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MLS Real Salt Lake

2nd-Place RSL Looks for Win over 3rd-Place 'Caps

July 26, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah (Friday, July 26, 2012) - Second-place Real Salt Lake (12-7-3, 39 points; 2nd in West) will look to vanquish the third-place Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9-6-7, 34 points; 3rd in West) in a battle of Western Conference heavyweights this Friday, July 27 at Rio Tinto Stadium. The lone Friday match of the 2012 season kicks off at 7:00 p.m. MT, with pre-match excitement beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the Carnival Real festival on the stadium's East Lawn.

The Claret-and-Cobalt is undefeated in three games at home this month, most recently clinching the club's 6th-straight Rocky Mountain Cup with a 2-0 win over the rival Colorado Rapids on Saturday, July 21. The win moved RSL GK Nick Rimando into second-place all-time on the MLS career wins and saw FW Alvaro SaborÃ-o score his team-leading 11th goal of the season.

The Whitecaps enter Utah coming off an impressive 2-1 home win over league-leading San Jose, getting goals from recently acquired MF's Dane Richards and Barry Robson to top the "˜Quakes on Sunday, July 22. The result ended Vancouver's four-match winless streak and moved the "˜Caps into third-place in the Western Conference.

Both teams' captains played exceptionally well in the MLS All-Stars' 3-2 win over UEFA Champions League title-holders Chelsea FC Wednesday night. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman came on as a second-half substitute, playing 34 minutes and providing the assist on Eddie Johnson's stoppage time winner. Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit was one of only three MLS players to play the entire 90 minutes on Wednesday, unexpectedly going a full shift after Sporting Kansas City center back Aurelien Collin went down with an injury in the first half.

It's uncertain whether or not Beckerman and DeMerit will feature on Friday given their participation in Wednesday's All-Star Game and - in Beckerman's case - RSL's upcoming CONCACAF Champions League opener at Costa Rican club C.S. Herediano next Tuesday.

Tickets are still available for tomorrow's RSL-VAN showdown 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 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

- Kickoff : 7:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT

- TV : CW30 with Bill Riley and Brian Dunseth (RAM TRUCKS post-game coverage immediately following the game)

- English Radio : ESPN700/ESPN700Sports.com (pre-game coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. MT)

- 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

RSL History vs. Vancouver

Friday's match is just the third ever meeting between the Claret-and-Cobalt and the "˜Caps, with RSL going 1-1-0 in its two previous games against Vancouver. RSL won the first-ever meeting on June 4, 2011 at Rio Tinto Stadium but dropped the second meeting 3-0 at BC Place. RSL was rather unfortunate in the Oct. 6 loss at Vancouver, going down a man when former Claret-and-Cobalt MF Collen Warner was shown a harsh red card late in the first half for an alleged hand ball in the box and conceding another penalty in the 52nd minute before the Whitecaps added a long range goal in the closing minutes.

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 26, 2012


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