NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Real Salt Lake Update

June 30, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS) - Real Salt Lake News Release


REAL SALT LAKE TO HOST NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION AT RIO TINTO STADIUM ON FRIDAY

Real Salt Lake returns home this Friday, when it will host Eastern Conference foe New England Revolution at 8:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium. The July 4 match will be followed by an Independence Day fireworks show. Friday's contest will be broadcast live on CW30, ESPN 700 and 102.3 La Gran D FM.

Real Salt Lake enters Friday's matchup looking to break its five-game winless streak. RSL lost its last match, moving to 6-3-7 on the season after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Chivas USA on Saturday. Last weekend's match saw an early red card shown to RSL MF Luke Mulholland in the ninth minute after a tackle on Chivas USA MF Martin Rivero. The 10-man Claret-and-Cobalt was unable to comeback after the Southern California side took the lead in the 35th minute through a wonder-strike from Chivas USA FW Erick Torres. Real Salt Lake is now winless in its last five MLS matches and six games across all competition. RSL fell 2-1 at Atlanta Silverbacks in U.S. Open Cup play on June 14.

Friday's match with New England Revolution will be Real Salt Lake's only meeting with the Eastern Conference side in the 2014 MLS regular season. Real Salt Lake is a solid 8-4-4 all-time against New England. The Claret-and-Cobalt has fared well at home against the Revs, posting a 4-2-2 record in Utah. The Claret-and-Cobalt has produced two of its highest scoring victories at home against New England, thrashing the Revs 6-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium in 2009 and routing them 5-0 in the Beehive State the following year.

RSL won its only match against New England last year, a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium on May 8, 2013. The Claret-and-Cobalt staged a comeback after going down early in the second half. RSL FW Devon Sandoval tied the affair in the 77th minute and FW Olmes Garcia scored a late game-winner in the 89th minute to snatch the victory. The last time the two sides met at Rio Tinto Stadium, RSL came out on top with a 2-1 win on May 5, 2012.

New England currently sits third in the Eastern Conference with a 7-6-2 record and total of 23 points. The Revs lost their last match, falling 3-1 to Philadelphia Union at Gillette Stadium last Saturday.

A very limited number of tickets to the New England match still remain; they can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700. Due to special Independence Day fireworks show, parking will be limited. For more information please visit http://www.realsaltlake.com/content/special-events-parking-july-4-2014.

10-MAN REAL SALT LAKE FALLS 1-0 AT CHIVAS USA

Real Salt Lake (6-3-7, 25 points, West #3) couldn't overcome an early red card at Chivas USA (3-7-5, 14 points, West #9), falling 1-0 to the Southern California side after playing with 10 men for over 80 minutes on Saturday night at StubHub Center.

Real Salt Lake went down a man in the ninth minute, when MF Luke Mulholland was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Chivas USA MF Martin Rivero. The ejection marked the second-straight MLS match that an RSL player has seen a red card - DF Tony Beltran was shown two yellows and tossed from the Claret-and-Cobalt's 3-1 loss against Portland on June 7.

Despite going down a man, RSL enjoyed a good deal of possession and limited Chivas USA's opportunities, controlling most of the early going. Both sides had goals called back for offside in the first half, with Chivas USA FW Leandro Barrera seeing his effort disallowed in the 16th minute before RSL FW Joao Plata had his attempt called back in the 27th.

Chivas USA took the lead in the 35th minute, going ahead through a wonderful strike from FW Erick Torres. DF Tony Lochhead started the play on the left side, switching the field with a lovely ball that found Torres in the right side of the box. The Mexican striker took it with his first touch, rifling a spectacular right-footed volley out of the air and into the back of the net from 15 yards.

Claret-and-Cobalt DF Chris Schuler came up with two big plays in the 56th and 69th minutes to keep the Goats at bay. In the first, Chivas USA sent in a cross into the box that forced Schuler into a diving clearance. The second opportunity saw Schuler save a sure Chivas USA goal, with the big defender making a sliding clearance to push a Barrera attempt just wide of the left post.

The Claret-and-Cobalt had a great chance to even the score in the 80th minute. Plata was sprung from the top of the box with a leading pass but Kennedy rushed out to cover the ball before Plata could get to it.

RSL had a shout for a penalty kick in the 90th minute, when Plata appeared to be taken out in the box by Kennedy and Chivas USA DF Donny Toia. Unfortunately for RSL, referee Kevin Stott didn't see a foul, whistling only for a goal kick for Chivas USA.

Real Salt Lake will return home for its next match, hosting New England Revolution at 8:00 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium. Friday's match will be followed by an Independence Day fireworks show.

REAL SALT LAKE TO HOST USA v. BELGIUM WORLD CUP WATCH PARTY AT GALLIVAN CENTER ON TUESDAY

Real Salt Lake has announced that it has partnered with Broadway Media Group and the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office to host an outdoor watch party on tomorrow at the Gallivan Center for the U.S.'s Round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium.

