SANDY, UTAH (Friday, September 11, 2020) – Major League Soccer today announced the 2020 regular season schedule and national broadcast details through the end of September, as well as Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs qualification and competition format.
Real Salt Lake will face Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the LA Galaxy and Minnesota United FC starting next week as MLS continues the 2020 regular season. Vancouver will visit Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday, September 19, followed by the Galaxy on Wednesday, September 23. The week concludes with a second trip this season to Allianz Field to face Minnesota United on Sunday, September 27.
RSL’s Phase Two Schedule
Sept. 19 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 7:30 p.m. MT
Sept. 23 vs. LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m. MT
Sept. 27 @ Minnesota United FC, 6 p.m. MT
RSL will face the Vancouver and the LA Galaxy for the first time this season. Salt Lake won both meetings against Vancouver in 2019, posting 1-0 victories in March at Rio Tinto Stadium and October at BC Place. RSL has posted four straight home wins over Vancouver, outscoring the Whitecaps 7-1 in that stretch. Against the Galaxy, RSL last saw victory in a 6-2 win at Rio Tinto Stadium in September of 2018, winning both home matches that season. In 2009, Real Salt Lake won MLS Cup in a shootout against the LA Galaxy for a signature moment in the club’s history.
For RSL’s two home matches, Rio Tinto Stadium will continue to utilize a configuration accommodating roughly 5,000 fans, following detailed procedures and protocols authorized by the Salt Lake County and State of Utah government health officials. This plan provides detailed health and safety directives for everyone entering the stadium on a matchday, including players, staff, and fans. Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Members will have the first opportunity to select matches to attend with any remaining tickets being made available to the general public at a later date.
All matches are scheduled to broadcast on KMYU and ESPN 700 with a live stream on the KSL TV app.
Real Salt Lake is currently seventh in the Western Conference at 3-2-5 (14 points) after Wednesday night’s 3-0 win over LAFC and meets the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium (7:30 p.m. MT; KMYU, KSL TV App, ESPN 700). In 2019, RSL finished third in the Western Conference at 16-13-5 (53 points), advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals for the second consecutive season.
As with the MLS is Back Tournament and phase one of returning to play in local markets, each team will adhere to comprehensive health and safety protocols, including regular testing of players, coaches and essential staff for COVID-19.
Additional 2020 MLS regular season matches will be announced pending further developments regarding travel protocols.
In addition to announcing regular season match details through September, MLS also today confirmed qualification details and the competition format for the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Audi MLS Cup Playoffs will again consist of single-elimination matches hosted by the higher-seeded team and follow a straight bracket format through MLS Cup on Dec.12.
As previously announced, in an expansion of the postseason for 2020, 18 clubs will compete in the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. Eight teams from the 12-team Western Conference will qualify directly to Round 1. The top six seeds from the 14-team Eastern Conference will qualify directly to Round 1. Eastern Conference seeds 7-10 will each compete in a play-in match (No. 7 vs. No. 10, and No. 8 vs. No. 9) to determine the two additional Eastern Conference teams that will qualify for the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Round 1.
The lower-seeded advancing team will face the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed in Round 1, while the higher-seeded advancing team will face the Eastern Conference No. 2 seed.
The Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs schedule and broadcast details will be announced at a later date.
