Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution | MLS Match Preview

REAL SALT LAKE vs NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
RIO TINTO STADIUM, Sandy, Utah.
July 4, 2014 (WEEK 17, MLS Game #153)
8 p.m. MT (KUCW-30; CSN-NE)

Real Salt Lake will play host to their annual Independence Day festivities when they meet the New England Revolution Friday evening at Rio Tinto Stadium in a matchup of clubs looking to reverse recent skids. RSL have now gone five league games without a victory, following their 1-0 loss at Chivas USA last weekend. The Revolution have lost three games in a row, coming off a 3-1 home defeat by Philadelphia Union last Saturday evening.

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REFEREE: Allen Chapman. AR1 (bench): Corey Rockwell; AR2 (opposite): Alejandro Mariscal; 4th: Tyler Ploeger MLS Career: 39 games; FC/gm: 22.1; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 10; pens: 11
SUSPENDED: RSL: Luke Mulholland (through July 6) … NE: Andy Dorman (caution accumulation; through July 6)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: RSL: Nat Borchers, Alvaro Saborio, Chris Schuler, Tony Beltran, Luke Mulholland, Javier Morales … NE: Andy Dorman, A.J. Soares
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (16 meetings): Real 8 wins, 32 goals … Revolution 4 wins, 20 goals … Ties 4
AT SALT LAKE (8 meetings): Real 4 wins, 19 goals … Revolution 2 wins, 8 goals … Ties 2

LAST YEAR (MLS):
5/8: NE 1, RSL 2 (Guy 51 – Sandoval 77; Garcia 89)

• This is the only league meeting between the teams this season.
• The Revolution’s last victory vs. Real Salt Lake came in 2009. In the six meetings since, RSL has won five, with one draw, including a 2-1 victory at Gillette Stadium in last year’s lone match.
• RSL is undefeated in its last five home games vs. New England, dating back to 2008. Real have also won on their last three trips to Gillette Stadium.
• Coaches record: Jay Heaps vs. RSL: P2 W0 L2 T0 … Jeff Cassar vs. NE: first game

REAL SALT LAKE
Real Salt Lake had their winless run stretched to five games, dropping a 1-0 decision to Chivas USA on Saturday evening at StubHub Center. RSL are in a tie for second place in the Western Conference with 25 points from 16 matches.

LAST MATCH

• Real went a man down just nine minutes into the match when Luke Mulholland was sent off with a straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Martin Rivero in front of referee Kevin Stott.
• The game's lone goal came in the 35th minute, and it was beauty. Tony Lochhead served in a long cross from deep on the left flank and Erick Torres hammered a first-time right-footed volley from just inside the penalty area that thundered under the bar and to the back of the net.
• Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy was called upon to make two saves in recording his first shutout of the year.
• RSL head coach Jeff Cassar made three changes to the team that dropped a 3-1 decision to the Portland Timbers at Rio Tinto Stadium. Abdoulie Mansally came into the back four for Tony Beltran, Cole Grossman started in midfield in favor of Ned Grabavoy, and Robbie Findley came in up top in place of Olmes Garcia.
• REAL SALT LAKE (4-3-1-2): Jeff Attinella - Chris Wingert, Chris Schuler, Nat Borchers, Abdoulie Mansally (Olmes Garcia 73) - Luis Gil, Cole Grossman (John Stertzer 63), Luke Mulholland (ejected 9) - Javier Morales - Robbie Findley (Sebastian Velasquez 63), Joao Plata.

TEAM NEWS

• Real saw their winless streak extended to five games with the loss, with three defeats and two draws since their last win, the 2-1 win vs. Colorado on May 17. RSL has gone six games in all competitions without a victory.
• Real were also shut out at the attacking end for the third time in those five league matches. They’ve scored just two goals since a span of four matches where they hit for multiple goals in each, netting 12 goals (April 26-May 17).
• “We’ve lost three games this year, two of them we’ve given up red cards. It’s hard enough to win with 11, but with 10, especially early on, it’s very hard. So we’re going to learn from it, but the effort and the commitment from the guys and the fight was off the charts I think,” said RSL head coach Jeff Cassar. “Even to create several decent chances, and that’s what we talked about at halftime was we are going to get two or three chances, we knew we were, making sure we keep them off the board and we did that. Sometimes somebody’s got to step up and really put it in the back of the net and take some initiative.”
• A week after scoring his fourth goal of the season, Luke Mulholland was sent off after just nine minutes, and will be suspended for the New England game.
• “Hopefully, it's going to be a teaching lesson that these things put your whole team in a tough position,” Cassar said. “Rarely do you ever want to leave your feet and expose your cleats at the halfway line. If it's stopping a breakaway or a goal-scoring opportunity, OK, you can live with that. But the choice to leave your feet that early in the game under those circumstances, there's repercussions for that.”
• Cole Grossman returned to the starting lineup after coming off the substitutes’ bench vs. Portland, his fifth start in the last six games with Kyle Beckerman away with the U.S. national team.
• Robbie Findley made his first league start of the season, playing 63 minutes in partnership with Joao Plata in attack. Findley had made one substitute appearance of 25 minutes (May 24 vs. Dallas); he played 90 minutes in the Open Cup loss to the Atlanta Silverbacks, scoring RSL’s lone goal.
• “I saw a lot of great stuff from our midfielders and our backs and our strikers. Just the movement was really good, Javier [Morales] was active, Joao [Plata] was active. [Chris] Wingert and Abdoulie [Mansally] were getting up and down the line. [John Stertzer] and Cole [Grossman], you know, those guys were just getting the ball, playing it and moving into space,” said defender Nat Borchers. “When you’re forced to do that in games I think it brings out the best in guys.”

