Head Coach Mike Petke
SANDY, Utah (Friday, April 21, 2017) – Real Salt Lake (2-3-2, 6th West) continues its 2017 campaign by hosting 2017 expansion side Atlanta United FC (2-2-2, 6th East) Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium at 7:30 p.m. MT, as the club looks to extend its active winning streak to three with new Head Coach Mike Petke at the helm.
Since entering MLS in 2005, RSL boasts a 7-1-2 all-time home mark in its initial contests on Utah soil against expansion teams, with only Toronto’s 2-1 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 4, 2007 providing a blemish. Since moving to Rio Tinto Stadium in 2009, RSL is 5-0-2 in an expansion side’s debut in Sandy, dropping points only to Orlando and Portland.
How to Follow Real Salt Lake v. Atlanta United FC – Sat., April 22, 2017
- Coverage Begins: 7:00 p.m. MT
- Local TV: KMYU – David James and Brian Dunseth
- English Radio: ESPN700 AM (6:30 p.m. MT) – Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton
- Spanish Radio: 102.3 La Gran D FM / 1600 AM – Nelson Moran & Fernando Hortal
- Online: The @RSLmatchday Twitter feed provides updates
Game Guide for Saturday’s RSL v. Atlanta game Available Online
The link to the Adobe PDF version of the Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Atlanta United FC is available HERE. If you have any problems obtaining the document, would prefer to receive it as an attachment, or are seeking more information on the match, please contact Matt Gaschk in the RSL Communications Department via email at mgaschk@RSL.com.
Saturday’s game will be televised locally via KMYU (coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. MT on 2.2 air / 12 satellite / 643 Comcast HD) with David James and Brian Dunseth on the call, and can also heard live via RSL outlets ESPN700 AM (English radio coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. MT w/ Bill Riley, Jay Nolly, Spencer Warne & Jeremy Horton) & 102.3 FM / 1600 AM(Spanish, Fernando Hortal & Nelson Moran).
Yura Movsisyan
Petke, the club’s fourth head coach in the last 13 Major League Soccer seasons, has guided the club to a pair of wins in his first two weeks at the helm, including a dramatic comeback victory last Saturday at Colorado (the club’s 11th come-from-behind road win in 13 years). Armenian FW Yura Movsisyan converted an 85th-minute penalty kick for his third consecutive game with a goal, while Academy product and Liverpool loanee Brooks Lennonblasted a shot from 25 yards out just three minutes later for what proved to be the game-winner.
Albert Rusnák (Photo: Rob Gray)
Two weeks ago, in Petke’s debut, RSL endured the elements to notch a 3-0 home win over Vancouver at a snowy Rio Tinto Stadium. Slovakian MF Albert Rusnák scored his first MLS goal with what proved to be the game-winner early in a snowy second half, then assisted on goals by Movsisyan – who has now scored in four of the last five games – and MF Luke Mulholland to help RSL snap a 12-game winless streak in MLS regular-season play.
Back on March 21, it was announced that world power Manchester United would visit Utah for the first time ever, facing RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium on Monday, July 17. RSL “Royalty” Season Ticket Members have exclusive access to this game, with the ability to secure their seats and/or extra tickets (limit of four) until next Monday, April 24. MT. Pro-rated 14-game Season Ticket packages for Real Salt Lake’s 2017 campaign at Rio Tinto Stadium remain on sale; please visit www.RSL.com/tickets/royalty or call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
The Rio Tinto Stadium box office is open Mon.-Fri., 10a-6p; more information can be found online at www.RSL.com/Tickets. Current or interested RSL Royalty Season Ticket Members can purchase extra tickets at preferred pricing or gain assistance via the Fan Relations Hotline at 801-727-2702.
The 2017 Real Monarchs / USL season is ongoing, the third-year club becoming the first in USL to get off to a perfect 3-0-0 start. The Monarchs kicked off the year on the road with a 2-1 win March 25 in Portland, giving then-Monarchs and now new RSL Head Coach Mike Petke his first three points for the club. Last week saw newly-promoted Head Coach Mark Briggs ‘ debut in a 2-0 win over Phoenix last Saturday and a 5-3 win Thursday night at home against Reno, with the USL side facing Colorado Springs Switchbacks Saturday afternoon prior to the RSL at Colorado match. Season Tickets for the Real Monarchs third season are now on sale; please call 844.Real.Tix for more information.
Coming in late Summer, 2017, Real Salt Lake’s regional training center opens in Herriman, Utah, approximately 20 minutes southwest of Rio Tinto Stadium. The $60 million facility will serve as the daily training home beginning in 2018 for both of the club’s professional teams – RSL (MLS) and Real Monarchs (USL) – while centralizing the club’s U-18, U-16 and future U-14 development academy youth selections. The Herriman campus will provide adjacencies for an on-site charter school opening this Fall, with STEM disciplines (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) for nearly 300 boys and girls. View a recent photo gallery of the Herriman progress HERE: http://www.rsl.com/gallery/2017-herriman-progress-report.
In mid-November in North Logan, Utah, RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen broke ground on the first of a half-dozen regional training centers across Utah and Arizona to be built in the next 2-3 years. Each $5 million RTC houses a classroom, as well as an indoor and outdoor field, dedicated to fulfilling a curriculum consistent with the club’s vision and mission for youth soccer training and education, and the continued development of both recreational and competitive pre-Academy (ages 7-12) initiatives across Utah and Arizona.