Real Salt Lake (0-3-6, 6 pts.) will end a 12-day break from MLS play this Thursday, June 14, when the squad will host Western Conference leader FC Dallas (6-5-1, 19 pts.) for their third and final match-up of the 2007 regular season. The conference showdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium is slated for a 7:00 p.m. MT kick-off and can be followed live on ESPN2's nationally televised broadcast and locally via radio partners KALL-AM 700 "The Zone" (English) and "La Bonita" KXTA-AM 1600 (Spanish). Tickets for the contest are available by visiting the club's official website, www.RealSaltLake.com, or by calling 801-924-8585. Real Salt Lake will be looking to even up the 2007 series against the "Hoops", which Dallas leads 1-0-1 after gaining a last-second, 3-3 draw in this year's season opener on April 7 at Rice-Eccles and downing RSL 2-1 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, on May 20. RSL enters Thursday's contest trailing the all-time series with FC Dallas by a 2-7-1 margin, which includes a 2-2-1 record in games contested on the Wasatch Front.
RSL Welcomes ESPN2 for Lone "MLS Primetime Thursday" Visit of 2007
Real Salt Lake is hoping to have a loud-and-proud crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium for Thursday's contest against FC Dallas, as the squad will host its lone home appearance on the "MLS Primetime Thursday" featured match of the week on ESPN2. The contest against FC Dallas will mark RSL's second appearance on "MLS Primetime Thursday" this season, as the Utah side visited the new Dick's Sporting Goods Park on May 10, where RSL dueled to a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids in a Rocky Mountain Cup showdown.
Real Salt Lake and ESPN are teaming up to provide fans with a special ticket offer for this Thursday's game, featuring two East side tickets and two ESPN "MLS Primetime Thursday" T-Shirts for just $40. For more information on how to secure seats for this special night of soccer at Rice-Eccles Stadium, please call the Real Salt Lake offices at 801-924-8585 or click on the "TICKETS" link at the club's official website, www.RealSaltLake.com.
RSL and Unita Golf to Host "World's Fastest Golfer" Thursday Night at Rice-Eccles
Fans at the Real Salt Lake-FC Dallas showdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday night won't want to blink during halftime, as RSL and Unita Golf will host David "Ogie" Ogron - aka "The World's Fastest Golfer" - for a special appearance at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Thursday's visit to Salt Lake City will mark Ogron's latest stop on his "Miracle Golf Tour," which takes him around the world to events in an effort to raise funds for Airline Ambassadors Charities, which focuses primarily on benefiting pediatric cancer patients and research. The "King of Swing" owns a handful of Guinness Book of World Records for his speedy feats, including the most golf balls hit in 24 hours (10,392), 12 hours (6,971), and one hour (2,438). For more information on "Ogie" and his cause, please visit www.MiracleGolfTour.com.
RSL Spans the Galaxy, Heads to Los Angeles on Sunday
A two-match week for Real Salt Lake will conclude this Sunday, June 17, when RSL heads to Southern California for the first of three meetings in 2007 against the Los Angeles Galaxy (1-4-3, 6 pts.). Kick-off from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. is set for 6:00 p.m. MT, with coverage on Fox Sports Net - Rocky Mountain beginning with a 30-minute pre-game show at 5:30 p.m. Real Salt Lake can even up the all-time series against the Galaxy on Sunday, its 3-4-1 record against Los Angeles including a 3-0 triumph in SoCal last May 13 that marked RSL's first win of the 2006 campaign and its first-ever road victory, breaking a stretch of 19 winless away contests to start off the Utah side's history across 2005-06.
Real Salt Lake Schedule: June 12-18
All times and locations are subject to change. Please contact the RSL Communications Department to confirm times, venues and media availability.
Tue., June 12 Training at Rice-Eccles Stadium 10:00 a.m.
(Practice CLOSED to media)
* Media availability 11:45 a.m.
Wed., June 13 Training at Rice-Eccles Stadium (Practice OPEN to media) 10:00 a.m. * Media availability 11:45 a.m.
