Real Salt Lake 2 vs Seattle Sounders FC 0
June 2, 2018; Sandy, Utah; Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake (7-6-1, 22 points); Seattle Sounders FC (2-7-2, 8 points)
Man of the Match: There are several players who battled to endure the third match in eight days and come out with three victories on the other side. Danilo Acosta has shown steady improvement in each match at left back. Brooks Lennon has done the same at right back. The center back pairing (more on them in the next note) was excellent once again. Corey Baird was dangerous in the attack and scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Damir Kreilach and Sunny were effective going both ways in the midfield. Jefferson Savarino and Sebastian Saucedo were creators on the offensive side of the field. But the vote goes to Kyle Beckerman. The captain was back in the starting lineup after scoring as a supersub in the midweek match against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday and was a defensive cornerstone making seven tackles while limiting any attacking options from Seattle.
Telling Stat: Justen Glad and Marcelo Silva are showing glimpses of the pairing that kept RSL in the hunt with their defensive prowess at the end of the 2017 season, combining for a 0.96 goals against average when they are on the field together while RSL has posted a record of 8-1-4 with five shutouts when they play 90 minutes together.
What You Missed: For the second time this season, RSL earned a shutout without allowing a shot on goal. In RSL’s four shutouts this season, the club has allowed a total of seven shots on goal. In holding Seattle this week and the Colorado Rapids back on April 21 without a shot, RSL accomplished twice thus far this season what no other team in MLS has been able to do even once.
So What: RSL has six straight wins at Rio Tinto Stadium and three straight wins overall and now jumps into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a fourth-round matchup against rival Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday at Rio Tinto Stadium. After that, the club will look to continue its run of good MLS form with a road match against the LA Galaxy before a brief break for the World Cup.
