Real Salt Lake announced Monday that the Major League Soccer side will play host to Mexican Primera División squad Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (U.A.N.L) - also known as Tigres - in an international exhibition on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Kick-off for what will serve as RSL's final exhibition contest during its tenure at Rice-Eccles Stadium is slated for 8:00 p.m. MT.
Tickets for the RSL-Tigres contest go on sale to the general public beginning Tuesday, August 12, at 12:00 p.m. MT at all UTIX outlets, by phone at (801) 581-UTIX, and online at www.utahtickets.com. Tickets for the contest are $30 (Corner/Goal), $45 (Premium) and $60 (VIP), with a $5 discount in each seating area applicable to each ticket bought as part of a group of 20 or more. RSL Royal Club members should use "Bonus Ticket A" from their season ticket package and will have an exclusive window to purchase additional seats for the contest lasting through the Tuesday noon public on-sale time.
U.A.N.L. will arrive in Utah in the middle of their 2008 Apertura (opening) campaign, the Monterrey-area based side currently sitting in second place in the Group 3 standings with an undefeated 2-0-1 record after tying Pachuca 0-0 in their opener and collecting wins at Chiapas (3-1) and, most recently, at home against Atlas (3-0) this past weekend. This year's Tigres squad includes several ties to the Mexican National Team - including manager and former El Tri boss Manuel Lapuente, midfielder Lucas Ayala, striker Francisco Fonseca, defender Diego Martinez, and former first-choice goalkeeper Oscar Perez - in addition to Tigres stalwart midfielder Javier Saavedra and standout Panamanian forward Blas Diaz.
Founded in 1960, U.A.N.L. has grown to become one of Mexico's most followed sides, proven by the by the fact that the team has led the Mexican First Division in attendance in each of the last 10 seasons, with more than 40,000 fans on average packing the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolas de los Garza, located in metropolitan Monterrey. Tigres has garnered a pair of Mexican Primera División (1977-78, 1981-82) and Mexican Cup (1975-76, 1995-96) championships in its close to 50-year history, and, in more recent years, collected titles in the InterLiga competiton in 2005 and 2006 that earned the squad entry into the prestigious Copa Libertadores tournament, Latin America's premier club competition.
Tigres will be the third Mexican top flight side to square off against Real Salt Lake in exhibition play, with RSL previously taking on Monarcas Morelia in July of 2006 and, more recently, Club Santos Laguna on July 9. The match against U.A.N.L. will mark Real Salt Lake's third international exhibition date in 2008, as RSL fell to Santos and Costa Rican power Deportivo Saprissa during friendlies contested in July. Those results brought Real Salt Lake's all-time record against international competition to an even 4-4-2 across its first four seasons of play.
REAL SALT LAKE ALL-TIME RESULTS VS. INTERNATIONAL OPPONENTS
Date Opponent Result
June 8, 2005 Universidad Catolica (Chile) 3-2 W
August 24, 2005 Harbour View F.C. (Jamaica) 1-1 T
July 19, 2006 Monarcas Morelia (Mexico) 1-3 L
*August 12, 2006 Real Madrid (Spain) 0-2 L
April 18, 2007 Fiji National Team 3-0 W
June 7, 2007 Chinese National Team 1-0 W
*July 21, 2007 Everton F.C. (England) 2-0 W
*July 24, 2007 Boca Juniors (Argentina) 1-1 T
*July 9, 2008 Club Santos Laguna (Mexico) 1-4 L
July 23, 2008 Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) 1-2 L
Sept. 3, 2008 U.A.N.L. (Tigres) (Mexico) 8:00 p.m. MT
* - Denotes XanGo Cup contest
