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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Update

May 27, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


REAL SALT LAKE TO FACE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC ON SATURDAY AT CENTURYLINK FIELD

Real Salt Lake will begin a two-game road trip this Saturday, when it travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field at 2:00 p.m. MT. Saturday's match will be broadcast live CW30, ESPN 700 and 102.3 La Gran D FM.

Saturday's contest will be a duel between the league's top two teams with RSL looking to overtake the first-place Sounders. This weekend's match will also mark the first time RSL and Seattle have met this year. Real Salt Lake posted a 2-1-0 record against the Sounders last year, improving its all-time regular season record to 5-3-4 against the Cascadia side. The two sides last met on September 13, 2013 which resulted in a 2-0 loss for RSL, featuring goals from Seattle FW's Obafemi Martins and Lamar Neagle.

The Claret-and-Cobalt enters Saturday's contest looking to continue its unbeaten start to the 2014 season. Real Salt Lake tied the all-time MLS record for longest unbeaten start to a season with its 0-0 draw against FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium last Saturday. The Claret-and-Cobalt now jointly hold the 12-game record with the 1996 and 2010 LA Galaxy and 2000 Kansas City Wizards. The draw also moved first-year RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar into a tie with 1996 LA Head Coach Lothar Osiander for longest unbeaten start to a managerial career in MLS history. With the draw, RSL improved to a 6-0-6 record with a total of 24 points, two points behind Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders FC, which has a game in hand on the Claret-and-Cobalt.

The Claret-and-Cobalt have had mixed results when in Seattle, posting a 2-2-2 regular season record at CenturyLink Field. RSL and Seattle have also met in the MLS Cup Playoffs in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012. RSL took the series in 2011, defeating the Sounders 3-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium and going through on aggregate after suffering a 2-0 defeat at CenturyLink Field. In 2012, Seattle managed to bounce the Claret-and-Cobalt from the playoffs with a scoreless draw in Washington and a 1-0 victory in Utah. Real Salt Lake is 6-6-5 against Seattle all-time across all competitions, including MLS Cup Playoff and U.S. Open Cup play.

Real Salt Lake and Seattle Sounders FC enter Saturday's match missing a handful of key players due to international duty. Saturday will be RSL's third-straight match without Captain Kyle Beckerman (USA), GK Nick Rimando (USA) and FW Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica). Seattle will be missing its young DF DeAndre Yedlin and leading goal scorer FW Clint Dempsey, who were both named to U.S. Manager Jurgen Klinsmann's final 23-man World Cup roster along with Beckerman and Rimando.

Seattle currently sits in first place in the Western Conference with an 8-3-2 record to start the season and total of 26 points. The Sounders are coming off a thrilling 2-2 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC last weekend in which MF's Chad Barrett and Gonzalo Pineda found the back of the net for the visiting side.

REAL SALT LAKE DRAWS FC DALLAS 0-0 IN FRONT OF SOLD-OUT CROWD AT RIO TINTO STADIUM

Real Salt Lake (6-0-6, 24 points, West #2) extended its unbeaten start to the season to 12 games last Saturday, playing FC Dallas (5-6-3, 18 points, West #3) to a scoreless draw in front of a sold-out crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Saturday's result moved RSL into a tie for first in MLS history with the 1996 and 2010 LA Galaxy (12-0-0; 10-0-2) and 2000 Kansas City Wizards (10-0-2) for the longest unbeaten streak to start a season. The draw also moved first-year RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar into a tie with 1996 LA Head Coach Lothar Osiander for longest unbeaten start to a managerial career in MLS history.

Real Salt Lake controlled the match, holding 66.5 percent of possession and pinning Dallas back for long stretches of the game. Unfortunately, RSL didn't have much punch to go along with its possession, and didn't generate many dangerous chances against a firm Dallas defense. The Claret-and-Cobalt also lost a key player to injury in the first half, with co-leading scorer FW Joao Plata leaving the match in the 41st minute due to a left hamstring injury.

RSL had the first opportunity of the game in the eighth minute. MF Javier Morales swung a free kick in from the left side that Dallas GK Chris Seitz couldn't hold, with the rebound falling to MF Cole Grossman on the end line to the right of goal. With Seitz off his line, Grossman attempted to a chip a shot through traffic, but was his effort headed off the line by a Dallas defender.

