SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, May 30, 2018) – Real Salt Lake (6-6-1, 19 points) got a late goal from MF Kyle Beckerman to put the exclamation point on a strong performance against the Houston Dynamo, winning 2-1 Wednesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Beckerman scored his first goal of the season – and 30th in an RSL uniform – for the late game-winner after FW Luis Silva scored his second of the season in the first half. FW Sebastian Saucedo continued his run of good form with two assists on the night while GK Nick Rimando made five saves to earn the victory.
In a first half that saw Real Salt Lake control possession and create several attacking chances, the home side got on the board in the 34th minute. Saucedo had four shots and two more chances created in the first half, including the assist on the opening goal. Saucedo took a pass from DF Brooks Lennon up the left side and sent a cross in for Silva in the middle of the box. He rose and snapped a header inside the far post for his second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead that Salt Lake carried into halftime.
In the second half, Houston found an equalizer when Romell Quioto found Alberth Elis for a header in the 75th minute. However, in the 82nd minute Saucedo swung in a corner kick and MF Damir Kreilach chested the ball down to Beckerman, who rolled his left-footed shot past Joe Willis for the game-winner.
With the win, Real Salt Lake moves to 5-1-0 at home this season, moving into fifth place in the Western Conference.
UP NEXT: It’s a quick turnaround as RSL hosts Seattle Sounders FC in a rematch of a 1-0 win at CenturyLink Field last week. Saturday’s match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. MT from Rio Tinto Stadium.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RSL: Luis Silva (Sebastian Saucedo, Brooks Lennon), 34th minute – From the left wing, Sebastian Saucedo crossed the ball to Luis Silva, bending his pass just beyond several Houston defenders. Silva snapped a header inside the far post to beat Joe Willis for his second goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
HOU: Alberth Elis (Romell Quioto), 75th minute – Houston swung the ball from right to left outside the RSL box before Romell Quioto lifted a ball to Alberth Elis crashing the far post for an unmarked header that found the net for his eighth goal of the season to make it 1-1.
RSL: Kyle Beckerman (Damir Kreilach, Sebastian Saucedo), 82nd minute – Off a corner kick from the right side, Damir Kreilach chested the ball down to Kyle Beckerman at the edge of the six-yard box. He turned on a left-footed shot that rolled past Joe Willis for Beckerman’s first goal of the season to snare the 2-1 lead.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
HOU: Joe Willis, 22nd minute – Justen Glad played a long ball from the back to Sebastian Saucedo, who worked a 1v1 with his defender before cutting inside and shooting for the far post. Joe Willis dove to his left to get his glove to it for the save.
RSL: Nick Rimando, 42nd minute – Houston used its speed up the wings to get in behind the Salt Lake defense and when the ball switched from left-to-right it opened up a crease for Tomas Martinez. Mauro Manotas crossed the ball to the penalty spot and Martinez hit a first-time shot that forced a reaction save from Rimando to keep Houston scoreless.
NOTES:
- RSL played without five players due to injury. GK Alex Horwath (Achilles), DF Shawn Barry (knee), DF Tony Beltran (knee), MF Luke Mulholland (back) and FW Jordan Allen (knee).
- MF Albert Rusnák was out of the lineup while away with the Slovakian National Team for friendlies against the Netherlands and Morocco. He is scheduled return to RSL prior to the club’s match against the LA Galaxy on June 9.
- MF Kyle Beckerman appeared off the bench for the first time in nearly six years in an MLS match. The league’s all-time iron man last made a substitute appearance on August 18, 2012 against FC Dallas. He had started in 152 matches since his last appearance off the bench.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs. Houston Dynamo
Date: May 30, 2018
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 16,613
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and 80
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 1 2
Houston Dynamo 0 0 1
RSL: Luis Silva (Sebastian Saucedo, Brooks Lennon) 34’
HOU: Alberth Elis (Romell Quioto) 75’
RSL: Kyle Beckerman (Damir Kreilach, Sebastian Saucedo) 82’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Brooks Lennon, Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad, Danilo Acosta; Nick Besler, Sunny (Kyle Beckerman 64’); Jefferson Savarino (Joao Plata 75’), Damir Kreilach, Sebastian Saucedo; Luis Silva (Corey Baird 67’).
Subs not used: Connor Sparrow, Aaron Herrera, David Horst, Pablo Ruiz.
Houston Dynamo (4-2-3-1): Joe Willis, Adam Lundqvist, Leonardo, Jared Watts (Kevin Garcia 46’), DaMarcus Beasley; Eric Alexander, Boniek Garcia; Alberth Elis, Tomas Martinez (Luis Gil 83’), Romell Quioto; Mauro Manotas (Arturo Alvarez 66’).
Subs not used: Chris Seitz, Eric Bird, Andrew Wenger, Memo Rodriguez.
Stats Summary: RSL / HOU
Shots: 12 / 12
Shots on Goal: 5 / 6
Saves: 5 / 3
Corner Kicks: 3 / 4
Fouls: 12 / 7
Offside: 5 / 0
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
HOU: Tomas Martinez (Caution) 28’
HOU: Eric Alexander (Caution) 70’
HOU: Romell Quioto (Caution) 96+’
RSL: Marcelo Silva (Caution) 97+’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: David Gantar
Assistant Referees: Nick Uranga, TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Nima Saghafi
Video Assistant Referee: Edvin Jurisevic
