On Thursday night, Real Salt Lake advanced to the Western Conference semifinal after taking down LAFC, 3-2. Real Salt Lake will match up against rival, Sporting Kansas City for a two-game series in the Western Conference semifinals for the 2018 MLS Cup. If the two are tied at the end of both legs, the team with the most away goals will move forward to the conference final.
RSL will start the series home at the RioT, Sunday, November 4th. The match will kick off at 8:00 p.m. MT and will be nationally televised on FS1.
Here is what you need to know about opponent, SKC.
Sporting Kansas City is coached by Peter Vermes. Vermes played back when the club was the Kansas City Wizards from 2000-2002. The club rebranded to Sporting Kansas City in 2010. In his first season as a player for the club, Vermes earned the 2000 MLS Cup. Vermes announced his retirement from playing in 2002.
Vermes was hired as the Technical Director for the Kansas City Wizards in 2006 and became the interim coach for the Wizards in 2009. After the 2009 season, the Wizards offered Vermes the head coach position, and has been the coach since. He has won two MLS Cups for the club in 2000 as a player, and 2013 as a coach. He is the only MLS head coach who has won the Cup as a player and coach, for the same team.
SKC finished the 2018 regular season 18-8-8 and with a 10-2-5 record at home. SKC ended up first in the Western Conference with 62 points and was automatically placed in the conference semifinal. This is the first time since 2013 that SKC has survived past the Knockout round of playoffs.
SKC players to watch:
- FW Daniel Salloi, leading scorer for SKC with 11 goals
- FW Johny Russell, leading assist man with 10 assists in his debut season with SKC
- GK Tim Melia, totaling 106 saves and 13 shutouts
History lies behind RSL and SKC. RSL played SKC in the 2013 MLS Cup Final. In a non-neutral venue for the championship game that ended in a shootout, RSL fell in the 10th round, and SKC stole the Cup.
RSL faced SKC three times in the 2018 regular season. The first match took place on June 6th, in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. In the end, RSL fell 2-0 at home.
The second meeting against SKC was on July 4th, at Rio Tinto Stadium. SKS retrieved the first goal of the match, but MF Jefferson Savarino equalized in the 29th minute, and FW Corey Baird followed with a goal in the 37th minute. MF Sebastian Saucedo gained his own in added time of the second half. RSL led the half 3-1.
RSL was ahead 3-2 and the game tallied 10 minutes of added time in the second half. FW Luis Silva finished a goal in the 90th minute. Both teams continued to battle, and SKC was forced to finish the game with nine men, as two SKC players received red cards in the 90th and 94th minutes. RSL rallied a 4-2 victory.
On September 30th, RSL faced SKC for the third time, at Children’s Mercy Park and gained a 1-1 draw. FW Corey Baird scored early for RSL, in the ninth minute. RSL went into the half leading 1-0. Sporting equalized in the 52nd minute and the match finished in a draw.
Join us tomorrow, to paint the RioT Red and support RSL as they take on SKC in the Western Conference semifinal.
