Real Salt Lake 2 vs New York City FC 1
May 17, 2017; Sandy, Utah; Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake (3-7-2, 11 points); New York City FC (5-4-2, 17 points)
Man of the Match: Albert Rusnák notched a goal and an assist to lead RSL’s comeback against NYCFC. It was the second time this season he had at least one goal and one assist in a match and, coincidentally, the other also came in a game that featured snow on April 8 against Vancouver. He was solid in dead ball situations and had four chances created in the match, the most for either team.
Telling Stat: With five saves in the match, Nick Rimando broke the all-time MLS mark with 1,476 in his illustrious MLS career. He now holds records for wins, shutouts, minutes and starts in the MLS annals, all marks that won’t stand to be broken for years to come. Rimando was making his return to the field after a hamstring strain knocked him out of a 3-1 loss to Atlanta United on April 22.
What You Missed: RSL saw the returns of Rimando and Kyle Beckerman from injury, while Chris Schuler, Luke Mulholland, Rusnák and Yura Movsisyan all saw returns to the starting lineup after all being on the bench for the first game or RSL’s current stretch of three games in eight days.
So What: Breaking out of a four-match losing skid was a big moment for Salt Lake, but the busy stretch continues Saturday in Seattle against Sounders FC. While it isn’t anticipated that any more players will return from injury, players are slowly working their way back and the depth that the club touted in preseason may finally start to show itself in coming weeks and months.
