Real Salt Lake Defeats D.C. United In Nation’s Capital For Second Time Ever
Jun 17, 2023, 7:44 PM | Updated: Jun 21, 2023, 4:36 pm
WASHINGTON – Real Salt Lake will continue its road trip feeling pleased after defeating D.C. United in the nation’s capital, 2-1.
The win is RSL’s second-ever in Washington. They were 1-8-3 up until Saturday night.
Ya heard it pic.twitter.com/HgKUCg9r5M
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 18, 2023
Real Salt Lake Beats D.C. United, Scores Potential Goal Of The Year
First Half
RSL and D.C. both came out of the gates aggressively.
Both teams got quality looks inside the box in the first three minutes.
Andrés Gómez had his shot from the right side of the box saved by D.C. goalkeeper Tyler Miller.
Tonight’s office space #DCvRSL | #RSL pic.twitter.com/ehbIJgeDvG
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 17, 2023
Pablo Ruiz was shown a yellow card for a foul in the 9th minute.
D.C. United took 5 shots in the first 20 minutes but none of them were on target. RSL took just two shots with one of them on goal.
In the 26th minute, D.C. defender Steven Birnbaum was shown a red card.
Musovski took a shot in the 30th minute but it was saved.
watch out y’all pic.twitter.com/BAyVzqVikD
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 17, 2023
D.C. United’s Christian Benteke was all over the field in the first half. He took four shots and set the tone for the home squad.
In the 41st minute, Pablo Ruiz loaded up from RSL’s side of the field and found the top corner of the goal.
RELATED: Pablo Ruiz With Goal Of Year Candidate Against D.C. United
Pablo Ruiz scores from his own half. 😱 #RSL pic.twitter.com/uDft9GoRkD
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 18, 2023
Neither team got much going in the closing minutes of the opening half, Real Salt Lake led 1-0 going into the break.
Second Half
In the 51st minute, Daniel Musovski was on the receiving end of a terrific cross from Andrés Gómez.
Musovski caught the pass in stride and snuck it past the goalkeeper.
RELATED: Daniel Musovski Gives Real Salt Lake Short-Lived Two-Goal Lead
Danny Musovski keeps up his fine form and makes it ✌️ for #RSL. pic.twitter.com/d7w6KL9zVX
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 18, 2023
Just two minutes after Musovski’s goal, D.C. made it all the way down the field and scored their first goal of the night.
Chris Durkin was the goal scorer for D.C. United. His shot was assisted by Ruan.
Gómez and Ruiz both took shots in the following minutes but neither found the target.
Just like that, Chris Durkin brings one back for @dcunited.
Right off the kickoff, the hosts cut the lead in half. pic.twitter.com/FVhxKZnvYy
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 18, 2023
The second half was filled with action in the attacking half. Both RSL and D.C. found themselves with multiple scoring opportunities.
D.C. nearly evened the score in the 78th minute but Zac MacMath jumped in front of the ball to prevent the goal.
The game was delayed in the 83rd minute while RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath got checked for a concussion. Beavers began warming up, but MacMath was cleared to stay in the game.
absolutely losing our minds over here pic.twitter.com/U8iw9qvBhl
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 18, 2023
Seven minutes of stoppage time was added to regulation.
In the 91st minute, Zac MacMath was shown a yellow card for time-wasting.
D.C. got into the box multiple times during stoppage time but couldn’t turn any of the opportunities into scores.
Real Salt Lake buckled down on defense to leave D.C. with a 2-1 win.
we stoLe the decLaration of independence. pic.twitter.com/2AEJUHjPoT
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 18, 2023
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.