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Real Salt Lake Continues 2017 "Playoff Push" Saturday Night at Rio Tinto Stadium

September 22, 2017 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


REAL SALT LAKE CONTINUES 2017 "PLAYOFF PUSH"

SATURDAY NIGHT AT RIO TINTO STADIUM RSL Seeks to Extend Three-Game Home Unbeaten Run with Cascadia Finale;

RSL Occupies Sixth and Final Western Conference Playoff Berth w/ Four Games Remaining; RSL Unbeaten in Nine of Last 11 Overall,

Capacity Crowd Expected for 7:30 p.m. MT Kickoff

SANDY, Utah (Friday, September 22, 2017) - Real Salt Lake (11-14-5, 38 points, West #6) continues its 2017 MLS Cup "Playoff Push" with a 7:30 p.m. MT Saturday night kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium against West rival Seattle Sounders FC.

Unbeaten in nine of its last 11 overall since the beginning of July, RSL improved to 11-11-3 overall in its new era under Head Coach Mike Petke with last week's 2-1 home win over Portland Timbers. Playmaker Albert Rusnák provided both the game's opening goal and assisted on Jefferson Savarino's game-winner, giving the Slovakian international 7 goals and 12 assists in his debut MLS campaign. Savarino's 61st-minute goal - the fifth of the year for the 20-year old Venezuelan - was a seeing-eye blast from the corner of the 18 that nestled precisely into the far post upper corner.

Saturday's meeting with Seattle is the second of the year between the clubs, as the Sounders emerged with a 1-0 victory back on May 20, courtesy of a goal from Harry Shipp. RSL GK Nick Rimando saved a Clint Dempsey penalty kick in the second half to keep RSL in contention, but Seattle's victory extended the series streak to 12 consecutive wins by the home team (including five consecutive wins at Rio Tinto Stadium by RSL, as part of the club's overall 6-2-2 mark on the Wasatch Front against the Sounders).

How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Seattle Sounders FC - Sat., Sept. 23, 2017

Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MTLocal TV: KMYU - David James and Brian DunsethEnglish Radio: ESPN700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT) - Bill Riley & Jay Nolly w/ Jeremy Horton & Spencer Warne (pre-/post-game)Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM - Nelson Moran & Fernando HortalOnline: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates

Game Notes for Saturday's RSL v. Seattle game Available Online

The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday's contest between Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders is available HERE. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Matt Gaschk in the RSL Communications Department via email at mgaschk@RSL.com.

Last weekend's 2-1 win over Portland improved RSL to 7-4-4 at home this season, and saw FW Albert Rusnák move into a tie for the club's 2017 "Golden Boot" lead with seven goals alongside FW Joao Plata and FW Yura Movsisyan. Rusnák's 12 assists thus far this year - with four games remaining - equals the second-highest single-season total in club history (2016, Plata; 2014, Javier Morales) - and sits just three helpers shy of matching Morales' club-record 15 assists in 2008.

Elsewhere in the RSL pyramid, the scintillating 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season continues Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, as Head Coach Mark Briggs' USL pacesetters - with a 17-5-5 mark and a league-leading 56 points - look to widen their lead atop both the West and the overall USL lead, as the club is four clear of second-place Reno and San Antonio and two ahead of East leaders Louisville City.

The third-year Monarchs claim the league's third-best goal differential, +22 with 51 goals scored and 29 allowed in just 27 games, occupying first place overall in the USL with 5 games remaining to secure the No. 1 overall seed in the USL Cup Playoffs. Briggs' side sits just five wins, 14 points and 11 goals away from establishing new single-season records for the Division II league.

Opening in part late last month, the Zions Bank Real Academy training campus arrives this Fall in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $73 million facility, which saw the first of five grass "TORO Fields" sodded in recent weeks - will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club's professional teams - RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) - while centralizing the club's U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections under the guidance of Academy Director Martin Vasquez.

The Herriman facility will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school which opened this morning, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 200 boys and girls, kicking off a new era for both sports and education in Utah.

In early October in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen will christen the opening of the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.

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