SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake closes out a two-game homestand Wednesday at Rio Tinto Stadium seeking to snap an active four-game winless streak, hosting perennial playoff rival Los Angeles Galaxy in Sandy. The match marks the first of three 2015 meetings between the clubs and the first since RSL was eliminated, 5-0, by the Galaxy last season. Local TV coverage kicks off on KMYU (2.2 air / 12 satellite / 22+643 Comcast) at 7:30 p.m. MT, with the game also carried on ESPN700 (6:30 p.m. MT pre-game) and La Gran D 102.3 FM / 1600 AM.
Real Salt Lake (2-2-4, 9 points, West t-7) snapped a two-game losing streak with Friday’s 1-1 draw against visiting San Jose. RSL kicked off 2015 with a five-game unbeaten run to start 2015, but injuries, suspensions and international duty have wreaked havoc, as RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar has already seen 19 different players start in the club’s first eight games. Since the beginning of 2008, RSL boasts an 87-19-35 mark in its last 141 home games (all comps) in that span, during which it has outscored opponents by 154 goals (259-105), with a 71-14-32 reg. season mark (214/86), 6-1-1 CCL record (17/5), 5-2-2 playoffs (11/4) and 5-2-0 Open Cup (16/9).
The club’s 12-1-7 overall home mark a year ago was no doubt buoyed by the continued growth of season ticket holders, which surpassed 15,000 three weeks ago. While good seats remain for Wednesday’s match, RSL has sold out 19 of its last 20 games; entering this week, RSL has sold out 21 of its last 24 matches and 25 of its last 31 games, dating back to August, 2013.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v Los Angeles Galaxy
• Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
• TV: KMYU – David James & Brian Dunseth
• English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:30 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jeremy Horton & Brian Kamler
• Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
• Online: The @RealSaltLake Twitter Feed will provide match updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL v LA Match Now Available Online
Following is the link to the Adobe PDF version of the MLS Game Guide in advance of Wednesday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles.
Click here to download the PDF version of the MLS Game Guide for Wednesday’s RSL-LA matchup
All-Time RSL History v. Los Angeles Galaxy
RSL and Los Angeles have faced each other in four of the last six postseasons, including MLS Cup 2009, the 2011 West Final, and the 2013/14 Western Conference Semifinals. LA eliminated RSL, 5-0 on aggregate, in last season’s West 2v3 matchup, allowing the Galaxy to pull ahead of RSL in the series’ overall goal differential, 52-49; RSL is 12-14-8 in all competitions against Los Angeles.
At home, RSL has posted a 5-3-5 mark with a 25-19 scoring advantage, including a 2-0-2 Rio Tinto Stadium record in the last four overall meetings. RSL will travel to Carson, Calif., on May 27 in the return match, before the Galaxy – with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard presumably in tow – return to Sandy, Utah, on Sept. 19 in the 2015 rubber match.
Busy May Continues This Week; Open Cup / CCL Paths Determined
After Wednesday, RSL plays 4 of its next 5 away from home, with games at Chicago and Montreal each of the next two weekends prior to the Jason Kreis/NYCFC homecoming on May 23, then another two-game week involving the Galaxy, playing at StubHub on May 27 and at Vancouver on May 30 …
RSL is currently 1-1-2 away from home – allowing all 4 road goals at NE on 4/25, but securing three road shutouts already (club only had 5 all of last season). In June and July, RSL will have six of its eight MLS matches at home.
In addition to a total of SEVEN league matches during the month of May, kicking off with the current two-game Rio Tinto Stadium homestand v SJ and LA, RSL expects to gain clarity on a pair of non-MLS fronts during the month.
In mid-May, RSL should receive from CONCACAF the group assignments from the draw for the 2015/16 Champions League tourney, with two home games and two away scheduled during six possible matchdates in August/September/October. Late in the month, RSL and the other U.S.-based MLS sides should receive an idea on dates/times/opponents and sites for the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament, which sees the Round of 32 kickoff in mid-June for the Major League Soccer teams.
RSL experiences a pair of two-game road trips in May sandwiched around the much-anticipated visit on Saturday, May 23, from former captain/head coach Jason Kreis and expansion NYCFC, the new home for such RSL luminaries as Ned Grabavoy, Chris Wingert, Mehdi Ballouchy, Josh Saunders, Kwame Watson-Siriboe and Sebastian Velazquez.
The weekends of May 9 and 16 sees RSL travel to Chicago and Montreal for a pair of Eastern Conference road trips, while Wednesday, May 27 involves a return trip to LA – the club’s first since last Fall’s 0-5 playoff elimination at the Stubhub Center – and a continuation up the West Coast to Vancouver on Saturday, May 30, the first game on the new BC Place turf being installed for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
