SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 21, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (7-12-2, 23 points, West #8) concludes its three-game week Saturday night as rival Sporting Kansas City arrives to kick off the state’s Pioneer Day holiday weekend with an 8:00 p.m. MT kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium. Tickets are still available for Saturday’s match and post-game fireworks viawww.RSL.comor by calling 844.Real.Tix.
RSL Head Coach Mike Petke and Co. seek the club’s third consecutive victory, after exploding for 10 goals in its last two road wins, including a 4-1 win on Wednesday in Portland which gave the Claret-and-Cobalt back-to-back road victories for the first time since May, 2014 (3-2 at Chicago, 5-2 at Houston). Wednesday night’s dominance – featuring a Kyle Beckerman blast from distance, two Joao Plata goals and continued magic from both Albert Rusnák (one goal) and Jefferson Savarino (one assist, one PK earned), among others – snapped a 19-game winless streak on artificial turf for RSL dating back to November, 2013, as well as an eight-game winless run against the Timbers.
Real Salt Lake is now 7-9-0 since April 8 in its new era under Head Coach Mike Petke, the club welcoming rival Sporting Kansas City this Saturday to kick off a three-game homestand at Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL has hosted a trio of three-game homestands in its 13-year history to this juncture, securing seven of a possible nine points in 2016 (Dallas, Colorado, LA Galaxy), five of nine in 2014 (Vancouver, Montreal, Red Bulls) and only four of nine in 2006 (Dallas, Chivas, D.C. United) at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Columbus Crew arrive on Saturday, July 26 (with an early 6:00 p.m. MT kickoff) and Houston Dynamo visit on Saturday, August 5 as RSL hosts back-to-back home games on four occasions in the final third of the 2017 season (also August 23/26 v. San Jose & Colorado, and Sept. 16/23 v. Portland & Seattle), after not enjoying that luxury at any time in the first four-and-a-half months of the campaign.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Sporting Kansas City – Sat., July 22, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 7:30 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley & Jay Nolly, w/ Jeremy Horton & Spencer Warne (pre-/post-game)
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL v. Sporting Kansas City 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 Sporting Kansas City 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.
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season resumes Saturday with a highly-anticipated road contest at San Antonio FC, the clubs sitting 1-2 in the West standings all season long. The third-year Monarchs claim the league’s top goal differential, +23 with 40 goals scored and 17 allowed in just 17 games, occupying first place overall in the USL with an incredible 14-2-1 start and 43 points, seven clear of San Antonio FC – which has allowed just eight goals in its first 17 games this season.
Head Coach Mark Briggs’ team – which saw its 10-game unbeaten run snapped July 1 with an 0-2 loss at Tulsa, the club’s lone shutout suffered of the year and the only loss since April 15 – extended its home win streak to 10 straight games earlier this month, downing OKC and Seattle by a combined 7-2 scoreline. This week, the Monarchs hope to welcome back playmaker Sebastian Velasquez for the San Antonio trip. Velasquez has earned four USL Team of the Week nods in the last eight weeks (and five overall), while moving near the top of the USL attacking charts with six goals and six assists on his campaign.
FW Chandler Hoffman ranks third overall in the USL with 11 goals on the season, the USL MVP candidate matching fellow MF Charlie Adams’ five assists for the third-highest total in USL. The Monarchs goalkeeping tandem of Lalo Fernandez and Connor Sparrow has combined for five shutouts, allowing only 9 goals in the last 1034 minutes. The Monarchs return to Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday, July 31 against Tulsa (7:00 p.m. MT kickoff) with sights set on an 11th consecutive home victory, dating back to last season:
USL Home Winning Streaks (incl. playoffs)
13 games: Orlando City SC (2014)
11 games: Rochester Rhinos (2015-16)
10 games: Real Monarchs (2016-present)
8 games: Swope Park Rangers (2016-17)
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.
Opening on August 22 of this year, the Zions Bank Real Academy training campus arrives in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $72 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 facility will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening in Fall, 2017, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls.
Late last year 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.
