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RSL Match Preview: Real Salt Lake V. Colorado Rapids

April 6, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah (Friday, April 6, 2012) - Real Salt Lake (4-1-0, 12 pts.; 1st in West) will look extend its early lead atop the Western Conference and get a leg up in the Subaru Rocky Mountain Cup presented by Mark Miller Subaru tomorrow, Saturday, April 7, when the Claret-and-Cobalt play host to the archrival Colorado Rapids (3-1-0, 9 pts.; T-2nd in West). Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. MT, while the pre-match excitement will start at 5:00 p.m. when the Carnival Real festival gets underway on the stadium's East Lawn, followed by the opening of the stadium gates an hour later.

Tickets remain available for tomorrow's opening Subaru Rocky Mountain Cup installment and can be purchased online via the Zions Bank Ticket Outlet on RealSaltLake.com, over the phone by calling 801-727-2700 or in person at the Rio Tinto Stadium Box Office beginning at 10:00 on gameday.

How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Colorado Rapids

Kickoff : 7:00 p.m. MT from Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah TV : LIVE on CW30 (30-minute post-game show beginning at 9:00 p.m.) English Radio : ESPN700/ESPN700Sports.com (pre-game coverage begins at 6:00 p.m.) Spanish Radio : La Gran D 102.3 FM & Juan 1600 AM

- Online : Live updates via the @RSLkickoff Gameday Twitter Feed and MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter

RSL History v. Rapids

After seeing Colorado claim the first two season series in 2005-06, Real Salt Lake has dominated the Subaru Rocky Mountain Cup ever since, having kept the trophy on the Wasatch Front for the last five years. The Claret-and-Cobalt tout a six-game unbeaten streak against their archrivals to the east, a 1-1 draw in Sandy in June of 2009 kicking off the current 2-0-4 run heading into Saturday's clash.

The 2007 season marked the first time Real Salt Lake claimed the rivalry trophy for its supporters following a 2-1-1 win in the season series, and the Utah side managed to retain possession of the Cup thanks to series splits in 2008 (1-1-1), 2009 (1-1-1) and 2010 (0-0-2) before posting a second outright win in 2011. RSL's trend of last-second heroics in the series continued at Rio Tinto Stadium last April 13, when FW Fabian EspÃ-ndola's stoppage-time rebound tally gave the Claret-and-Cobalt a 1-0 victory, while a scoreless draw in the regular season's penultimate weekend on Oct. 14 in Commerce City ensured the trophy resided in the Beehive State for yet another offseason.

The teams have met in their respective regular season finales four of the past five years, with huge playoff implications on the line each time. Back in 2007, a late goal by FW Robbie Findley gave RSL a 1-0 win for its first-ever piece of hardware, while simultaneously knocking Colorado from playoff contention. In 2008, RSL drew 1-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a late FW Yura Movsisyan rebound allowing the Claret-and-Cobalt to advance to the postseason for the first time ever and leave the Rapids at home once again, while in 2009 RSL dominated the Rapids 3-0 in Utah on the final weekend to not only qualify for the postseason, but pave its path to an eventual MLS Cup victory. In 2010, both teams were already advanced into the playoffs, and while FW Álvaro SaborÃ-o's unlikely stoppage time brace forced a surprise 2-2 draw in Colorado, that result, coupled with LA's win 24 hours later, eliminated RSL from Supporters' Shield contention. There will be no late-season dramatics between the rivals this year, however, as Real Salt Lake will host the middle meeting in Sandy on Saturday, July 21 before the season series wraps up two weeks later in Colorado on August 4.

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