Real Salt Lake Holds Off Rival Rapids For Victory In Colorado
May 20, 2023, 9:35 PM | Updated: May 24, 2023, 10:43 am
SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake fended off a second half comeback attempt by the Colorado Rapids to secure a victory away from America First Field.
The Rapids hosted RSL at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on Saturday, May 20.
The two regional rivals play each other for the rights to the Rocky Mountain Cup trophy.
Real Salt Lake held off the Rapids for a 3-2 win on the road.
RSL head coach Pablo Mastoreni played and coached the Rapids before joining Real Salt Lake. Following the match, Mastroeni said that old memories came to him when he entered the stadium, but his thoughts quickly turned to beating the opponent at hand. The head coach said that while the rivalry was a focus of the match, getting three points was the most important thing for his team.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Mastoreni said during his postgame press conference.
Would you expect anything different? pic.twitter.com/OqZrBWAxkO
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 21, 2023
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Pablo Ruiz helped Real Salt Lake strike first with a goal in the 12th minute of the contest. Less than 10 minutes later, Danny Musovski found the back of the net. Musovski’s strike made the scoreboard, 2-0, in favor of Real Salt Lake.
In the 33rd minute, Colorado pulled one back thanks to Danny Wilson.
Right before halftime, Damir Kreilach scored his second goal of the season to push Real Salt Lake’s advantage back to two goals.
Late in the second half, Colorado’s Lalas Abubakar buried a shot between the frames to trim Real Salt Lake’s lead to 3-2.
However, over the final 15-plus minutes of the night, Real Salt Lake was able to hold off the home side to capture three points away from Utah.
After defeating Colorado 3-2 tonight, @realsaltlake have now won 13 of the last 20 regular season editions of the Rocky Mountain Cup. pic.twitter.com/tMG0UuUgjO
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) May 21, 2023
RSL’s next match will be against Colorado in the U.S. Open Cup. The Rapids will host RSL for the second straight match on May 24 at 8 p.m. (MDT).
RELATED: Real Salt Lake To Face Rival Colorado In US Open Cup’s Round Of 16
Real Salt Lake’s next match against Colorado will be broadcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network and KSL Sports Zone.
Colorado Rapids vs. Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake arrived in Colorado with a 3-3-6 record this season. The Sandy-based club hasn’t scored in its last four Major League Soccer matches. Real Salt Lake is in 11th place in the MLS Western Conference standings. RSL has a -10 goal differential in 2023.
The Rapids sit in 12th place in the West. Like RSL, Colorado has earned 12 points this season. Colorado has dropped its last two games. The Rapids have been outscored by eight total goals throughout the season.
