DC United vs. Real Salt Lake | MLS Match Preview

MLSsoccer staff

D.C. United vs. Real Salt Lake
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
August 1, 2015 (MLS Game #214)
7 pm ET (MLS LIVE, CSN-Washington, KMYU)

D.C. United and Real Salt Lake face off in an interconference match when the clubs meet for the only time this season Saturday evening at RFK Stadium. United sit atop the Eastern Conference and in a tie for the Supporters’ Shield leadership after their come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Union last weekend at RFK Stadium. Real hit the road sitting three points out of the final playoff position in the Western Conference, following a second consecutive win in a 2-1 defeat of Sporting Kansas City last weekend at Rio Tinto Stadium.

D.C. United overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Philadelphia Union 3-2 in their last game. A game-winning goal from Fabián Espíndola in the 79th minute capped the comeback sparked by goals from Álvaro Saborío, making his United debut, and Nick DeLeon.
Real Salt Lake topped Sporting Kansas City 2-1 last weekend in a Western Conference clash. Goals from Javier Morales and Joao Plata were enough for the victory over the then-Supporters’ Shield leaders.
It’s the first meeting between the two teams this season. The last time they met, Real Salt Lake won in a 3-0 rout on Aug. 8, 2014, on a goal from Plata and two from Chris Shuler, all coming in the first 24 minutes.
RSL are coming into the game on their first two-game winning streak since late March, early April, yet they still sit just outside the playoff picture in seventh place with 29 points from 22 games. D.C. United are tied with FC Dallas in the Supporters Shield race with 38 points from 23 games – although FCD have two games in hand.
This will be the first game between the clubs since the July 16 trade that sent Luis Silva to Real Salt Lake and Álvaro Saborío to D.C. United.

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REFEREE: Baldomero Toledo. AR1 (bench): Jonathan Johnson; AR2 (opposite): Andrew Bigelow; 4th: Kevin Terry Jr.
Toledo MLS Career: 198 games; FC/gm: 25.1; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 72; pens: 71

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Perry Kitchen … RSL: Luke Mulholland
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DC: Bobby Boswell, Taylor Kemp, Davy Arnaud, Conor Doyle … RSL: Jordan Allen, Olmes Garcia, Tony Beltran
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (17 meetings): United 6 wins, 24 goals … Real 7 wins, 24 goals … Ties 4
AT RFK STADIUM (8 meetings): United 5 wins, 17 goals … Real 0 wins, 5 goals … Ties 3