SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake conceded its third preseason game with a 2-1 loss today against the Chicago Fire at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., dropping its preseason record to 7-3-2 with three games remaining. RSL's lone goal today was notched by FW Atiba Harris, while the Fire's two goals were scored by MF Thiago and DF Dasan Robinson.
RSL started the first half with U.S. Men's National Team MF Chris Klein firing a shot on goal at Fire goalkeeper Zach Wells in the 4th minute. Just five minutes later, Klein's MNT teammate DF Eddie Pope took a shot on goal, but the ball sailed wide right in the 9th minute. </p>
The teams battled for possession for next 13 minutes, until the Fire saw their first chances on goal. Second-year Fire FW Chris Rolfe collected the ball off a corner kick and back-heeled it, but the shot was saved by RSL 'keeper Scott Garlick in the 22nd minute. Just four minutes later, Rolfe had Chicago's second opportunity of the half, firing a shot from 30 yards out and forcing Garlick to come out and make a save in the 26th minute.
The Fire kept up the pressure and had its third opportunity in the space of five minutes when MF Justin Mapp hit a shot from 12 yards out that went wide right in the 27th minute. The intensity of Chicago was evident when DF Leonard Griffin picked up the lone yellow card of the match in the 29th minute after committing a hard tackle on Harris.
In the 30th minute RSL threatened again, after a combination of passes saw MF Douglas Sequeira send a ball through to a streaking FW Jamie Watson. The Dallas, Texas native chipped the ball over Wells, but the ball hit the crossbar. It was RSL's fourth attempt on goal that would put it up 1-0 in the 42nd minute. 2006 MLS SuperDraft pick MF Mehdi Ballouchy received a pass and one-timed it across the field to Watson, who collected the pass and beat several Chicago players. Ultimately, Watson fed the ball to Harris, who slid it into the net for his second goal of the preseason.
With one minute left, the Fire would tie the game off a penalty kick taken by MF Thiago. The ball was served into the box from the right and it deflected around for a few seconds. The ball popped up into the air close to Harris who felt he was pushed into the ball forcing the referee to rule a hand ball.</p>
RSL had its final scoring chance in the 67th minute when DF Cameron Knowles sent a pass up the line to MF Joey Worthen. The Salt Lake City native beat Chicago's right back and crossed the ball into the box for MF Ryan Johnson, but Fire 'keeper Wells came off his line to make the save. The final goal of the game would fall to Fire in the 78th minute. A Chicago player crossed a ball into the box that was deflected by MF Gustavo Napoles and land at the feet of Robinson who put it in the back of the net. </p>
Scoring Summary:
RSL - Atiba Harris (Jamie Watson) '42
CHI - Thiago (penalty kick) '44
CHI - Dasan Robinson (Gustavo Napoles) '78
Real Salt Lake - Scott Garlick (Jay Nolly, 45); Chris Brown (Gustavo Cabrera, 45), Nelson Akwari (Cameron Knowles, 45), Carey Talley (Nikolas Besagno, 45), Danny Torres (Willis Forko, 45); Chris Klein (Kevin Novak, 45), Douglas Sequeira (Kenny Cutler, 45), Andy Williams (Christian Jimenez), Mehdi Ballouchy (Joey Worthen, 45); Jamie Watson (Adam Acosta, 45), Atiba Harris (Ryan Johnson, 45).
| Day/Date | Opponent/Event | Site | Result/Time (MT) | Record |
| Wednesday, Feb. 1 | Training camp begins | IMG Academy - Bradenton, Fla. until Friday, Feb. 17 | ||
| Tuesday, Feb. 7 | U.S. Amateur | IMG Academy - Bradenton, Fla. | W 4-2 | 1-0-0 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 8 | MetroStars | IMG Academy - Bradenton, Fla. | W 2-1 | 2-0-0 |
| Sunday, Feb. 12 | Columbus Crew | Spartan Stadium - Tampa, Fla. | L 0-1 | 2-1-0 |
| Tuesday, Feb. 14 | University of Central Florida | IMG Academy - Bradenton, Fla. | W 4-0 | 3-1-0 |
| Wednesday, Feb. 15 | Kansas City Wizards | IMG Academy - Bradenton, Fla. | W 2-1 | 4-1-0 |
| Friday, Feb. 17 | D.C. United | IMG Academy - Bradenton, Fla. | W 3-1 | 5-1-0 |
| Friday, Feb. 17 | Training camp continues | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. until Thursday, March 2 | ||
| Wednesday, Feb. 22 | Viborg FF (Danish Superliga) | Sunrise Hilton - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | L 1-2 | 5-2-0 |
| Friday, Feb. 24 | Florida International University | Sunrise Hilton - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | W 2-0 | 6-2-0 |
| Saturday, Feb. 25 | Houston 1836 | RRISD Athletic Complex - Austin, Texas | W 2-1 | 7-2-0 |
| Tuesday, Feb. 28 | Faroe Islands | Sunrise Hilton - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | T 1-1 | 7-2-1 |
| Monday, March 6 | Training camp continues | Salt Lake City, Utah until Sunday, March 12 | ||
| Saturday, March 11 | Columbus Crew | T 1-1 | 7-2-2 | |
| Thursday, March 16 | Final leg of training camp | Cal Poly Pomona - Pomona, Calif., until Friday, March 24 | ||
| Thursday, March 16 | Chicago Fire | Home Depot Center - Carson, Calif. | L 1-2 | 7-3-2 |
| Friday, March 17 | Los Angeles Galaxy Reserves | Home Depot Center - Carson, Calif. | 11:00 a.m. | |
| Sunday, March 19 | Chivas USA | Cal Poly Pomona - Pomona, Calif. | TBD | |
| Saturday, March 25 | University of Portland | Portland, Ore. | 8:30 p.m. | |
Second Annual Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival in Tampa, Fla.
