MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Downs New England 2-1 in Dramatic Fashion

May 9, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Wednesday, May 8, 2013) - Real Salt Lake (5-4-2, 17 points, West #2) opened its three-game road trip in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night, scoring twice in the final 15 minutes and getting a stoppage time penalty kick save from GK Nick Rimando to down the New England Revolution (2-4-3, 9 points, East #8) 2-1 at Gillette Stadium.

New England MF Ryan Guy opened the scoring in the 51st minute, volleying a 15-yard shot inside the right post to put the Revs on top. RSL responded well after falling behind, getting an equalizer from first-time scorer FW Devon Sandoval in the 77th minute and a winner from FW Olmes Garcia in the 89th.

Rimando secured all three points in second half stoppage time, making a heroic penalty kick stop on Revolution FW Saer Sene after RSL DF Carlos Salcedo was whistled for a handball in the box and shown a second yellow card to drop the Claret-and-Cobalt down to 10 men. Rimando is now 19-for-60 (31.67 percent) against regular season penalty kicks, the best such mark in MLS history.

The first half was relatively quiet, with the majority of the action coming in the opening 15 minutes. New England had the half's best chance in the sixth minute. FW Jerry Bengston got behind the RSL defense in the left side of the box but couldn't get a shot off; instead laying the ball off after Rimando came off the line to turn him around. MF Diego Fagundez had a good look at the pass but let the ball roll to MF Lee Nguyen, who eventually got it back to Bengston for a close-range effort that was deflected out for a corner kick.

RSL had half chances in the 11th minutes and 29th minutes. MF Luis Gil had the first look, collecting a ball on the left side before cutting in on his right foot and firing a 20-yard shot just over the bar at the far post. MF Ned Grabavoy had the second opportunity, volleying DF Tony Beltran's cross just over the bar from 15 yards.

Things picked up in the second half, with Rimando making a big save to keep New England off the board in the 48th minute. Fagundez had the chance, forcing Rimando into a fine diving stop with a low 15-yard smash that looked ticketed for the lower right corner.

The Revs took the lead three minutes later. MF Kelyn Rowe took advantage of a botched RSL clearance on the right wing, carrying the ball to the end line and crossing to Guy in the middle. Guy made no mistake with the chance, running onto Rowe's lofted ball and nailing a right-footed volley inside the near post from 15 yards out.

Real Salt Lake responded well after conceding, registering decent looks in the 58th and 73rd minutes before nearly equalizing in the 76th. Grabavoy started the play, wriggling free on the left flank and lofting a cross to the middle. Sandoval got on the end of it, heading the ball toward the lower left corner only for New England GK Bobby Shuttleworth to come up with a solid diving stop.

Sandoval made amends one minute later, outmuscling a Revs player to pounce on a rebound and finish for his first career MLS goal. Substitute MF Sebastian Velasquez collected a Grabavoy pass in the left side of the box and fired a shot on goal that Shuttleworth parried away. Sandoval somehow got around his mark to get on the rebound, sliding forwards and burying the five-yarder to tie the game 1-1.

Garcia scored the dramatic winner in the 89th minute. MF Javier Morales lofted a high corner kick to MF Kyle Beckerman at the top of the box, with the Claret-and-Cobalt captain smashing a volley out of the air and on goal. Shuttleworth made an acrobatic stop on Beckerman's rip, but couldn't do anything about Garcia's follow up effort, with the 20-year-old Colombian slipping free from his man and sliding to his right to clinically finish inside the near post from 12 yards out.

Garcia's goal wasn't the end of the drama, however. Referee Jose Carlos Rivero inserted himself into the equation in the 90th minute, when he gave New England a penalty kick after whistling RSL for a handball in the box. The questionable call was made even more controversial when Rivero misidentified Salcedo as the player who handled the ball and sent him off with a second yellow card.

Thankfully for RSL, Rimando - as he's done so many times throughout his career - came up huge on the ensuing spot kick, diving to his right to block Sene's penalty. Beckerman cleaned up after Rimando, beating Sene to the ball and clearing it out for a corner kick.

Real Salt Lake has a quick turnaround ahead of its next match, traveling to Canada on Thursday ahead of Saturday's MLS contest against the Montreal Impact at Stade Saputo.

Real Salt Lake Match Notes - RSL 2-1 NE

- RSL GK Nick Rimando is now 19-for-60 against regular season penalty kicks in his illustrious career. Rimando's 31.67 save percentage on regular season penalty kicks is the best such mark in league history. The early Goalkeeper of the Year candidate is 2-for-3 on penalty kicks in 2013, allowing a successful PK in RSL's 1-1 draw at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on April 13 and stopping a spot kick in the Claret-and-Cobalt's 1-0 home win over Chivas USA on April 20.

- Rookie RSL FW Devon Sandoval's 77th minute goal was the first goal of his career. The 29th overall pick in this January's MLS SuperDraft, Sandoval started and played all 90 minutes on Wednesday for his eighth appearance and fourth start of the season.

- RSL DF Carlos Salcedo made his first career start on Wednesday night, making it into second half stoppage time before being sent off due to a controversial second yellow card. The 19-year-old Salcedo - who became the first Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy product to play in a MLS match when he came on as a late game sub in Saturday's home win over Vancouver - is the first ever RSL-AZ product to start a MLS match. RSL will appeal Salcedo's second yellow card.

- Wednesday's victory was RSL's first comeback road win since March 31, 2012, when the Claret-and-Cobalt got late goals from MF Kyle Beckerman and former RSL MF Jonny Steele to beat the Portland Timbers 3-2 at JELD-WEN Field.

- Wednesday's victory is RSL's first road win since March 3, when it beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0 at Buck Shaw Stadium in the 2013 season opener. The Claret-and-Cobalt is now 2-3-1 on the road this season.

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