Real Salt Lake Play To Scoreless Draw Against Minnesota In Preseason Hitout

SALT LAKE CITY – The second preseason hitout in Portland, Oregon concluded in a scoreless draw against Western Conference foe Minnesota United.

Real Salt Lake was previously embarrassed against Norwegian club Viking FK on Sunday afternoon 4-1 in their first preseason hitout in Portland.

Manager Pablo Mastroeni opted for a completely different starting XI than what we saw against Viking as a handful of Real Salt Lake players saw their first preseason start.

Zac MacMath got the start over David Ochoa in goal while Jaziel Orozco, Justen Glad, and Bobby Pierre rounded out the back three. Jasper Löffelsend started for the second consecutive game alongside Scott Caldwell, Bode Davis, Pedro Fonesca, and Maikel Chang in the midfield. Chris Garcia and Yekeson Subah started up top in the 3-5-2 formation.

#RSL XI v MIN (3-5-2) ::

Zac MacMath;
Jaziel Orozco, Justen Glad, Bobby Pierre;
Jasper Löffelsend, Scott Caldwell, Bode Davis, Pedro Fonseca, Maikel Chang;
Chris Garcia, Yekeson Subah https://t.co/vrGV0LjjD1

— Trey Fitz-Gerald (@3FitzSLC) February 17, 2022

The first half saw both Minnesota United and Real Salt Lake with a handful of chances that were denied by both goalkeepers. MacMath in particular was outstanding in between the sticks and frequently saved Real Salt Lake from conceding. Orozco, 17, was also a standout. The young defender who spent all of last season with the Monarchs before signing a first team contract earlier this year did not back down from challenges. In fact, with just minutes to spare in the first half Orozco won a 50/50 challenge in the heart of the midfield sending his Minnesota counterpart flipping in the air, the challenge resulted in a minor scuffle.

At halftime Mastroeni made three substitutions, one of them more significant than the rest. Sergio Córdova made his Real Salt Lake debut when he came on for Subah, Tate Schmitt and Erik Holt replaced Maikel Chang and Justen Glad respectively.

.@scordova22 stepping in 🤩 pic.twitter.com/xPw0p4uYas

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) February 17, 2022

The best moment of the game for Real Salt Lake came in the 73rd minute when Córdova dribbled around the Minnesota keeper before playing a ball along the ground into the area. Everton Luiz, who came on in the 63rd minute along with Justin Meram, Marcelo Silva, Jonathan Menéndez, and Pierre Reedy, pretended to kick the ball but faked a shot bringing his defender with him and leaving Menéndez with a wide option shot seven yards out that he, unfortunately, skied over the woodwork.

Córdova’s evening was over when Bobby Wood replaced him in the 76th.

The class of Meram and Wood stood out throughout the final quarter of an hour. Meram displayed his unique ability to find teammates from crossing the ball into the area while Wood looked dangerous in his positioning throughout the minutes that he received.

Unfortunately, the fixture ended 0-0 as neither team was able to find the back of the onion bag.

Real Salt Lake will next play Portland Timbers on Saturday, February 19 with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. The contest will be available to stream for free via the KSL Sports app or on KSL Sports dot com.