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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Update

April 7, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


REAL SALT LAKE TO FACE PHILADELPHIA UNION ON SATURDAY

Real Salt Lake will continue its road schedule on Saturday, taking on Philadelphia Union at 2:00 p.m. MT at PPL Park. Saturday's match will be broadcast locally on ABC 4, ESPN 700 AM and 102.3 La Gran D FM.

Real Salt Lake earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park on Saturday. RSL backup GK Jeff Attinella, who was filling in for injured GK Nick Rimando, put in a stellar performance, earning his second career clean sheet and making a total of eight saves. Real Salt Lake remains undefeated in 2014, and claims a total of nine points from its first five matches of the MLS regular season.

Real Salt Lake and Philadelphia Union last met on July 4, 2013, in a 2-2 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium. A late penalty kick goal from RSL MF Javier Morales in the 97th minute gave a 10-man Claret-and-Cobalt a thrilling draw in front of a sold-out crowd. RSL went down a man when trailing 1-0 in the 59th minute, when Referee Ismail Elfath controversially showed former RSL DF Lovel Palmer a straight red card for a tackle on former Philadelphia MF Michael Farfan. RSL substitute MF Luis Gil equalized for the Utah side in the 75th, only for Union FW Conor Casey to give Philadelphia its second lead of the night one minute later.

The last meeting between the two sides at PPL Park on Aug. 24, 2012 resulted in a scoreless draw. Real Salt Lake has never won in Philadelphia, posting a 0-0-3 record at PPL Park all-time. The Claret-and-Cobalt holds a 2-0-4 all-time record against the Union.

Real Salt Lake was without a few starters last Saturday against Sporting Kansas City. RSL GK Nick Rimando, DF Tony Beltran and DF Chris Wingert were all absent due to injury. Whether or not all three will be available for RSL's tilt with Philadelphia is yet to be determined. RSL MF Sebastian Velasquez and FW Joao Plata are still recovering from hamstring strains but will hopefully be available for selection on Saturday.

Philadelphia Union is off to an average start to the 2014 season, posting a 1-1-3 record in its first five matches. The Union most recently tied Chicago Fire 2-2 last Saturday at Toyota Park. After taking a 2-1 lead going into the half, the Union let three points slip away in the final minutes, as Chicago FW Juan Luis Arrangono scored an equalizer in the 86th minute.

Real Salt Lake will return home on Saturday, April 19, when it will host Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets to the Portland match can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.

REAL SALT LAKE EARNS HARD-FOUGHT POINT AT SPORTING KANSAS CITY

Real Salt Lake earned a hard-fought point at Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night, getting a big performance from backup GK Jeff Attinella to tie SKC 0-0 in a MLS Cup 2013 rematch at Sporting Park.

Real Salt Lake was without three of its key players on Saturday night due to injury. GK Nick Rimando (knee) and DF Tony Beltran (ankle) didn't travel to Kansas City after picking up knocks while playing with the U.S. Men's National Team in its 2-2 draw against Mexico on Wednesday, while DF Chris Wingert also remained in Salt Lake after sustaining a groin injury in last Saturday's win over Toronto FC. Attinella, DF Rich Balchan and DF Abdoulie Mansally were inserted into the lineup for the injured trio, all making their first starts of the season.

Attinella put on a show in the first half, making three big saves to deny Sporting KC. His first big stop came in the 11th minute, when he made an excellent save on Kansas City FW Dom Dwyer. SKC DF Matt Besler played a long ball to Dwyer over the top, with the English striker running onto it behind the RSL defense for a 1-v-1 with Attinella. The RSL 'keeper quickly came off his line to meet Dwyer in the left side of the area, quickly dropping to his left to make a miraculous stop.

SKC continued on the front foot to start the second half, registering a pair of good chances in the 51st and 52nd minutes. Zusi had the first look, wriggling free in the left side of the area before hitting a left-footed shot just wide of the far post from the top-left corner of the six. Zusi created the second look, getting free in the left side along the end line before cutting a ball back to the top of the six to Dwyer, who had his sliding attempt blocked by RSL DF Chris Schuler.

Real Salt Lake went up a man in the 83rd minute, when Sporting KC MF Uri Rosell was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on RSL substitute FW Devon Sandoval. RSL couldn't find a winner after getting the man-advantage, with neither side unable to create any clear-cut chances in the game's final minutes.

