SANDY, Utah (Friday, August 31, 2018) – Real Salt Lake (12-10-5, 41 pts., 4th West) kicks off Labor Day Weekend by welcoming world icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy (10-9-8, 38 pts., t-6th West), with fans encouraged to arrive early for an 8:00 p.m. MT kickoff before what will be a standing-room only crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium. Attendance Saturday is expected to approach or possibly exceed the venue-record 21,004, set in September, 2015, also against the LA Galaxy, in a 3-0 victory (GK Nick Rimando notching career clean sheet 123, w/ a Devon Sandoval brace and a Javier Morales goal).
RSL sits fourth overall in a tightly-packed Western Conference playoff race, where just nine points separate the top eight teams entering the final quarter of the season. The Claret-and-Cobalt play four of its next six matches at home – where the team enters Saturday boasting a 12-game unbeaten streak and an overall 2018 mark of 9-1-3 in Sandy (outscoring opponents 25-11) – prior to the October 21 season finale at Portland. RSL will be forced to scoreboard watch on the regular-season’s final match date – “Decision Day” – with the odd number of teams necessitating a bye week on Oct. 28.
Head Coach Mike Petke’s team returns home Saturday looking to capitalize on the momentum created in back-to-back road wins at Houston and at Colorado in recent weeks, both achieved in dramatic fashion. Last Saturday at Colorado, RSL secured the fan-created Rocky Mountain Cup for the fourth consecutive year and for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons with a dominant 6-0 win.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy – Sat., Sept. 1, 2018
- Coverage Begins: 7:30 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU w/ David James & Brian Dunseth, w/ Samantha Yarock
- Digital Streaming: KSL 5 TV app or KSL.com
- English Radio: ESPN 700 AM (6:00 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley & Jay Nolly w/ Tom Hackett & Spencer Warne (pre-/post-game)
- Spanish Radio: 104.7 /107.1 FM – Fernando Hortal, German Hortal & Carlos Artiles