Thu., June 14 Real Salt Lake vs. FC Dallas 7:00 p.m. Rice-Eccles Stadium Live on ESPN2
Fri., June 15 OFF DAY
Sat., June 16 Training TBD; Depart for Los Angeles TBD
Sun., June 17 Real Salt Lake at Los Angeles Galaxy The Home Depot Center 6:00 p.m. FSN - RM coverage begins 5:30 p.m.
Mon., June 18 Return to Salt Lake City; OFF DAY
Drive on Over to Jerry Seiner Coach's Show on Tuesday With Chris Seitz, Ritchie Kotschau
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis will be joined by up-and-coming goalkeeper Chris Seitz and the team's latest addition, veteran defender Ritchie Kotschau, for this Tuesday's edition of the "Jerry Seiner RSL Coaches Show" on KALL-AM 700 "The Zone". As always, the radio voice of RSL, Bill Riley, will host the show on location from 6:00-7:00 p.m. MT at the Iceberg Café at the Jerry Seiner Downtown Salt Lake GM Dealership, located at 1530 S. 500 West in Salt Lake City. RSL fans are cordially invited to Jerry Seiner's to ask their questions directly to Coach Kreis, take on an RSL guest in FIFA 2007 on X-Box 360, and enjoy a delicious dinner at the Iceberg Café.
RSL Rewind: Kreis and Eskandarian Collect Firsts in 1-0 Win over China
Real Salt Lake FW Alecko Eskandarian scored his first goal in an RSL uniform and GK Chris Seitz showed well in helping the RSL defense notch its third straight clean sheet, both of those feats helping Real Salt Lake to a 1-0 victory over the Chinese Men's National Team last Thursday in an international friendly at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The win marked the first victory for RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis, who had gone 0-2-4 in his first six contests at the helm in League and Open Cup play. Seitz held off a strong start for the visitors from China, making six of his seven saves during the first half, while Eskandarian scored his initial RSL tally on the doorstep in the 80th minute, the result pushing RSL's all-time record against international opponents to 3-2-1.
RSL Offers Another Tie... Perfect for Father's Day!
While ties on the soccer field can be seen as a good and a bad thing, everyone can agree that this week's Real Sports "Item of the Game" - a Real Salt Lake necktie - will be a winner! A perfect gift for the upcoming Father's Day, fans can purchase their RSL necktie this week for just $25 at either Rice-Eccles Stadium during Thursday night's RSL-FC Dallas clash, or at the Real Sports kiosk at Fashion Place Mall in Murray, where several other pieces of new RSL merchandise and tickets for all RSL games are always available.
Election 2007... Vote RSL for 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game!
Major League Soccer fans are invited to pick the 11 players they would like to see take on Scottish Premier League Champions Celtic FC in the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Game. Official online balloting remains open at the league's official website, www.mlsnet.com, giving fans the chance to vote for the MLS All-Star First XI that will take on legendary Scottish side Celtic FC in this year's game. Among those in the running for a spot in MLS's starting squad are a dozen representatives from Real Salt Lake:
GK - Nick Rimando
GK - Chris Seitz
DF - Willis Forko
DF - Eddie Pope
DF - Jack Stewart
DF - Danny Torres
MF - Freddy Adu
MF - Mehdi Ballouchy
MF - Chris Klein
MF - Carey Talley
FW - Alecko Eskandarian
FW - Atiba Harris
Fans can vote for the All-Star First XI online at www.mlsnet.com by selecting up to one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Fans can vote up to 10 times per day. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on Monday, June 25, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players and media each holding 25 percent of the vote to combine for the remaining 75 percent.
The announcement schedule for the 2007 Sierra Mist MLS All-Star Team is as follows. Dates are subject to change.
June 25 - MLS All-Star Coach (coach of the team with the most points per game as of June 25) will be announced. The standard MLS tiebreakers will determine the coach if two or more teams are tied.
July 5 - The All-Star First XI will be announced.
July 10 - The complete MLS All-Star roster will be announced. Five players will be selected as reserves by the head coach and two will be selected by MLS commissioner Don Garber.