RSL will return to action on Saturday, taking on Philadelphia Union at 2:00 p.m. MT on ABC 4. Real Salt Lake will return home on Saturday, April 19, when it will host Portland Timbers at 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets to the Portland match can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.

REAL SALT LAKE SIGNS DF JUSTEN GLAD TO HOMEGROWN CONTRACT

Real Salt Lake has announced that it has signed 17-year-old RSL-Arizona Academy product Justen Glad as its seventh-ever Homegrown Player. Glad joins the first team after spending two years at the RSL-Arizona Academy residency program. Per league and club policy, further terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

A defender capable of playing in all four spots along the backline, Glad joined the RSL-Arizona Academy in 2012. He was a major player on the RSL-AZ U-16 team that won the 2012-13 U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy National Championship, scoring the game-winning goal in RSL-AZ Academy's 4-2 win over Solar Chelsea SC in the U-16 Final. Glad was named to the USSDA Western Conference "Starting XI" and was named as an NSCAA High School All-American for the 2012-13 Academy season. Glad trained with the RSL first-team for the entire 2014 preseason.

"I'm really looking forward to being able to join the RSL first-team," Glad said. "Ever since I can remember I've dreamed of being a professional, and RSL and the RSL-Arizona Academy have made that possible. It's going to be an amazing experience learning from a great coaching staff and an experienced group of players, and I'm incredibly thankful for everyone that helped make this dream a reality."

Glad also has extensive experience as a U.S. Youth International. He became a United States Under-17 Men's National Team regular after joining the RSL-AZ Academy, joining the U-17's for its CONCACAF qualifying tournament and its international tournaments in Azerbaijan and Niigata, Japan. Glad was included in the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team training camp in California at the end of last year and participated in its 2014 January camp in Florida. The young defender was most recently called up to the April U.S. Under-18 camp in Carson, Calif., which will feature matches against Canada and Mexico.

RSL released MF Joey Dillon in order to make room for Glad on the roster. A Georgetown product, Dillon was selected by RSL in the third-round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.

Glad has one appearance with the Real Salt Lake Reserves, starting and playing the full 90 in the Claret-and-Cobalt's 1-1 draw at the Portland Timbers Reserves on Sept. 8, 2013.

REAL SALT LAKE GK JEFF ATTINELLA UP FOR MLS SAVE OF THE WEEK

Real Salt Lake GK Jeff Attinella is up for MLS Save of the Week.

Starting for banged up GK Nick Rimando, Attinella turned in a fine performance in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Sporting Kansas City, making eight saves to keep the shutout and preserve the point for RSL. Attinella is nominated for his first save of the match, a stop on Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer's breakaway chance in the 11th minute.

Attinella is up against Dallas' Chris Seitz, Portland's Andrew Weber, Houston's Tally Hall and Philadelphia's Zac MacMath for the award. Attinella has one career Save of the Week win, winning for a stop in his first career MLS game last July at FC Dallas. RSL has two Save of the Week wins this year, with Rimando bringing home the award in the first two weeks of the season.

Voting for Save of the Week runs until 12:59 a.m. MT on Friday morning.

RSL APPROACHING 12,000 SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

Thanks to the passion of our fans, Real Salt Lake is rapidly approaching an extension of its record-setting PRIDE season ticket holder total, closing in on the 12,000 Season Ticket Holder milestone.

To honor this monumental event, we're celebrating "RSL's 12,000th Man." While the RSL Family encompasses every person who ever cheers on the Claret-and-Cobalt, the PRIDE signifies those who have made the commitment to become a season ticket holder and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Tickets to all of RSL's MLS regular season home matches and three additional bonus matches are included in the Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Package. Season Ticket Holders also have a variety of other benefits, including exclusive access to RSL's annual "Meet the Team" event and a discount at the Real Salt Lake Team Store. RSL Season Tickets are currently on sale and available for purchase at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.

REAL SALT LAKE INJURY REPORT

OUT: FW Robbie Findley (R knee tendon repair), FW Joao Plata (L hamstring strain)

DOUBTFUL: GK Nick Rimando (L knee MCL strain), DF Tony Beltran (R ankle sprain), MF Luis Gil (Non-specific soft tissue injury)

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