MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Weekly Update

Published on October 28, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


Real Salt Lake to Make MLS Cup Playoff Debut Saturday against Chivas USA at Rio Tinto Stadium

After four seasons, the wait for playoff qualification is finally over for Real Salt Lake (10-10-10 in MLS regular season), as Utah's MLS side will make its long-awaited debut in the MLS Cup Playoffs this Saturday, November 1, when RSL will play host to Chivas USA (12-11-7) at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Kick-off for Game One of the two-leg Western Conference Semifinal Series between the MLS Expansion "Class of '05" is set for 4:00 p.m. MT, with the match being carried live nationwide on Fox Soccer Channel. Fans that can't make the historic contest on Saturday can also listen to the match live via RSL's official radio partners: KALL 700 Sports (RSL First Kick pre-game coverage begins at 2:30 p.m.) and "Ke Buena" 1600-AM.

Tickets for Saturday's Historic Playoff Contest at Rio Tinto Stadium Available NOW!

Tickets for Real Salt Lake's historic MLS Cup Playoff debut against Chivas USA this Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium are NOW ON SALE at www.RioTintoStadium.com or by calling (801) 924-8585 from 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. throughout the remainder of the week. Individual tickets to the home playoff match begin at just $20 per seat, while groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets at various discounted rates. Call, click or visit Rio Tinto Stadium's West Side box office or the team's Trolley Corners office (515 South 700 East, #2R in Salt Lake City) for tickets or more information. For those customers picking up their tickets on the day of the match, the Rio Tinto Stadium Will Call Office will open at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Arrive Early Saturday to Take Advantage of "Dollar Dogs" Special from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Real Salt Lake has announced that gates at Rio Tinto Stadium for this Saturday's Western Conference Semifinal Series opener against Chivas USA will open 90 minutes before kick-off, with the general public allowed to enter the building beginning at 2:30 p.m. In an effort to fill up Rio Tinto Stadium for its first-ever postseason contest, Real Salt Lake and stadium caterer Levy Restaurants are teaming up to reward early arrivals with a "Dollar Dog" special from 2:30-3:30 p.m., as all customers in line at Stadium concession stands by 3:30 p.m. will be able to purchase regular hot dogs for just a buck each. Fans heading to Rio Tinto Stadium early on Saturday are reminded that they can also stop by the Carnival Real pre-game festival on the stadium's East side plaza beginning at 2:00 p.m., and by the Fox Soccer Channel pre-game studio set in the southwest corner of the concourse level (behind Sections 13 & 14) at 3:30 p.m.

KFC Colonel's Corner Returns for Postseason; Discounted Seats Available for $25

Real Salt Lake and KFC have announced that the KFC Colonel's Corner at Rio Tinto Stadium will roll into the postseason alongside Utah's MLS club. Vouchers to the KFC Colonel's Corner - located in sections 6 & 7 in the Stadium's southeast corner - for this Saturday's historic RSL playoff contest will go on sale for $25 (a $10 discount) at eight KFC locations up and down the Wasatch Front beginning Tuesday afternoon. Fans are reminded that only a limited number of vouchers can be redeemed in the KFC Colonel's Corner for each contest, so early redemption at the team's Trolley Corners Front Office location (515 S. 700 East, Suite #2R) from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday is strongly encouraged. Vouchers can be purchased at the following KFC locations:

Salt Lake City

6890 Highland Drive

3890 S. State Street

2045 S. 1300 East

555 E. 400 South

Sandy

653 E. 9400 South

10710 S. State Street

Bountiful - 495 S. 500 West

Layton - 747 N. Main Street

Real Salt Lake-Chivas USA Series History

Real Salt Lake will make its historic MLS Cup Playoff debut this Saturday against the squad it will forever be linked with in MLS historical circles, its 2005 expansion partner, Chivas USA. The "Class of '05" met three times in 2008, with Real Salt Lake dropping the series by a 1-2-0 margin. The series started what seems ages ago in both teams' second match of the season on April 5 at The Home Depot Center, where former RSL'ers Atiba Harris and Alecko Eskandarian both tallied in the second half to help down RSL 3-1. Real Salt Lake would finally exorcise its road demons when it returned to Southern California on June 14, as a Robbie Findley breakaway goal in the second half would be enough to give RSL a gutsy 1-0 victory - and its first away points in six tries on the season. But Chivas USA would get its own revenge in RSL's Rice-Eccles Stadium finale on Sept. 20, with Eskandarian again notching against his former side, doing just enough to give the "Goats" a 1-0 win of their own. While Real Salt Lake trails the all-time regular season series against Chivas USA with a record of 3-8-3, it has amassed a neutral 2-2-2 mark in games contested in Utah (all played at Rice-Eccles).

