SANDY, Utah (Saturday, May 18, 2019) – Real Salt Lake (5-6-1, 16 points) claimed an emphatic 3-0 home win over Toronto FC on Saturday in front of 15,959 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium.
MF Damir Kreilach, FW Sebastian Saucedo and FW Jefferson Savarino all notched goals in the victory as GK Nick Rimando registered his 111thshutout in an RSL uniform and 146th in his MLS career.
RSL jumped out to the early lead when Kreilach fought through traffic inside the penalty area to poke home his third goal of the season in the 14th minute. RSL doubled its lead in the 28th minute when Saucedo drug the ball to the center of the pitch and unleashed a curling shot that easily beat TFC goalkeeper Quentin Westberg before finding the bottom corner of the net. Applying steady pressure on TFC, RSL took the 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
In the 58th minute, RSL nearly found its third goal when it caught Toronto on its heels, seeing a quick freekick from MF Albert Rusnák find Saucedo inside the penalty area, but his second goal wasn’t to be as his shot clattered off the upright and out. Just two minutes later, Savarinonetted the third goal, skipping past a defender inside the box to easily tuck the ball home. RSL continued to weather the storm throughout the remainder of the match, seeing its 3-0 home win stay intact, moving to 3-2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium in 2019.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake welcomes defending MLS Cup champion Atlanta United FC to Rio Tinto Stadium on Friday, May 24. Kickoff from Sandy is set for 7:00p MT.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RSL: Damir Kreilach, 14th minute: After a corner kick and play out wide, the ball found its way back to Rusnák who clipped in a ball towards the far post. Kreilach did well to chest the ball down in traffic before finding space to poke home for the early lead.
RSL: Sebastian Saucedo (Donny Toia), 28th minute: Fielding the ball on the left wing, Saucedo cut into the center of the pitch to open up space 30 yards from goal. Saucedo unleashed a rocket from 30 yards, easily curling past Westberg in the Toronto goal for the two-goal lead.
RSL: Jefferson Savarino (Sebastian Saucedo), 60th minute: Winning the ball inside the penalty area, Savarino easily went 1v1 with the goalkeeper, tucking the ball home inside the near post for the game’s third goal.
NOTES:
- GK Nick Rimando returned to the field after missing the last four matches due to a knee injury. MF Everton Luiz also returned to availability after missing the last four matches with a knee injury, playing 13 minutes in the win.
- DF Tony Beltran (knee) and MF Kyle Beckerman (hamstring tightness) were out of action due to injury.
- Rimando earned his 111th RSL shutout and 146th in his MLS career, making three saves in the win over Toronto FC.
- RSL started four Homegrown players with Brooks Lennon entering the match in the second half. In total, six RSL Academy products featured in the match as TFC’s Eriq Zavaleta played the entire 90 minutes for the visitors.
- MF Damir Kreilach’s 14th minute goal was RSL’s first goal within the first 15 minutes of a match in 2019.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs. Toronto FC
Date: May 18, 2019
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 15,595
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and 47 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 2 1 3
Toronto FC 0 0 0
RSL: Damir Kreilach 14’
RSL: Sebastian Saucedo (Donny Toia) 28’
RSL: Jefferson Savarino (Sebastian Saucedo), 60’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Aaron Herrera, Justen Glad, Nedum Onuoha, Donny Toia; Nick Besler, Damir Kreilach (Everton Luiz 77’); Jefferson Savarino, Albert Rusnák, Sebastian Saucedo (Joao Plata 71’); Corey Baird (Brooks Lennon 85’)
Subs not used: Alex Horwath, Marcelo Silva, Luke Mulholland, Justin Portillo, Sam Johnson
Toronto FC: (4-5-1): Quentin Westberg; Drew Moor, Eriq Zavaleta, Ashtone Morgan (Jozy Altidore, HT), Jonathan Osorio; Auro (Nick DeLeon, 70’), Michael Bradley, Marco Delgado, Jay Chapman, 71’), Justin Morrow, Jordan Hamilton; Alejandro Pozuelo
Subs not used: Alex Bono, Richie Larea, Liam Fraser, Terrence Boyd
Stats Summary: RSL / TOR
Shots: 19 / 10
Shots on Goal: 4 / 3
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 3 / 6
Fouls: 10 / 15
Offside: 6 / 2
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Nick Besler (caution) 26’
TOR: Ashtone Morgan (caution) 44’
TOR: Alejandro Pozuelo (caution) 53’
TOR: Alejandro Pozuelo (second caution, ejection) 61’
TOR: Jozy Altidore (caution) 61’
RSL: Donny Toia (caution) 82’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Phillippe Briere, Apolinar Mariscal
4th Official: Rosendo Mendoza
VAR: Allen Chapman
AVAR: Jozef Batko
