Real Salt Lake 1 at Colorado Rapids 3
July 11, 2015; Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Records: Real Salt Lake (5-7-8, 23 points). Colorado Rapids (4-6-9, 21 points)
Man of the Match: Chris Schuler made his return to the starting lineup and looked as good as ever. Out of RSL’s starting 11 since April 5 with a knee injury, Schuler was a destructive force in the back and even showed impressive footwork in warding off Colorado forward Kevin Doyle at one point in the second half. His return to the starting lineup can only mean good things for the RSL defense.
Telling Stat: 15. Of the 26 goals Real Salt Lake has conceded through 20 games this season, 15 of them have come in the final 15 minutes of a half. That includes all three goals Colorado scored on Saturday. Of those, nine have come in the final 15 minutes of the match. It was an issue the team appeared to have solved after holding opponents scoreless in the final 15 minutes of the second half for the last five matches, but the Rapids exploded for three goals including two in stoppage time.
What You Missed: A healthy contingent of RSL supporters made the journey by bus from Salt Lake City to Denver for the match and were greeted by the players on two particular occasions – after Sebastian Jaime scored his fifth goal in the last six games across all competitions and again after the final whistle. The strong show of support did not go unnoticed in the RSL locker room.
So What: Attention shifts quickly to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where RSL will host the LA Galaxy on Tuesday at Rio Tinto Stadium. The quarterfinal match represents a great opportunity for Salt Lake to salvage some momentum in what has been a difficult stretch of matches while key players are away at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