FW Yura Movsisyan up for Final Goal of the Week Honor of 2008 Season

FW Yura Movsisyan's 90th minute tally at Colorado last week was a landmark goal for many reasons, as it clinched RSL's first-ever playoff spot, allowed the Utah squad to hoist the Rocky Mountain Cup for a second straight season, and gave the young striker the 2008 RSL Budweiser Golden Boot award. But you, the fans, can help tack one more modifier onto Yura's near-angle blast - Sierra Mist MLS Goal of the Week for Week 31 - by clicking over to www.MLSnet.com and voting for the season-saving tally by Wednesday morning. Movsisyan could join the list of three RSL players - FW Robbie Findley (Week 10), FW Fabian Espíndola (Week 23), & MF Andy Williams (Week 28) - that have captured the honor thus far in 2008.

Borchers & Rimando to Visit SMA Patients at Primary Children's Hospital on Thursday

Real Salt Lake will have a busy week in front of it as the Utah side prepares for its first-ever postseason contest this weekend, but a pair of players - DF Nat Borchers and GK Nick Rimando - will take a break this Thursday, Oct. 30, to visit patients suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. Borchers has taken up the fight against SMA since his godson Josh was diagnosed with the type II form of the disease, and earlier this season helped to raise awareness of SMA and create a broader local support system for those dealing with the disease by donating tickets to several families during an "SMA Night" surrounding an RSL game at Rice-Eccles Stadium last month. Any media affiliates wanting photo opportunities from Thursday's visit or more details on Borchers' fight against SMA are asked to contact John Koluder in the RSL Communications Department at 801-924-8584 or jkoluder@RealSaltLake.com for more information.

Get Ready for Saturday's Game with 20% off ALL RSL/adidas Merchandise

The Real Salt Lake Merchandise Department wants to help RSL fans get into playoff mode - and into Claret-and-Cobalt - prior to Saturday's historic day at Rio Tinto Stadium, and they'll do their part all week long by providing 20% off all officially licensed RSL/adidas gear through kick-off in Sandy. Fans can drop by the RSL Merchandise Office at its Trolley Corners HQ (515 S. 700 East, Suite #2B-1) from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on gameday at Rio Tinto Stadium this Saturday, beginning outside the gates at its Carnival Real kiosk on the Stadium's east side at 2:00 p.m. and continuing once gates open at its north concourse kiosk inside the Stadium.

Reserve Your Spot Now for Game Two Bus Trip to Southern California

The Real Salt Lake staff would like to thank the hundreds of RSL fans that sang, chanted and cheered for the squad last Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, especially those that helped sell out the fan bus that traversed the Rockies to and fro during the weekend. After seeing the success and general good times enjoyed on that trip, the RSL Front Office wants to recreate that performance for the Western Conference Semifinal Series date against Chivas USA on Saturday, Nov. 8, as the club will again offer a bus & ticket package in the attempt to create a "home-away-from-home" atmosphere for the decisive second leg at The Home Depot Center. For $105, RSL supporters will receive a round-trip charter bus seat and a ticket to the Game Two showdown in Southern California. A special offer for hotel accommodations on that Saturday evening (Nov. 8) is also being extended to the RSL travel party (details below). Up to 55 spots will be available for the bus trip, which can be reserved immediately by contacting Teresa Nelson in the RSL Front Office at 801-924-8565 or via email at tnelson@realsaltlake.com.

The two-day trip will begin early that Saturday morning, when the fan bus will depart from the West parking lot at Rio Tinto Stadium at 6:00 a.m. (fans will be able to leave their cars in the Stadium's south lot). The bus will arrive at the trip's hotel headquarters, the Holiday Inn in Torrance (19800 S. Vermont) for a brief stopover before heading to The Home Depot Center for the 7:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. MT) kick-off. The fan bus will make another 6:00 a.m. departure on Sunday morning to head back to Rio Tinto Stadium for an estimated 5:00 p.m. arrival in Sandy.

