THIS WEEK AT RSL
Week of April 22-28
Real Salt Lake
Two goals from Albert Rusnák and a third from Sam Johnson gave Real Salt Lake its second consecutive victory and first road win of the season, 3-0 over FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium on Friday. After withstanding early pressure from the home side, RSL got two goals before halftime, then put their foot on the gas to add a third and take a commanding lead. It was the fourth goal of the year for Rusnák and second in as many matches for Johnson as RSL improved to 3-4-1 (10 points) on the season, seventh in the Western Conference.
Filling in for the injured Nick Rimando, Andrew Putna made one save to earn his first career MLS shutout. In three appearances with RSL, Putna is 2-0-0 with one shutout and a 0.40 goals against average.
Real Salt Lake will again take to the road this week, facing the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park on Sunday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.
Utah Royals FC
Utah Royals FC (1-0-0, 3 points) opened the 2019 season in dramatic fashion on Saturday, topping the Washington Spirit 1-0 in front of a crowd of 18,015 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Lo’eau LaBonta scored her first goal for URFC on an assist from Christen Press and Nicole Barnhart made two saves in the shutout. It was a match of debuts and comebacks for Royals FC – Vero Boquete made her URFC debut, Michelle Maemone made her professional debut in a starting role at left back, Kelley O’Hara returned from injuries that hampered her throughout the 2018 season and Mandy Laddish made her first appearance since September 11, 2016. A postgame fireworks show and sendoff for Royals FC’s seven internationals who could be participating in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France – as it was the final home match before the players who are called in for the U.S. depart for camp.
Royals FC will face the Orlando Pride on Saturday in Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT.
Real Monarchs SLC
Real Monarchs (3-2-2, 11 points) battled from a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a 3-2 win over San Antonio FC on Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium.
Maikel Chang scored his fourth goal of the season and Jack Blake tied it up with a penalty for his fourth goal of the season. The game-winner came off the head of Syracuse, Utah native Kyle Coffee in the 72nd minute and the Monarchs held on for the win.
The Monarchs return to the road to face Austin Bold FC on Friday from Bold Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT.
RSL Academy
The RSL U-17s had a good showing at the 2019 Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas, opening the tournament with wins over NYCFC and Lyon from France. RSL closed out the Group Stage with a narrow 1-0 defeat to River Plate from Argentina, but still qualified for the quarterfinals. There, Spain’s Valencia earned a 2-0 win to eliminate RSL from title contention, but the tournament continued with defeats to FC Dallas (2-0) and Flamengo from Brazil (2-0). Four MLS Academies reached the quarterfinal round, with only eventual champion Seattle Sounders FC topping the international competition.
On the U-19 side, Real Salt Lake played in the Dallas Cup last week, going 1-1-1 in Gordon Jago Super Group, topping Toronto FC 3-0, drawing Monterrey 1-1 and dropping a 3-2 loss to Arsenal. RSL finished third in the group.
RSL’s Academy teams return to league action on May 11, hosting Real So Cal at Zions Bank Real Academy. RSL U-19s are currently second in the USSDA Southwest Division at 12-4-5 (41 points) while the RSL U-17s are fourth at 11-7-3 (36 points). Both teams are currently in playoff position.
RSL Foundation
The RSL Foundation is celebrating Earth Day with a special event at Zions Bank Real Academy on Monday. On Tuesday, the RSL Foundation is participating in the Playworks Junior Coach Leadership Summit, where Royals FC goalkeeper Abby Smith will be speaking about pathways to leadership on the Salt Lake Community College Miller Campus. In addition, the Get Fit With Scheels program at Columbia Elementary, where RSL defender Aaron Herrera and forward Tate Schmitt will discuss nutrition and fitness. Finally, on Wednesday the RSL Special Olympics Unified Team will hold its media day at Rio Tinto Stadium.
