Pablo Ruiz Gives Real Salt Lake Lead Against LA Galaxy
May 31, 2023, 9:17 PM | Updated: Jun 1, 2023, 10:29 am
SALT LAKE CITY – After going scoreless in the first half, Pablo Ruiz scored shortly after Danny Musovski to give Real Salt Lake a 2-1 lead.
Ruiz’s goal came off of a free kick after LA’s Raheem Edwards was shown a yellow card.
67′ | MAKE IT A DOUBLEEEEEEEEEE
2-1 | #RSLvLA pic.twitter.com/fQtjziOfTL
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 1, 2023
The score was Pablo Ruiz’s third of the season. He has taken 15 shots with four of them being on target.
RSL’s chances looked bleak after the first half. But, two early second-half scores gave the club a boost in morale and momentum.
Just minutes after Ruiz’s goal, LA’s Memo Rodríguez and Tyler Boyd both found the back of the net to regain the lead for the Galaxy.
Ooof.
Goal. Galaxy.
2-3 76th minute @kslsports #RSL— RSL Show on KSL (@rslshow) June 1, 2023
Real Salt Lake GM Elliot Fall Speaks On Club Turning Season Around
Real Salt Lake started the season 1-4. In the 11 MLS and U.S. Open Cup games since then, RSL has gone 6-2-3.
Despite the turnaround, Real Salt Lake is still on the outside of the playoff race looking in. With 15 total points, RSL sits in the West’s 11-seed.
“There’s a way to go still,” Fall said. “We’re not perfect. There are some scoreless draws in there. Of course, we would love to put the ball in the back of the net and turn some of those into three points. We’re trending in the right direction. I think there’s a lot of positive things to feel good about.”
Walking into matchday like pic.twitter.com/HjUTGtANcg
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 31, 2023
RSL has done a lot of lineup experimentation to figure out how to best utilize the group. Young players like Emeka Eneli have given the club a much-needed boost in games down the stretch.
“In those 11 games in the last six weeks, we’ve played something like 25 players,” Fall said. “Which is a lot of guys getting an opportunity. We’ve gotten to see what they have to offer. Some of the best performances, some of the biggest wins, have been driven by young players. We want to be a club that’s committed to development.”
One of Real Salt Lake’s biggest shortcomings is goal scoring. RSL’s 13 goals put them at 20th in the MLS. Fall said that the front office has an opportunity to strengthen the club’s play in the attacking third.
“It’s an important summer window ahead of us,” Fall said. “We have a really well-rounded group. (RSL) could use some guys who can threaten for 90 minutes and be difference-makers in the attacking third. We have some guys who can do that, but you need more of them. We have an opportunity to look for some of that.”
How To Watch Real Salt Lake
All Major League Soccer games are broadcasted on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2023 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.
Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