In addition to the bus/ticket package, Real Salt Lake has also worked with the Holiday Inn - Torrance to secure a special room rate for the Saturday night stay, with RSL fans being able to reserve a room with two double beds for $101.46 (including tax). Fans interested in taking advantage of this offer are asked to contact Dorcus Lan at the Holiday Inn by calling 310-619-2534 and mention the "Real Salt Lake" group of rooms when making the reservation (fans will need to reserve their room with a credit card). For more information on the hotel, visit www.hitorranceca.com.

RSL Reserves Close Out Campaign with 2-1 Win at Rapids Reserves

The Real Salt Lake Reserves (7-3-2, 23 pts.) closed out their most successful MLS Reserve Division campaign to date on Sunday morning by coming from behind to collect a 2-1 victory over the two-time defending champion Colorado Rapids Reserves (4-6-2, 14 pts.) at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The result allowed the RSL Reserves to maintain its third-place standing in the 14-team single-table division, finishing the season behind only the eventual champions from Houston (9-1-2) and the runners-up from Kansas City (8-1-2). The win also gave the RSL Reserves new high-water marks in the wins and points columns, eclipsing the six-win, 21-point campaign it enjoyed in 2006 (6-3-3).

The home side opened up the scoring in the 39th minute when John DiRaimondo played a ball from the Rapids' side of the pitch onto a sprinting Jacob Peterson down the left side. Peterson carried the ball 20 yards into the box and finished to the far post past an outstretched Chris Seitz to claim a 1-0 lead for Colorado heading into the break. But Real Salt Lake was able to equalize and later grab the lead within a five minute span at the start of the second half, beginning when Brennan Tennelle finished Kevin Reiman's pass in the box in the 58th minute to even the score at one apiece. Another pair of rookies would combine on the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute, when Alex Nimo's creative moves opened up the Rapids backline and created space for Tony Beltran, who one-touched Nimo's pass home to give RSL the lead at 2-1. Colorado would play the final 16 minutes of the match a man down following a red card ejection on Stephen Keel due to a harsh tackle on Reiman.

Scoring Summary:

COL - Jacob Peterson (John DiRaimondo) 39

RSL - Brennan Tennelle (Kevin Reiman) 58

RSL - Tony Beltran (Alex Nimo) 63

Lineups:

Real Salt Lake: Chris Seitz (Kyle Reynish 45), Nikolas Besagno, David Horst, Dustin Kirby, Tony Beltran, Nathan Sturgis, Tino Nunez, Alex Nimo, Kevin Reiman, Kenny Cutler, Brennan Tennelle

Substitutes Not Used: None

Colorado Rapids: Mike Graczyk, Tim Ward (Jose Burciaga Jr. 79), Cesar Zambrano, Stephen Keel, Kwame Sarkodie, John DiRaimondo, Dan Gargan (Facundo Erpen 45), Brian Grazier, Ciaran O'Brien, Jacob Peterson, Nico Colaluca

Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo

Misconduct Summary:

RSL - Kevin Reiman (caution) 42

COL - Stephen Keel (caution) 52

COL - Stephen Keel (ejection) 74

COL - John DiRaimondo (caution) 87

Tickets for Nov. 8 USA Rugby Doubleheader at Rio Tinto Stadium Still on Sale

The first major non-soccer event at Rio Tinto Stadium is less than two weeks away, as RSL's new home will host a USA Rugby doubleheader featuring teams from New Zealand, Uruguay and the United States on Saturday, November 8. The day of rugby kicks off at 1:15 p.m. MT with the U.S. Select XV Team versus New Zealand Heartland. The main event, which will boast the United States and Uruguay National Teams, will kick off at 4:00 p.m. MT. Tickets to the USA Rugby doubleheader are now on sale to the public and begin at $15 (end zone seating); other categories are $25 (lower sideline), $40 (VIP) and $75 (premium). Please visit www.usarugby.org/goto/usa_doubleheader for more information on the matches. For more information on Rio Tinto Stadium or for ticket information, please visit www.RioTintoStadium.com or call 801-924-8585.

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Major League Soccer Stories from October 28, 2008


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