Real Salt Lake announces 2007 MLS Reserve Division Schedule

SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake today announced its 12-game schedule for the 2007 edition of the Major League Soccer Reserve Division. As it has in the Reserve Division's first two seasons, Real Salt Lake will play six home and six away matches, with this year's schedule including nine different opponents. RSL will face off against all five of its Western Conference brethren - including home-and-away contests against the Houston Dynamo, Colorado Rapids, and Chivas USA - in addition Eastern Conference foes Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution, and Chicago Fire.

Real Salt Lake will once again call Quinn's Junction in nearby Park City its home base for all six of its home MLS Reserve Division contests, with all matches open to the public, free of charge, and scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. MT kick-off. The Real Salt Lake Reserves home slate is well-balanced between opposition from both conferences, as the squad will host three of its cohorts from the Western Conference (Colorado, Houston, and Chivas USA) in addition to three Eastern Conference opponents (New York, New England, and Chicago).

The Real Salt Lake Reserves opened up their 2007 schedule last Sunday at Chivas USA, dropping the first match by a 2-1 score at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, with FW Chris Brown providing RSL's lone tally in the contest. Real Salt Lake will open the Park City portion of its Reserve Division schedule next Tuesday, May 1, against the Colorado Rapids Reserves, and will follow up with a second home match in less than a week when it hosts the New York Red Bulls Reserves next Sunday, May 6.

Now in its third year, the Reserve Division is a key component of Major League Soccer's drive to develop the stars of tomorrow in a professional, competitive atmosphere. All teams will compete in a single table with a $20,000 team bonus awarded to the team that finishes the season at the top of the table. Real Salt Lake will be looking to build upon a solid 2006 Reserve Division campaign in which it finished tied for third alongside Houston with 21 points and a 6-3-3 record, which placed six points behind division champion Colorado.

Following are some of the rules and regulations for the 2007 MLS Reserve Division:

• Each team will play 12 games (6 home and 6 away).
• A total of 20 eligible players for the home team and 20 players for the visiting team may be placed on a club's game roster for any Reserve Division game with each team permitted to make up to six (6) substitutions. Suspensions attributable to yellow and red cards issued in Reserve Division games shall only be imposed for future Reserve Division matches and not for games during the MLS regular season. Conversely, suspensions attributable to yellow and red cards issued during MLS regular season games shall not apply to Reserve Division matches.
• Any player who receives four yellow cards during the Reserve Division season shall be suspended from the next Reserve Division game in which he may appear.
• No Player shall play more than 120 minutes in a Reserve Team match and any preceding match(es) that occur within a 60 hour period. Injury time is not considered a part of a player's maximum number of minutes played (e.g., if a player enters a game at halftime and the referee adds two minutes of stoppage time to the end of the second half, the player will be considered to have played 45 minutes since the two minutes of stoppage time is essentially added to make up for 'lost' time).
• A Reserve Division call-up or "Guest Player" with an MLS team may be eligible to appear in an MLS Reserve Division Game provided that he is properly registered with U.S. Soccer.

For up-to-date MLS Reserve Division statistics and standings throughout the 2007 season, visit www.MLSnet.com and click on the "RESERVE DIVISION" link on the left side of the home page.

Directions to Quinn's Junction in Park City (from Salt Lake City):

Travel east on I-80 towards Park City/Cheyenne and exit at U.S. Highway 40 (Exit 146). Take U.S. 40 south and take the second exit - Kearns Boulevard. Take a right onto Kearns after exiting and then take the first right turn into the Quinn's Junction complex.

2007 Real Salt Lake Reserves Schedule

Real Salt Lake Amends Training Schedule

Real Salt Lake has announced a change to the remainder of the week's training schedule, as the club has cancelled its previously scheduled training session set for this Friday, April 27 in Orem. The club will take to the Rice-Eccles Stadium field both days this weekend at 1:30 p.m. MT to conclude preparations for its Rocky Mountain Cup opener against the Colorado Rapids on Monday, April 30 at Rice-Eccles (7:00 p.m. MT).

All practices are open to media members. All times and locations are subject to change.