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Preview: Real Salt Lake Returns Home Saturday for Pioneer Day Fireworks

July 20, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah - Real Salt Lake (9-9-2, 29 pts., 5th West) returns home to Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday to celebrate Pioneer Day Weekend against regional rivals Colorado Rapids, with an 8:00 p.m. MT kickoff and post-game fireworks. RSL boasts an all-time 6-2-3 mark when celebrating Pioneer Day against MLS teams, with an active four-game unbeaten run, last dropping its 2013 celebration, 1-2, in controversial fashion to Kansas City.

A win Saturday for RSL would give the club its ninth title in the last 11 years for the fan-created Rocky Mountain Cup series, losing in only 2013 and 2015 since capturing its first piece of hardware back on the final day of the 2007 season. Three of RSL's next four matches beginning Saturday take place at the venue affectionately known as "The RioT," where the club has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage since October, 2008, boasting a dominant 114-28-46 mark in the building.

Head Coach Mike Petke's team - with a nine-game unbeaten run at home and an overall 2018 mark of 8-1-1 in Sandy (outscoring opponents 20-7), losing only the season opener on March 10 to LAFC - looks for a return to the Wasatch to continue the momentum of back-to-back home wins over West leaders KC and Dallas. RSL is now 17-5-4 at home in MLS action during the Petke era.

How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Rapids - Sat., July 21, 2018

Coverage Begins: 7:30 p.m. MT

Local TV: KMYU w/ David James & Brian Dunseth, w/ Samantha Yarock

Digital Streaming: KSL TV app / KSL.com

English Radio: ESPN 700 AM (7:00 p.m. MT) - Bill Riley & Jay Nolly w/ Tom Hackett & Spencer Warne (pre-/post-game)

Spanish Radio: 104.7 /107.1 FM - Fernando Hortal, German Hortal & Carlos Artiles

Back on April 20 at Rio Tinto Stadium, RSL scored three goals in the final 8 minutes against Colorado for the 3-0 win, RSL saw FW Joao Plata convert a penalty for what proved to be his 11th career game-winning goal and his 40th in an RSL uniform (now 42 reg. season goals after last week's heroics).

In that game, RSL catalyst Albert Rusnák added a goal and an assist, his sixth such game in his young MLS career. In between those two tallies, Rusnák's assist came on a goal by MF Damir Kreilach, who became the 92nd different RSL player to have etched his name on the scoresheet with either a goal or an assist. With that win, RSL is now 13-3-5 at home in MLS competition against its regional rival, including a 10-0-4 record at Rio Tinto Stadium. In Sandy, since 2009, RSL has outscored Colorado 26-6 on aggregate goals, with the teams meeting again on August 25 at Colorado.

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 20, 2018


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