MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Returns Home Saturday Night v. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Published on April 6, 2018 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah - Real Salt Lake resumes its 14th Major League Soccer campaign Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. MT kickoff against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Rio Tinto Stadium to conclude an early-season stretch that sees the Utah side play three out of four games at home. Saturday's match arrives exactly one year to the day after a memorable Mike Petke coaching debut for the club, as RSL took advantage of a second-half "Snowmageddon" for a 3-0 win that saw MF Albert Rusnák score his first-ever goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt.

RSL seeks to rebound from last week's 1-3 loss at defending MLS Cup champion Toronto by welcoming the lone Western Conference Canadian side, Vancouver - which has won just once on Utah soil, back in 2015 - on Saturday. The Petke-led side returns home looking to emulate the bounce-back response seen following its previous loss, RSL winning 1-0 at home against CONCACAF Champions League semifinalist New York Red Bulls back on March 17 in a game that saw an early Rusnák penalty conversion bolster GK Nick Rimando's 138th career clean sheet.

Following Saturday's home match, RSL enters a six-week stretch from April 11 to May 26 that sees Petke's club play five of seven games away. At the world-class Utah venue affectionately known as "The RioT," RSL has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage since building its permanent home in Sandy, boasting a dominant 106-27-44 mark in the world-class venue since opening in October, 2008.

Saturday's broadcast coverage kicks off at 6:30p MT on ESPN700 AM and 7:00p MT on KMYU TV and the KSL digital streaming app, with David James and Brian Dunseth now joined by Samantha Yarock, RSL's new pre- and post-game host and sideline reporter. Yarock, formerly of the Portland Timbers' digital and TV properties and a former host on MLSsoccer.com, arrives in Utah with a wealth of experience in the sport, also extensively covering the NWSL Portland Thorns in recent years.

How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Vancouver Whitecaps - Sat., April 7, 2018

Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT

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

Digital Streaming: KSL TV app / KSL.com

English Radio: ESPN 700 AM (6:30 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

Real Salt Lake returns a 20-player core amongst the 30-man roster for its 2018 campaign, entering the club's first full year under Petke and staff. International playmaker Rusnák (Slovakia) and wingers Plata (Ecuador) and Jefferson Savarino (Venezuela) each sparked the club's late-season attack last year, while the quintet of USA U-20 CONCACAF Champions - DF Justen Glad, DF Danny Acosta, FW Brooks Lennon, MF Sebastian Saucedo and 2018 signing DF Aaron Herrera, all RSL Academy products - are joined by fellow homegrowns Jordan Allen, Jose Hernandez and Corey Baird.

Veterans returning for 2018 include DF Marcelo Silva, who joined the club in August; 11-year icon Tony Beltran, fifth-year MF Luke Mulholland, third-year MF Sunday Stephen, and experienced Major League Soccer players in L. Silva and DF David Horst. Joining that group are a trio of players who matriculated to the first team from the 2017 USL regular-season champion Real Monarchs: MF Nick Besler, GK Connor Sparrow and a Salt Lake City native, DF Taylor Peay.

Other new arrivals for 2018 include: Spanish FW Alfredo Ortuño; a pair of young American DFs returning from Europe in Adam Henley and Shawn Barry; 19-year old dual-national MF Pablo Ruiz, the Argentine youth international who could play for Chile's senior side; accomplished veteran MF Damir Kreilach; reserve GK Alex Horwath, another American returning stateside from Europe; and rookie FW Ricky Lopez-Espin (Creighton).

Officially opening just one month ago, the Zions Bank Real Academy training campus in Herriman, Utah is located just 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $78 million facility, which will see the first of five grass "TORO Fields" available in upcoming weeks - will serve as the daily training home for both of the club's men's professional teams - RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) - while centralizing the club's U-19, U-17 and future U-15 development academy youth selections under the guidance of Academy Director Martin Vasquez.

The Herriman facility provides adjacencies for an on-site charter school in conjunction with the Jordan School District, which opened last August, focusing on STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls, kicking off a new era for both sports and education in Utah.

Last December in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen christened the opening of the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club's vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-14) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.

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