November 23, 2021; Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
Real Salt Lake (14-14-6, 48 points); Seattle Sounders FC (17-10-8, 58 points)
Men of the Match: The Real Salt Lake defense, including Andrew Brody, Justen Glad, Aaron Herrera, Marcelo Silva and David Ochoa in goal, prevented one of the top attacks in the league from finding the back of the net, blocking 10 shots, making 54 interceptions and three saves to earn the win.
Telling Stat: Missing its Captain Albert Rusnák (health and safety protocols), author of 11 goals / 11 assists this season, Real Salt Lake did not have a single shot throughout the 120 minutes of the match, but were able to withstand Seattle’s 21 shots, limiting the opponent to just three shots on goal in order to force penalties.
What You Missed: Real Salt Lake advanced to the Western Conference Semifinal with a dramatic advancement at Seattle in six rounds of penalties, following a 0-0 (AET) draw. The tiebreaker win snapped a four-game losing streak at Seattle in the postseason, but the Club’s 482-minute scoreless streak at what is now Lumen Field remains active.
What’s Next: Real Salt Lake will return to Sporting Kansas City, where they recently clinched their ticket to the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs with a last second goal, on Sunday November 28. The match will be nationally broadcast on ABC at 1:00 p.m. MT.