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Real Salt Lake

RSL to Host Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round Tilt

June 15, 2011 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah / CHICAGO (Wednesday, June 15, 2011) - Real Salt Lake today learned the possible opponents for its return to Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play, with the Claret-and-Cobalt drawing the winner of the Second Round contest between USL PRO sides Charlotte Eagles and Wilmington Hammerheads. Real Salt Lake will host the Third Round contest at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday, June 28, with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. MT.

Winning the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - U.S. Soccer's National Championship tournament - would offer Real Salt Lake a road back to the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, the continental club championship the Utah side was on the cusp of winning this past spring. Participation in MLS Cup 2011 and claiming the MLS Supporters' Shield (regular season) title would provide the other three routes for qualification into the 2012/13 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Tickets for RSL's debut in the 98th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will go on-sale to the public this Friday, June 17 at 12:00 p.m. MT, with tickets in all general seating areas at Rio Tinto Stadium costing just $5 for current Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders and only $10 for the general public. Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holders are reminded that no U.S. Open Cup contests are included in their 2011 ticket package.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is an annual, single-elimination competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, with a "closed bid" process determining the host teams in each round. For the first time in club history, Real Salt Lake enters the 2011 competition as one of six automatic MLS qualifiers to receive passage to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup's Third Round (Round of 16), doing so as a result of its finish in the top six of last year's MLS regular season standings.

This year's tournament proper kicked off Tuesday with 16 First Round matches contested across the country, with 13 of those games won by the home side. The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will continue with yesterday's 16 victors pairing off for Second Round fixtures next Tuesday, June 21, with the eight teams that emerge matching up against MLS opponents in the Third Round on June 28. The U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals will be held July 12/13, followed by the two Semifinal Round games on Aug. 30/31 and the Final on Oct. 4/5.

This year's appearance in the U.S. Open Cup proper marks RSL's first since 2006, the final season in which all MLS teams automatically entered the competition's earlier rounds. For the last four consecutive years, RSL was forced to try and earn its spot in the domestic tournament as one of at least nine Major League Soccer sides fighting for the two "play-in" positions allocated to America's top-flight division.

The 2011 champion will earn a $100,000 cash prize, while the runner-up will collect $50,000. The top Division III (USL PRO) and Amateur Division clubs (USL PDL, USASA & NPSL) will each receive a $10,000 prize (no Division II teams are participating in the 2011 U.S. Open Cup as the North American Soccer League did not obtain provisional sanctioning in time to be included). The winner also will have the team's name engraved on the historic Dewar Challenge Trophy, the oldest trophy in American team sports that is housed in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y. The tournament has crowned a champion for 97 consecutive years dating back to 1914.

For more information on the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, visit www.USsoccer.com or www.TheCup.us.

2011 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP THIRD ROUND POSSIBLE PAIRINGS

No. Date Match Time Venue

25 June 28 FC New York (USL PRO) at New York Red Bulls (MLS) 8 p.m. ET Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.

-or- N.Y. Pancyprian Freedoms (USASA) at New York Red Bulls (MLS) 8 p.m. ET Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.

26 June 28 Chicago Fire (MLS) at Rochester Rhinos (USL PRO) 7:35 p.m. ET Sahlen's Stadium; Rochester, N.Y.

-or- Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO) at Chicago Fire (MLS) 7:30 p.m. CT Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.

27 June 28 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL PRO) at Columbus Crew (MLS) 7:30 p.m. ET Columbus Crew Stadium; Columbus, Ohio

-or- Richmond Kickers (USL PRO) at Columbus Crew (MLS) 7:30 p.m. ET Columbus Crew Stadium; Columbus, Ohio

28 June 28 Charlotte Eagles (USL PRO) at Real Salt Lake (MLS) 7 p.m. MT Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah

-or- Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO) at Real Salt Lake (MLS) 7 p.m. MT Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah

29 June 28 Orlando City Soccer Club (USL PRO) at FC Dallas (MLS) 8 p.m. CT Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas

-or- Charleston Battery (USL PRO) at FC Dallas (MLS) 8 p.m. CT Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas

30 June 28 Chicago Fire PDL (PDL) at Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 7:30 p.m. CT LIVESTRONG Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kan.

-or- Madison 56ers (NPSL) at Sporting Kansas City (MLS) 7:30 p.m. CT LIVESTRONG Sporting Park; Kansas City, Kan.

31 June 29 Real Colorado Foxes (PDL) at Seattle Sounders (MLS) 7 p.m. PT Starfire Sports Stadium; Tukwila, Wash.

-or- TBD Kitsap Pumas (PDL) at Seattle Sounders (MLS) 7 p.m. PT Starfire Sports Stadium; Tukwila, Wash.

32 June 28 Los Angeles Blues (USL PRO) at Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 7:30 p.m. PT Titan Stadium (CSUF); Fullerton, Calif.

-or- Ventura County Fusion (PDL) at Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 7:30 p.m. PT Titan Stadium (CSUF); Fullerton, Calif.

2011 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP SECOND ROUND

No. Date Match Time Venue

17 June 21 FC New York (USL PRO) at N.Y. Pancyprian Freedoms (USASA) 7:30 p.m. ET Belson Stadium, St. Johns University; Queens, N.Y.

18 June 21 Rochester Rhinos (USL PRO) at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL PRO) 7 p.m. ET Skyline Sports Complex; Harrisburg, Pa.

19 June 21 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL PRO) at Richmond Kickers (USL PRO) 7 p.m. ET Richmond City Stadium; Richmond, Va.

20 June 21 Charlotte Eagles (USL PRO) at Wilmington Hammerheads (USL PRO) 7:30 p.m. ET Legion Stadium; Wilmington, N.C.

21 June 21 Orlando City Soccer Club (USL PRO) at Charleston Battery (USL PRO) 7:30 p.m. ET Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, N.C.

22 June 21 Chicago Fire PDL (PDL) at Madison 56ers (NPSL) 7 p.m. CT Breese Stevens Field; Madison, Wis.

23 June 21 Real Colorado Foxes (PDL) at Kitsap Pumas (PDL) 7 p.m. PT Bremerton Memorial Stadium; Bremerton, Wash.

24 June 21 Los Angeles Blues (USL PRO) at Ventura County Fusion (PDL) 7:05 p.m. PT Ventura College; Ventura, Calif.

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