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
The New England Revolution dropping their third consecutive decision, falling 3-1 to Philadelphia Union on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 23 points from 15 games.

LAST MATCH

• Union took the lead through some good fortune in the 42nd minute. Sebastien Le Toux pounced on a weak back pass from New England’s Jose Goncalves, who headed toward ‘keeper Brad Knighton under pressure, and the Union striker popped it over the Revs shot-stopper from inside the box.
• The lead was doubled in the 69th minute when Michael Lahoud fed Cruz after clearing a corner, setting up the winger to dribble 60 yards before unleashing a blast from outside the top of the box that eluded the outstretched Knighton.
• The Revolution pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute, as substitute Saer Sene tapped home from close range with his left foot on a perfect cross into the goal area from Kelyn Rowe.
• But Union put the game away five minutes later. Racing forward on the counter attack, Andrew Wenger pulled back a rolling ball from the right edge of the area that Le Toux collected and snapped home for his second goal of the night.
• Revolution head coach Jay Heaps made one change to the team that dropped a 2-0 decision to the New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium. Brad Knighton came in between the posts in place of Bobby Shuttleworth.
• NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (4-1-4-1): Brad Knighton - Andrew Farrell, A.J. Soares, Jose Goncalves, Chris Tierney - Andy Dorman - Teal Bunbury (Kelyn Rowe 58), Daigo Kobayashi (Saer Sene 70), Lee Nguyen (Steve Neumann 80), Diego Fagundez - Patrick Mullins.

TEAM NEWS

• The Revolution saw their losing skid extended to three games, their longest of the season, and the club’s longest since losing five league games in a row July 29-Aug. 25, 2012.
• The Revolution also scored their first goal in three league games, putting an end to their goalless skein at 266 minutes with their first MLS tally since May 24.
• “Disappointing lack of finishing in the first half and I just thought, obviously, it was an awful goal to give away before half. So there’re a lot of things that go into a game, so there’s a lot of things that need to be looked at and it starts with me,” said Revolution head coach Jay Heaps. “You can say it was an off night, you can say it wasn’t our night but that’s the easy way out.”
• Saer Sene scored his first goal of the season, his first since last Sept. 28 when he netted against Houston. Sene was making his second consecutive substitute appearance after missing six consecutive matches.
• Making a fifth substitute appearance in the last six matches, Kelyn Rowe recorded his first assist of the season on the Sene goal.
• “Saer did a nice job of changing the game and getting us back into it. The second goal was really a dagger because I thought we were getting momentum,” said Heaps. “We were starting to play like we know how to play ... But after we made the subs, I thought those two guys in particular – and [Steve] Neumann, too – but the three of those guys really impacted the game and changed it.”
• Brad Knighton came in between the posts for his second league appearance of the season – both against Philadelphia Union. Knighton conceded three goals in each start, winning one and losing one.
• “We brought Brad (Knighton) in to compete with Bobby (Shuttleworth). We want to keep pushing each other and keep angling. I thought Brad looked really, really sharp in the Open Cup games and that’s what it’s there for,” said Heaps “… I think it’s always a tough conversation. I think Bobby’s been really good this year and I think this decision was more based on sharpness.”
• The Revolution have allowed multiple goals in four of their last five games, allowing 11 goals in that span after allowing just two goals in the previous five games.
• “I think the backline, we have enough experience to adjust ourselves each game. It was just a miscommunication,” said defender Jose Goncalves. “It’s difficult, in the last few games we concede some goals like this, a misunderstanding or communication and it’s something we have to better in, starting with myself.”