The U.S.-Belgium match will kick at 2:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday. The match will be shown live at the Gallivan Center Plaza, located at 50 E 200 S in downtown Salt Lake City. Broadway Media Group radio stations ESPN700, X96, U92, MIX 107.9, Rewind 100.7 FM and 101.5 The Eagle will broadcast live from the all-ages event, which will also feature some of Salt Lake's most popular food trucks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage sales, mini-soccer games and Real Salt Lake merchandise booths.

The Gallivan Center Plaza will open for the watch party at 1:00 p.m. MT on Tuesday. Parking in the area is extremely limited and fans are encouraged to take public transportation to the event. UTA schedules, rail maps, bus routes and more information on how to get to Tuesday's event can be found here.

The U.S. booked its passage to the World Cup's Round of 16 last Thursday, losing 1-0 to Germany in its group stage finale but getting help from Portugal in its 2-1 win over Ghana to finish second in Group G with a 1-1-1 record. Real Salt Lake Captain Kyle Beckerman has played a leading role for the U.S. at the tournament, earning widespread praise for his steady 90-minute performances in all three of the U.S.'s games in the Group of Death. RSL GK Nick Rimando is also on the U.S. roster in Brazil, though he hasn't yet played and isn't expected to feature at the tournament.

Belgium advanced to the Knockout Stage by winning Group H. The Red Devils posted a 3-0-0 record in the group stage, scoring late goals in all three matches to beat Algeria, Russia and South Korea.

RSL-AZ U-16'S ADVANCE TO US SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY QUARTERFINALS; U-18'S ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFFS

The Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy U-16's and U-18's wrapped up the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs last week, with the U-16's advancing to the Quarterfinals while the RSL-AZ U-18's were eliminated from postseason play.

The RSL-Z U-16's - reigning U.S. Soccer Development Academy National Champions - finished at the top of their group with a 2-0-1 record and total of six points, earning first-place based on goal differential. The U-16's opened group play with a 3-1 victory over New Jersey Soccer Academy 04 all thanks to a hat trick from Claret-and-Cobalt FW Sebastian Saucedo. The youngsters then went on to defeat Georgia United 5-2, powered by another hat trick from Saucedo, and finished the week off with a 2-0 loss to St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri. The RSL-AZ U-16 squad will look to retain their title, hosting its quarterfinal match at home in Casa Grande, Arizona on either July 7 or 9. The exact date, time and opponent will be announced at a later date.

The RSL-AZ U-18's did not fare as well as their younger counterparts, finishing second in their group with a 1-1-1 record and total of four points. Seattle Sounders FC U-18's finished first with a perfect 3-0-0 record to advance to the quarterfinals. The RSL-AZ U-18's opened up group play with a 1-1 draw against Indiana Fire and went on to earn three points with a 4-3 win over Concorde Fire. In the final group stage match, needing a win to advance to the quarterfinals, the RSL-AZ U-18's fell 3-1 to Seattle after taking the lead early in the second half. The RSL-AZ U-18's finished the regular season with an 18-4-5 record, the best record in history for a U-18 team at Grande Sports World.

VOTING FOR THE 2014 AT&T ALL-STAR "FAN XI" ENTERS FINAL STRETCH

Fan voting for the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game has entered its final two weeks. Fans may vote online HERE through July 11 at 1:00 p.m. MT and via Twitter from July 2-6 to select the "Fan XI" All-Stars. Real Salt Lake has a total of eight players named to the fan ballot that were chosen by select media members.

The seven Claret-and-Cobalt players on the ballot are GK Nick Rimando, DF Tony Beltran, DF Nat Borchers, DF Chris Schuler, Captain Kyle Beckerman, MF Javier Morales and FW Joao Plata.

Eleven players - one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards - with the highest combined votes will be named to the All-Star Fan XI.

The 11th player - a forward - will be determined by the AT&T/EA SPORTS™ "More than a Vote" Challenge. Fans have the opportunity to vote one forward into the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game by scoring goals in EA SPORTS FIFA 14 on the Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The forward with the most votes - one goal equals one vote - on July 11 will occupy the final forward spot on the All-Star Fan XI.

The 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star game will be held at Providence Park, the home of the Portland Timbers, on August 6 at 7:30 p.m. MT. The MLS All-Stars will be coached by Portland Timbers Head Coach Caleb Porter as they take on Germany's Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Unimas.

2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game Voting Timeline

July 2-6: Fan voting - Twitter Window

July 11: Fan voting closes

July 16: Fan XI unveiled

July 19 or 21: Game day roster and Commissioner's picks announced

Aug. 6: MLS All-Stars vs. Bayern Munich at Providence Park at 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2, UniMas, TSN, RDS)

REAL SALT LAKE INJURY REPORT

OUT: MF Jordan Allen (R knee injury), Alvaro Saborio (R fifth metatarsal fracture), Rich Balchan (Adductor strain)

QUESTIONABLE: Ned Grabavoy (R glute strain), Sebastian Velasquez (L ankle)


• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board...

Major League Soccer Stories from June 30, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central