REAL ELITE TRAINING PROGRAM: The Real Elite Training Program is a progressive summer training program for boys and girls ages 8-16 with previous playing experience and a strong desire to reach their maximum potential. There are a total of 18 sessions, three days a week, and two and a half hours per day. The benefits of the program include: exposure to the highest level of training; specializing in technique, tactic, fitness and teamwork; training from RSL soccer players and coaches; and two training shirts and ticket voucher to a select game. For more information, contact Teresa Nelson by phone at (801) 924-8565, by email at tnelson@RealSaltLake.com or by logging onto http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/MLS/rsl/player_development/.
MLS CAMPS: The Official Camp and Clinic of Major League Soccer is NOW the Official Camp & Clinic of Real Salt Lake! NEW for 2006, Fantasy Camp and focused Team Training experiences. To find out more about all of RSL's Youth Development Programs, call Scott Reynolds at (801) 924-8575 or by email at SReynolds@RealSaltLake.com. To partner with RSL to host MLS Camps in your community, call us today.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS FOR ENTIRE SCHEDULE ON SALE: RSL single-game tickets for the entire 2006 season schedule are officially on sale at the University of Utah Ticket Office, located at the Stadium's south end. Previously single-game tickets were put on sale only for the RSL home opener against the MetroStars on Saturday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. RSL single-game tickets prices for the 2006 season are $16 for north goal, $20 for corner flag, $27 for premier east and $32 for VIP west. Beginning in March, KFC's 35 restaurants in Utah will be the exclusive sponsor and distributor of $12 tickets in Sections E40 and E41, which will now be known as the KFC Colonel's Corner. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Utah Ticket Office at 451 South 1400 East, by logging onto www.utahtickets.com or by contacting the Ticket Office at (801) 581-UTIX.
PURCHASE THE NEW 2006 RSL "HIGH-FIVE" PACK: RSL latest ticket plan option, the "High-Five" pack, is now on sale. Fans can now purchase a premium level seat on the East side of Rice-Eccles stadium for five of the 2006 season games plus receive one RSL T-shirt and a full 3x5 ft. RSL Flag with the package ($30 value) for $125. The "High-Five" pack includes our Home Opener against the MetroStars on Saturday, April 15, and the ESPN2 broadcast games against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, April 29 and Rocky Mountain rivals Colorado Rapids on Saturday, May 27, and RSL's two Fireworks Spectaculars against Chivas USA on Tuesday, July 4 (Independence Day) and FC Dallas on Saturday, July 22 (Pioneer Day). You can purchase the "High-Five" pack by visiting the RSL Ticket Office at 515 South 700 East, #2R, SLC, UT 84102, by logging onto www.RealSaltLake.com or by contacting the Real Salt Lake Ticket Office at (866) 9-SOCCER.
2006 RSL SEASON, HALF SEASON AND FLEX TICKET PACKAGES ON SALE: The RSL 2006 season ticket package features 20 games, including all 16 MLS regular season games and four special bonus games. Real Salt Lake's season ticket pricing remains level with the 2005 prices, and consists of Youth (15 and younger) and Adult in five price levels. Prices for the 2006 season ticket packages are $200 adult ($180 youth) for the North Goal, $300 adult ($240 youth) for the Corner Flag, $400 ($320 youth) for East Sideline, $500 ($400 youth) for VIP and $1,000 ($1,000 youth) Club seats.
The 2006 half season plan features 10 games (to be announced once the MLS 2006 schedule is announced), including nine MLS regular-season games and one special bonus game. Real Salt Lake's mini-plan ticket pricing consists of Youth (15 and younger) and Adult in four price levels. Prices for the 2005 mini-plan season ticket packages are $130 adult ($110 youth) for the North Goal, $180 adult ($150) for the Corner Flag, $220 adult ($180 youth) for East Sideline and $300 adult ($230 youth) for VIP seats.
To add more options for fans, RSL is also offering the flex season ticket package, which is comprised of twenty vouchers of the same price category (North Goal, Corner Flag, Premium and VIP) that allows the purchaser to determine which games they would like to see in the regular reason and how many tickets needed for that game. Prices for the 2005 Flex Package are $280 for the North Goal, $340 for the Corner Flag, $440 for the East Sideline and $560 for the VIP seats. Tickets can be redeemed in the following way: one could use all the vouchers and bring 20 people to one game or 4 people could attend five games. Flex vouchers are discounted from the day of game pricing making it an even greater value.
All tickets can be purchased by visiting the RSL Ticket Office at 515 South 700 East, #2R, SLC, UT 84102, by logging onto www.RealSaltLake.com or by contacting the Real Salt Lake Ticket Office at (866) 9-SOCCER.
ACCESS REAL: Real fans can now receive up-to-date information on the team by signing up for the RSL Weekly Newsletter at the fans section of RealSaltLake.com.
