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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Match Preview

May 8, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, May 8, 2012) - After moving into a tie with the San Jose Earthquakes atop the Western Conference with a 2-1 home victory Saturday, Real Salt Lake (7-3-1, 22 pts.; t-1st in West) heads to the Windy City to face the Chicago Fire (3-2-2, 11 pts.; t-4th in East) on Wednesday, May 9 at Toyota Park . The middle contest of Real's three-game week begins with a 6:30 p.m. MT kickoff in Bridgeview, IL, with tape-delayed television coverage on CW30 at 9:00 p.m. Fans can also catch the action via the team's official radio partners: ESPN 700/ ESPN700Sports.com and La Gran D 102.3 FM, and by live Twitter updates on Twitter.com/RealSaltLake.

Due to a red card suspension received Saturday versus New England, the Claret-and-Cobalt enter Wednesday's match without the aid of MF Will Johnson, a former 2005 Chicago Fire sportsman and Woodridge, Ill. native. Other RSL personalities, including MF Ned Grabavoy and DF Chris Schuler, along with GM Garth Lagerwey, also have ties to the Chicago area.

However, no one in the RSL family has stronger ties to the Fire than RSL Assistant Coach C.J. Brown - an original Fire defender - who will be inducted into Chicago's "Ring of Fire " during a halftime ceremony. Brown's former team will celebrate his entire 13-year playing career as a Fire centerback, in which he won the MLS Cup in '98 and four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles. Brown holds the club record for most MLS regular season appearances (296), MLS Cup playoff appearances (35) and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup appearances (25).

How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Chicago Fire

Kickoff : 6:30 p.m. MT from Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL TV : CW30 (TAPE-DELAYED coverage begins at 9:00 p.m.; LIVE via MLS Direct Kick subscription) English Radio : ESPN700/ESPN700Sports.com (pre-game coverage begins at 6:00 p.m.) Spanish Radio : La Gran D 102.3 FM & Juan 1600 AM Online : Live updates via the @RealSaltLake and @RSLkickoff Gameday Twitter Feed s and MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter

RSL History v. Chicago Fire

Overall, RSL is 3-6-6 all-time against Chicago and had not lost to the Fire between August of 2009 and last September's home debacle, RSL losing 0-3 to the Fire at Rio Tinto Stadium in a game most remember for Captain Kyle Beckerman's 10th-minute red card, Chicago's only win in the last eight meetings between the teams ...

RSL fans surely have fond memories of Toyota Park - where RSL has not lost in the last three visits - including the 2009 East Final at Chicago where RSL won a PK shootout after 120 minutes of scoreless action and earned a trip to MLS Cup 2009. This deserved trip to Seattle resulted in RSL defeating Los Angeles to win the state of Utah's first major-league professional championship in nearly 40 years.

Last September's game in Sandy snapped a streak of more than four years and eight meetings since a team in this series scored multiple goals against the other, with only 26 total goals scored in 15 all-time games between RSL and the Fire.

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 8, 2012


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