/minutes (Rimando: 385/385/34,813; Beckerman: 368/339/30,442) … Morales has either scored or assisted on nearly 25% of the club’s all-time 450 goals scored, with the Argentine “maestro” tallying 40 goals and 70 assists, despite missing most of the 2011 season and all of 2005/06 and more than half of 2007 …
11 – the number of current RSL players potentially involved in national team call-ups this summer, as MF Jordan Allen (U.S. U-20 at FIFA Youth World Championship), DF Boyd Okwuonu (U.S. U-23s at Toulon tournament), MF Luis Gil (U.S. U-23s + full U.S. national team), GK Nick Rimando & MF Kyle Beckerman (full U.S. national team), FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica), DF Abdoulie Mansally (The Gambia), DF Demar Phillips (Jamaica), DF Elias Vasquez (Guatemala), DF Justen Glad (U.S. U-18s) and FW Sebastian Saucedo (U.S. U-18s) all could disappear for one or more games at a time …
13 – wins needed by RSL GK Nick Rimando in 2015 to become Major League Soccer’s all-time leader in that category, overtaking Kevin Hartman … Rimando now has 121 career shutouts, 9 more than Hartman in 34 fewer games all-time …
22 – players to have started a game for RSL this year in the club’s first 17 MLS games this season, as DF Justen Glad made his first XI debut May 30 in Vancouver … RSL boss Jeff Cassar has given 25 players league minutes this year, meaning everyone on the roster except GK Lalo Fernandez, DF Phanuel Kavita & DF Boyd Okwuonu (MF Fito Ovalle is on a season-long loan to the USL Monarchs) have seen MLS time … Okwuonu – who impressed by starting in 4 of 5 U.S. U-23 games at Toulon in recent weeks – got the starting nod in last week’s 2-1 Open Cup win over S2, while Kavita also made his RSL debut, playing the final 61 minutes after Glad’s precautionary removal (dizziness) …
26 – all-time PK denials by RSL GK Nick Rimando, who went 3-for-5 against opponents in his last eight games – denying Rapids MF Dillon Powers on June 7 to preserve a home point … Opposing PK takers have seen their conversion rates now drop to 43-for-70 against Rimando all-time, including 22-for-40 with Nick in an RSL uniform … Amazingly, Rimando has stopped 9 of the last 13 PKs faced and 11 of the last 17 … #WalloftheWasatch indeed …
26 – wins when FW Alvaro Saborio is not available at all for RSL due to suspension, injury or national team duty, the club recording a 26-13-8 mark in those instances … RSL is 43-6-13 mark all-time when the Costa Rican international finds the back of the net, but only 22-37-26 when he plays and doesn’t score …
27 – game-winning goals in the 75th minute or later for RSL in its 394-game all competition history, after Sunday night’s 93+ game-winner by FW Olmes Garcia to give RSL a 2-1 W over Kansas City … The Colombian forward had gone more than 1,050 minutes between goals, dating back to last August in Dallas …
59 – number of players in RSL’s 11-year, 124-player history to have scored at least one goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt, now that FW Sebastian Jaime opened his MLS account Sunday against Kansas City … Can either centerback Aaron Maund or Phanuel Kavita make it 60 with their first on a set piece today?
61 – combined starts – to go along with 13 combined goals (7) and assists (6) – missing for RSL in tonight’s game, as FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica/Gold Cup), MF Javier Morales (red card Wednesday at NYRB) and DF Jamison Olave (injury) are all out … Also missing are DF Elias Vasquez (State Department visa issues), DF Chris Schuler (injury, playing at Arizona with Monarchs tonight), DF Demar Phillips (red card Wednesday at NYRB) and DF Justen Glad (injury, day-to-day) …
82 – all-time yellow card cautions in 368 career games for RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman, the most in MLS history … The captain’s booking on Sunday’s foul – sticking up for maestro Javier Morales – allowed the dreadlocked leader to surpass former mentor Pablo Mastroeni, who had 81 cautions in 30 fewer games than KB5 … Beckerman is only 10 games away from becoming Major League Soccer’s all-time games played leader amongst field players … Beckerman trails Steve Ralston, Nick Rimando and Kevin Hartman in that category, while placing fifth in starts (339, two behind GK Joe Cannon and 33 behind Ralston) and minutes played at 30,418 (313 behind GK Joe Cannon, and 2,724 behind Ralston entering Saturday v. Columbus) …
102 – wins in his 8-year RSL career for GK Nick Rimando, with nearly 80% of the club’s all-time 125 victories …
450 – goals in the club’s 11-year MLS history, during which it has posted 125 wins in reg. season league play …
