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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Announces 2022 Regular Season Schedule

December 15, 2021 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah - Real Salt Lake in conjunction with Major League Soccer announced its full regular season schedule ahead of the 2022 season. RSL will play 14 of the 17 home matches on Saturdays, with all 34 regular season matches slated to be televised locally on KMYU, the KSLTV app and KSL.com.

The 2021 MLS Western Conference Finalists will play 34 matches, two against each of the 13 Western Conference opponents and one against 8 teams in the Eastern Conference during the league's 27th season, RSL's 18th in MLS. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, MLS teams were only allowed two inter-conference games during 2021.

As previously announced, to best align with the 2022 international soccer calendar, the MLS regular season will begin earlier than ever before, kicking off on Saturday, Feb. 26 and running through Decision Day, the regular season finale, on Sunday, Oct. 9. The Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs directly follow the regular season, with three consecutive weeks of action leading up to the 2022 MLS Cup on Saturday, Nov. 5, more than two weeks prior to the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Nov. 21.

In a culminating day of action on Sunday, October 9, all 28 teams will face intra-conference opponents on Decision Day in a battle for playoff spots and seeding. In two back-to-back broadcast windows on ESPN/ ESPN Deportes and FS1/FOX Deportes, each conference will see their games kick off simultaneously to determine who is in and who is out of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs. TSN and TVA will provide coverage of regular-season finales throughout Canada.

The Claret-and-Cobalt enter 2022 having scored 55 goals in 2021 good for the sixth-most in MLS in 2021, the team's second-highest total ever (2013) and managed 25 road goals scored, also its second-best ever (2013).

As previously announced, RSL opens the regular season on the road on February 27 against Houston Dynamo FC before its home opener on March 5 at Rio Tinto Stadium against Seattle Sounders FC. RSL will see two nationally televised matches on Univision and Unimas in 2022 with the first coming on March 26 at Sporting Kansas City (UniMas) before an April 30 bout with the LA Galaxy (Univision) at Rio Tinto Stadium. Additionally, RSL will see only three midweek matches in 34 match weeks in 2022 with NO back-to-back weeks carrying midweek matches.

ROAD START

RSL will see six of its first 10 matches on the road, beginning February 27 at Houston with a trip to New England on March 12 in between clashes in Utah with Seattle and Nashville. Following its home match on March 19 against Nashville, RSL will see back-to-back road matches against Kansas City on March 26 and Colorado on April 2. Following a two-week international break during the middle of April, RSL will travel to face 2021 MLS Cup Champion NYCFC on April 17 before its bout with MLS Cup runners-up a week later in Portland on April 23.

MAIDEN TRIP TO MUSIC CITY

On May 8, RSL will visit Nashville SC for the first time for the second-ever meeting between the two sides following a scoreless draw at Rio Tinto Stadium in early-2021. The match will mark the second match at the league's newest soccer-specific stadium, Nashville SC Stadium.

EAST OPPOSITION

Real Salt Lake will face a total of eight Eastern Conference opponents - four in Utah, four on the road. The Utah team will welcome Toronto FC on April 9, Columbus Crew SC on June 25, D.C. United on September 10 and FC Cincinnati on September 17. Away from Utah, RSL will travel to New England, NYCFC, Montreal on May 22 and Atlanta on July 13 to round out its East coast travels. RSL will not face Charlotte FC, Chicago, Inter Miami CF, Orlando City, Philadelphia and New York Red Bulls in 2022.

LOOKING FOR NEW HOME RECORDS

In 2021, RSL earned a 9-4-4 home record and set a new Club mark for most consecutive home wins, earning seven straight victories. Rio Tinto Stadium will host seven home matches between May 8 and July 23 including a Rocky Mountain Cup clash with Colorado on July 9 and rival Sporting Kansas City on July 17 as the club looks to build upon its league-best regular season home record of 123-35-55 (424 points) since 2009 and retain the Rocky Mountain Cup for the 13th time in 18 seasons.

IT ENDS IN SANDY

RSL will close the 2022 MLS Regular Season at home on October 9 when it welcomes the Portland Timbers to Utah for a Decision Day clash. The last time RSL hosted a Decision Day match, it walked away 2-1 victors over rival Sporting Kansas City in 2017.

Real Salt Lake Season Tickets are on sale NOW at RSL.com or by calling 844.REAL.TIX. RSL Holiday Vouchers are also available.

Key MLS Offseason Dates / Roster Mechanisms:

Wed., December 15 - End-of-Year Waivers / Free Agency opens

Wed., December 15 - 2022 RSL / MLS Schedule released

Fri., December 17 - Re-Entry Process, Stage 1

Thu., December 23 - Re-Entry Process, Stage 2

Tue., January 11 - 2022 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas

Sun., January 16 - RSL players report to Herriman, Utah, for 2022 MLS Preseason

ABOUT REAL SALT LAKE

Real Salt Lake's 17th Major League Soccer season has concluded, the Utah side advancing to the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the 11th time in the last 14 years.

The club's MLS Cup 2009 victory marked the state of Utah's only major professional championship in nearly 40 years, the title preceding an historic run to the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League Final. Buoyed by a passionate base boasting several thousand season ticket holders, RSL has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage - posting a dominant 145-43-46 (Win-Loss-Draw) record across all competitions at home (2.06 points per game for a 0.771 win pct.) - since building its permanent Rio Tinto Stadium home in Sandy 13 years ago.

In 2015, the club expanded its development pyramid with the addition of Real Monarchs SLC, one of several MLS-operated clubs playing in the USL Championship, the United States' Division II setup. The Monarchs boast a pair of titles in its brief history, as the 2017 USL regular-season champions, later winning the USL Final in 2019. For the 2022 season and beyond, Real Monarchs will compete in the newly-launched "MLS NEXT Pro" as part of a joint United States and Canada endeavor to complete the professional player pathway by connecting youth academies in MLS NEXT to first teams in Major League Soccer.

The entire RSL pyramid, which includes the RSL Academy's U-15 and U-17 teams, calls the expansive Zions Bank Training Center in Herriman, Utah their daily training home. With five world-class grass fields, two indoor turf fields, a residential dormitory, the STEM-based RSL Academy High School and the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium located on a 42-acre campus, Utah's sporting future is bright.

Added in 2020 was the elite RSL Academy basketball program, already earning accolades internationally for its vision, mission and accomplishments.

The RSL Community Foundation was established in 2016, created with the goals of being active in the community year-round, utilizing the popularity and reach of RSL and the Monarchs in promoting health and wellness in children throughout the region, engaging supporters of soccer to raise funds and volunteer time for various local initiatives.

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