RSL GK Jeff Attinella made a big save in the 53rd minute to keep Dallas off the board. FCD FW Tesho Akindele wriggled free in the right side of the area, rounding a RSL defender and firing a shot from eight yards out. Attinella did well to corral the effort, diving to his right from his position at the near post to hold the effort.

RSL pushed forward in search of a winner for the remaining 25 minutes, but didn't do much to trouble Dallas' former Claret-and-Cobalt GK Chris Seitz.

REAL SALT LAKE RESERVES PLAY TO SCORELESS DRAW AGAINST SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC RESERVES

The Real Salt Lake Reserves played to a scoreless draw against Seattle Sounders FC Reserves on Monday at America First Field. The RSL Reserves now post a 1-0-2 record through its first three matches of the 2014 MLS reserve League season.

Real Salt Lake FW Robbie Findley made his second appearance for the Claret-and-Cobalt Reserves this year, playing for a total of 70 minutes - 10 more minutes than last week's reserve match against Colorado. Findley made his 2014 first-team debut on Saturday night, subbing on in the 65th minute in RSL's 0-0 draw with FC Dallas. The speedy striker had missed all of RSL's previous games this year after undergoing right knee surgery last December.

Real Salt Lake DF Kwame Watson-Siriboe played a full 90 minutes for the first time since suffering a torn ACL last June. Three RSL-AZ Academy players also went 90 minutes - the first time an Academy player has done so this year. RSL-AZ Academy MF Diego Silva, MF Fito Ovalle and FW Sebastian Saucedo all played the entire match.

The defenses dominated Monday's game, with neither side able to produce much in front of net. Seattle saw a great look in the sixth minute when Seattle FW Sean Okoli blasted a shot from the top of the box that forced RSL GK Lalo Fernandez to make the save. Fernandez was unable to hold onto the ball however and Seattle FW Cam Weaver was there for the rebound, but sent his shot over the crossbar.

Real Salt Lake's best chance in the first half came in the 44th minute when Saucedo was tripped just outside the area earning a free kick. RSL DF Abdoulie Mansally stepped up to take the kick and blasted a shot that bypassed Seattle's defensive wall but went straight to Sounders GK Marcus Hahnemann.

The Claret-and-Cobalt started the second half brightly, with Saucedo registering a chance in the 47th minute. Mansally sent a cross into the box from the left side but Saucedo was unable to sneak his volleyed shot past Seattle substitute GK Josh Ford.

RSL saw its last chance of the match in the 81st minute when Saucedo was fouled outside the penalty area. Saucedo had eyes for goal and curved a nicely hit ball just high over the crossbar.

The Real Salt Lake Reserves return to action on Sunday, July 6, when it takes on USL Pro side Richmond Kickers at 3:00 p.m. MT at City Stadium in Virginia. The Claret-and-Cobalt continue MLS action this Saturday, May 31, when it takes on Seattle Sounders FC at 2:00 p.m. MT at CenturyLink Field. Saturday's match will broadcast live on CW30, ESPN 700 and 102.3 La Gran D FM.

USMNT TO FACE AZERBAIJAN TONIGHT IN FRIENDLY AT CANDLESTICK PARK

The United States Men's National Team will face Azerbaijan tonight in a friendly match at the iconic Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Calif. The match kicks at 8:00 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.

Tonight's game is the first of three matches in the United States' "Send-Off Series" and the first contest since U.S. Manager Jurgen Klinsmann named his final 23-man World Cup roster last Thursday. After Azerbaijan, the U.S. is set to take on Turkey on June 1 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. and face Nigeria on June 7 in Jacksonville, FL. The U.S. squad will then head to Brazil to face Ghana on June 16 in its first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman and GK Nick Rimando were included in Klinsmann's final roster that was announced last week. The German coach has also remarked that tonight's lineup will closely resemble what he has in store for when the U.S. faces Ghana in what is arguably the Americans' most important group stage match. With that said, tonight's lineup might offer a glimpse at what role Klinsmann has for MF Kyle Beckerman, who is competing for a starting role in the World Cup.

REAL SALT LAKE INJURY REPORT

OUT: MF Jordan Allen (R knee injury)

DOUBTFUL: FW Robbie Findley (R knee tendon repair), DF Rich Balchan (R adductor strain), MF John Stertzer (L Hamstring), Joao Plata (L hamstring)

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