SANDY, Utah (Friday, May 19, 2017) - Real Salt Lake (3-7-2, 9th West) hits the road again this weekend, visiting West rivals Seattle Sounders FC Saturday afternoon for a 3:00 p.m. MT kickoff. Real Salt Lake seeks to build upon Wednesday night's 2-1, come-from-behind home victory over NYCFC, which snapped a four-game losing streak and put a 329' scoring drought in the rear-view mirror.
On short rest, RSL travels to the Pacific Northwest, squaring off Saturday afternoon on the artificial surface of Century Link Field; perhaps a return to the site of the club's greatest glory - MLS Cup 2009 - can help RSL snap an 18-game winless run on fake grass (0-13-5) dating back to a November, 2013 playoff win at Portland.
All-time, RSL is 2-7-2 on the road at Seattle, dropping each of its last 6 visits and last earning a point there in 2012. In the series, the home team has captured the full 3 points in each of the last 11 meetings from 2013-present (six games in Seattle, five games in Utah).
The weekend will serve as a homecoming for several RSL personalities, as DF Justin Schmidt, GM Craig Waibel and Strength Coach Henry Ruggiero all once called the Univ. of Washington home, while RSL Assistant Coach Tyrone Marshall made more than 50 appearances for Seattle as a defender in 2009/10. Former Sounders FW Chad Barrett will not make the trip due to his ongoing recovery from a knee injury, while Claret-and-Cobalt front office staffers Matt Gaschk and Taymour Roushdi also once called Seattle home.
Saturday's contest will be televised locally via KMYU (coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. MT on 2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call, and can also heard live via RSL outlets ESPN700 AM (English radio coverage starts at 2:00 p.m. MT w/ Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM (Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran).
How to Follow Real Salt Lake @ Seattle Sounders FC - Sat., May 20, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 2:30 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU - David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (2:00 p.m. MT) - Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM - Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday's RSL @ Seattle game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday's contest between Real Salt Lake and Seattle is available HERE. 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 Matt Gaschk in the RSL Communications Department via email at mgaschk@rsl.com.
On Wednesday, Real Salt Lake improved to 3-4-0 in the new era under Head Coach Mike Petke, riding goals by MF Albert Rusnák and DF Aaron Maund in each half to snap a four-game losing streak that had seen RSL outscored over the last month 13-1 by Atlanta, Kansas City, Dallas and New England.
RSL GK Nick Rimando made 5 saves to overcome Kevin Hartman in the only MLS all-time goalkeeping category he did not own, while Venezuelan FW Jefferson Savarinoearned an assist in his first-ever start after moving from Zulia FC in his home country just 9 days earlier.
RSL's early concession to NYCFC in the 4th minute was the 11th goal the club has allowed in the first half-hour through 12 games this year, but the Savarino setup for the Rusnák equalizer rewarded the home side for its attacking pressure on a night that saw the return of Rimando, DF Chris Schuler, Captain Kyle Beckerman and Rusnák to the XI after missing the May 13 game in New England.
The four consecutive losses suffered by RSL marked the club's longest losing streak since Sept./Oct. 2011 … Rusnák's 38th-minute equalizer snapped a 329-minute scoring drought, the club's fifth-longest in its 13-year MLS history …
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season is ongoing, the third-year club now the highest-scoring team in the league with 20 goals scored in just eight games, claiming second place overall in the USL with a 7-1-0 start and 21 points.
Saturday night saw newly-promoted Head Coach Mark Briggs improve to 6-1-0 with a dominating 2-0 home win over Sacramento Republic FC. Saturday's win over the 2014 USL champions - which saw goals from FW Daniel Haber and MF Sebastian Velasquez, as well as another shutout for GK Connor Sparrow - extended this year's home record to a perfect 4-0-0, with the Monarchs overall shutout streak now at 224 minutes - and counting.
This Saturday at 7:00 p.m. MT, the Monarchs host regional rival Colorado Springs Switchbacks at Rio Tinto Stadium. Season Tickets for the Real Monarchs third season are now on sale; please call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, Real Salt Lake's regional training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams - RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) - while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls. View a recent photo gallery of the Herriman progress HERE!
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.
