MLS Real Salt Lake

RSL Seeks 6th-Straight Rocky Mountain Cup Victory

Published on July 20, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 20, 2012) - Real Salt Lake (11-7-3, 36 pts.; 2nd in West) seeks to conquer Western archrivals Colorado Rapids (7-12-1, 22 pts.; 7th in West) in the potentially decisive second round of the Rocky Mountain Cup, Saturday, July 21, presented by Sports Med Utah. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium, with pre-match excitement at 6:00 p.m. at the Carnival Real festival on the stadium's East Lawn and post-game fireworks immediately following the match in honor of RSL's annual Pioneer Day celebration.

The Claret-and-Cobalt currently leads the Rocky Mountain Cup standings, getting goals from strikers Fabián EspÃ-ndola and Álvaro SaborÃ-o to win the first of three 2012 meetings with Colorado 2-0 on April 7. Winning the second leg on Saturday would give RSL its sixth-consecutive Rocky Mountain Cup victory; if RSL loses or ties on Saturday, the Cup winner would be determined in the third and final match between the sides on Aug. 4 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

RSL's Kyle Beckerman, Chris Wingert and Nat Borchers have all won the Rocky Mountain Cup as members of RSL and the Rapids, with Beckerman winning all seven editions of the annual competition. Unfortunately for RSL, All-Star MF Beckerman will not be available this Saturday due to a one-game red card suspension picked up in Saturday's loss at San Jose.

Tickets are still available for tomorrow's Rocky Mountain Cup installment and can be purchased:

- Online : via the Zions Bank Ticket Outlet on RealSaltLake.com

- By phone : by calling 801-727-2700

- In person : at the Rio Tinto Stadium Box Office beginning at 10:00 on game day

How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Rapids

- Kickoff : 8:00 p.m. MT from Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT

- TV : LIVE on CW30 (RAM Trucks post-game coverage immediately following the game)

- English Radio : ESPN700/ ESPN700Sports.com (pre-game coverage at 7:00 p.m.)

- Spanish Radio : La Gran D 102.3 FM/ Juan 1600 AM with Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal

- Online : Live updates via the @RealSaltLake Twitter Feed and MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter

Game Guide Highlights

- Should they win on Saturday, RSL will win the Rocky Mountain Cup for the sixth-straight year. A victory would give RSL a six points to zero lead over Colorado in the 2012 Rocky Mountain Cup standings, a margin that the Rapids would not be able to overcome in the third and final Rocky Mountain Cup match of 2012 on Aug. 4 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

- RSL rides into Saturday's match on a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Rapids, last losing to Colorado on May 2, 2009.

- RSL captain Kyle Beckerman will not be available for selection on Saturday due to a one-game red card suspension picked up in last Saturday's 5-0 thrashing at San Jose.

- Beckerman and RSL DF's Nat Borchers and Chris Wingert have all won Rocky Mountain Cups for both RSL and Colorado. Beckerman has won all seven Rocky Mountain Cups, Wingert has won six and Borchers has won five.

- With a win, RSL GK Nick Rimando will move past former Chicago, New York and Chivas USA GK Zach Thornton and into sole possession of No. 2 on the All-Time MLS career wins list with 132.

- RSL regular starters MF Ned Grabavoy and DF's Borchers and Tony Beltran are all likely to return to the lineup on Saturday after all missing at least one game due to injury.

- Colorado comes into Saturday's match scuffling, having lost three games in a row. Two of those three losses have been to league bottom feeders, with the Rapids falling 2-1 at Eastern Conference cellar dwellers Toronto FC on Wednesday and losing 2-1 to Western Conference eighth-place side FC Dallas at home last Saturday.

- The Rapids will be without both of their first-choice center midfielders on Saturday, with Jeff Larentowicz out due to a suspension and Pablo Mastroeni out with a long term injury.

RSL History v. Colorado Rapids

RSL is 8-8-7 all-time against the Rapids, 6-3-3 when playing against them at home. The Claret-and-Cobalt currently holds a seven-game unbeaten streak against their Western rivals, following this year's 2-0 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium on April 7.

Although Colorado claimed the first two installments of the Rocky Mountain Cup in 2005 and 2006, Real Salt Lake has dominated overall, keeping the cup in the Wasatch Front since first winning it in 2007. The Utah side has held onto the Cup thanks to series splits in 2008 (1-1-1), 2009 (1-1-1) and 2010 (0-0-2), before posting a second outright win in 2011.

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