MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Update

November 13, 2013 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


REAL SALT LAKE HEADS INTO SECOND LEG OF WESTERN CONFERENCE CHHAMPIONSHIP WITH TWO-GOAL LEAD AFTER DEFEATING PORTLAND 4-2 AT HOME

Real Salt Lake (West #2) started the Western Conference Championship series on the right foot on Sunday night, beating the Portland Timbers (West #1) 4-2 at Rio Tinto Stadium to take a two-goal advantage into the series' decisive second leg.

The Claret-and-Cobalt will now have two weeks off before playing the second leg at Portland on Sunday, Nov. 24. The winner of the RSL-Portland Western Conference Championship will advance to MLS Cup 2013, which will be played on Saturday, Dec. 7 against the winner of the Houston Dynamo-Sporting Kansas City Eastern Conference Championship series.

Portland took the early advantage in Sunday's match, getting a free kick goal from former RSL MF Will Johnson in the 14th minute to go up 1-0. RSL hit back with a vengeance, getting goals from DF Chris Schuler, FW Robbie Findley and FW Devon Sandoval in the 35th, 41st and 48th minutes to take a 3-1 lead. Real Salt Lake MF Javier Morales made it 4-1 to the Claret-and-Cobalt in the 82nd before Portland FW Frederic Piquionnne pulled one back for the Timbers deep into second half stoppage time to make it 4-2.

RSL and Portland will play the series' decisive second leg in two weeks on Sunday, Nov. 24 at JELD-WEN Field. The match will be broadcast live on nationally ESPN and ESPN Deportes and locally on ESPN 700 AM and 102.3 La Gran D FM/1600 AM.

RSL DF CHRIS WINGERT SUFFERS INJURIES, STATUS FOR LEG 2 IN DOUBT

Real Salt Lake DF Chris Wingert suffered a fractured rib and a pneumothorax in the first half of Sunday's 4-2 win over Portland. His status for the Western Conference Championship second leg at the Timbers on Nov. 24 is still to be determined.

Wingert suffered his injuries in the 13th minute of Sunday's win, getting clipped in the chest after fouling Timbers MF Diego Valeri ahead of Johnson's 14th minute opener. He left the game in the 33rd minute, getting replaced by DF Lovel Palmer.

SECOND ROUNDS OF 2013 MLS GOAL OF THE YEAR AND SAVE OF THE YEAR VOTING TO START THIS WEEK

Voting for the 2013 AT&T Goal of the Year and 2013 Save of the Year will enter its second stages this week. Goal of the Year's Round of 16 will be open for voting starting Nov. 13 and will last through Nov. 20. The semifinal round of Save of the Year voting will start on Nov. 13 and last through Nov. 20.

Voting for 2013 Save of the Week is now open for Groups G-H. Real Salt Lake DF Nat Borchers and GK Nick Rimando are both up for the vote in Group G. Wingert is up for the vote in Group H. You can vote RSL for Save of the Year HERE .

The 2013 AT&T Save of the Year is organized as a World Cup-style tournament and will culminate in the announcement of the Save of the Year on Thursday, Dec. 5. The award is decided from a pool of all 35 Save of the Week winners from the 2013 season. The Goal of the Year competition is decided from a field of 64 goals with the First Round will consisting of 16 groups of four, with the top two vote-getters going through to the Second Round. The winner of the 2013 AT&T Goal of the Year will be announced on Thursday, December 5.

REAL SALT LAKE'S BENJI LOPEZ NAMED TO U.S. U-20 MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAINING CAMP

Real Salt Lake forward Benji Lopez was named to the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team 22-player roster for an international training camp in Verona, Italy from Nov. 10-20. This is Lopez's first call-up for the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team.

The squad, mostly comprised of graduates from the U.S. U-17 and U-18 National Team programs, is looking to play three friendly matches in addition to its training regimen. The U.S. will play against Italian Serie A side Hellas Verona's academy team Hellas Verona Primavera, Iran's U-20 National Team and a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent.

"This is purely a camp where we can get a better idea of where our players are," U-20 head coach Tab Ramos told ussoccer.com. "They are all players who are getting great experiences, and this particular camp gives us a good chance to see them in an international camp, playing in an international environment, which will give us a good idea of what these players can do."

Benji Lopez was signed as an RSL Homegrown Player on July 17, 2013 - the fourth player to graduate from the RSL-Arizona Academy to the first-team. The eighteen year-old California native featured for Real Salt Lake Reserves five times this year, scoring one goal in RSL Reserve's 3-2 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC Reserves on July 16. Lopez has been a regular member of the U-18 Men's National Team, getting his first call-up in January of 2012 and scoring a goal in the U.S.'s international friendly against the Netherlands on Sept. 11, 2012.

REAL SALT LAKE'S U-18 AND U-16 ACADEMY TEAMS DEFEAT ARSENAL FC SIDES

The Real Salt Lake U-18 Academy team extended their match winning streak to five following a three-goal second half effort on Saturday, which propelled the Claret-and-Cobalt to a 4-1 win over Arsenal FC at the Grande Sports Academy.

After a poor first half from Real Salt Lake, which saw them trade goals with Arsenal, Jose Hernandez broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half when sustained pressure by RSL created a turnover in Arsenal's final third. Corey Baird collected the loose ball and passed to a streaking Hernandez, who hammered the ball into the back of net for what would become the match-winning goal.

The home side extended their lead ten-minutes later when Niki Jackson scored his fourth goal in as many matches when he finished a Brooks Lennon cross. Eric Carbajal scored RSL's fourth goal and final goal when he and Sam Gleadle combined for a four-pass sequence in the 81st-minute.

The Claret-and-Cobalt's breakout in the second half has been an ongoing occurrence all season. The RSL U-18 team has scored four goals in the first half and has scored ten goals in the second half through five matches. RSL has been riding these second half performances to a first place spot in the Southwest Division. They are also the only team in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy league to not drop any points this season.

The Real Salt Lake U-18 team will stay home again this weekend when they host San Diego Surf on November, 16th; kickoff set for 10:00 a.m.

Real Salt Lake U-16 Academy team cruised to a 6-0 victory over Arsenal FC on Saturday afternoon at the Grande Sports Academy. Sebastian "Bofo" Saucedo and Miles Stray scored goals on both sides of the half while Justen Glad added a brace in the final minutes, as the defense recorded their third shutout in five matches.

Throughout five games, the Real Salt Lake U-16 Academy team has outscored opponents 22-3 and is currently in first place in the Southwest Division.

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Major League Soccer Stories from November 13, 2013


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