Real Salt Lake opened the sixth annual Carolina Challenge Cup with a dominating 3-0 win over Major League Soccer rival D.C. United, with FW Luis Miguel Escalada, FW Yura Movsisyan and MF Andy Williams each finding the back of the net in the second half to improve RSL to a 4-1-1 preseason mark. Head Coach Jason Kreis' team plays its second game of the four-team, round-robin tourney Wednesday night at 5:15 p.m. MT against the host USL Division I side Charleston Battery, before closing the 2009 preseason against fellow MLS side Toronto FC on Saturday, March 14 at 3:00 p.m. MT.
Real Salt Lake entered tonight's game looking to recover from a pair of late game goals allowed eight days ago against Swedish first division club BK Hacken, which ended RSL's flawless defensive mark at 442 minutes in a 2-1 win. The RSL defense was certainly up to task, limiting the United opportunities to just a pair of shots from Clyde Simms and Fred in a choppy first half. RSL dominated possession in the initial stanza, utilizing rookie left winger Raphael Cox to open up the attack, with combination play by Javier Morales, Kyle Beckerman and Yura Movsisyan creating opportunities. However, the final pass or shot was lacking, as RSL rarely tested the United goal. A D.C. United red card was the highlight of the first half, with DF Dejan Jakovic coming in late on a challege as RSL DF Chris Wingert stormed up the left side. However, the teams entered the halftime break tied at 0-0.
Just four minutes into the second half, RSL benefited from the man-advantage, with Cox streaking up the left side deep into the corner, whipping a cross near-post to the head of claret-and-cobalt forward Escalada, who sent his shot across the face of the goal and inside the far post for a 1-0 lead. The ensuing minutes would see RSL continue to live in the United half, with Escalada, Movsisyan, Will Johnson, Tony Beltran and even center-backs David Horst and Jamison Olave moving forward to create near-opportunities.
In the games' 70th minute, Kreis made wholesale substitutions, bringing in Clint Mathis, Andy Williams, Robbie Findley, Nat Borchers and the recently-signed Ned Grabavoy. After winning the ball at midfield, Mathis provided the magic to open up the game, lofting a 35-yard ball over the top to spring Movsisyan in the box. RSL's 2008 Golden Boot winner finished the chance with the outside of his right foot to put RSL up 2-0.
It was the lone "RSL Original" Andy Williams that put the final coda on the night, orchestrating the attack in the final minutes, thrilling the crowd with his ball skills in tight space and spraying passes all over the pitch to Findley and new teammates Grabavoy and guest player Michael Osci. In the 88th minute, it was Osci dragged down at the top of the box on a breakaway by United defender Anthony Peters, who was issued the second red card of the night. Williams stepped up and curled a scintillating free kick over the wall, past a helpless, flat-footed 'keeper and into the opposite upper 90 to determine the game's final 3-0 margin.
Real Salt Lake 2009 Preseason Game #6
RSL 3 : 0 D.C. United
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Blackbaud Stadium - Charleston, S.C.
Scoring Summary:
RSL - Luis Miguel Escalada (Raphael Cox) 49'
RSL - Yura Movsisyan (Clint Mathis) 76'
RSL - Andy Williams 89'
Discipline Summary:
RSL - Kyle Beckerman (caution) 24
DCU - Dejan Jakovic (ejection) 35
DCU - Anthony Peters (ejection) 88
Real Salt Lake Line-up (4-4-2): GK-Chris Seitz (Nick Rimando 46); DF-Tony Beltran, DF-Jamison Olave (Nat Borchers 70), DF-David Horst, DF-Chris Wingert; MF-Will Johnson (Clint Mathis 70), MF-Kyle Beckerman (Jean Alexandre 70), MF-Raphael Cox (Andy Williams 70), MF-Javier Morales (Ned Grabavoy 70); FW-Luis Miguel Escalada (Robbie Findley 70), FW-Yura Movsisyan (Michael Osci 78)
D.C. United Starting Line-up (4-5-1): GK-Louis Crayton; DF-Bryan Namoff, Marc Burch, Dejan Jakovic, Greg Janicki; MF-Clyde Simms, Fred, Santino Quaranta, Ben Olsen; FW-Francis Doe, Luciano Emilio
Real Salt Lake 2009 Preseason Schedule
Feb. 2-14: Preseason Trip #1 to Oxnard/Ventura, Calif.
Sun., Feb. 8 - Real Salt Lake 0 : 0 Ventura County Fusion - Buena H.S.; Ventura, Calif.
Fri., Feb. 13 - Real Salt Lake 8 : 0 Shandong Luneng Taishan (China) - Oxnard College; Oxnard, Calif.
Feb. 18-28: Preseason Trip #2 to Tampa, Fla.
Sat., Feb. 21 - Real Salt Lake 2 : 0 Univ. of South Florida - USF Soccer & Track Stadium; Tampa, Fla.
Tues., Feb. 24 - Real Salt Lake 4 : 0 Univ. of Tampa - Pepin Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Fri., Feb. 27 - Real Salt Lake 1 : 2 BK Hacken (SWE) - Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival - Pepin Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
March 4-15: Preseason Trip #3 to Charleston, S.C. - Carolina Challenge Cup
Sat., March 7 - RSL 3 : 0 D.C. United - Blackbaud Stadium
Wed., March 11 - RSL vs. Charleston - 5:15 p.m. MT
Sat., March 14 - RSL vs. Toronto FC - 3:00 p.m. MT
Saturday, March 21: Exhibition contest - Opponent TBD - Rio Tinto Stadium, 12:00 p.m. MT
Saturday, March 28: 2009 RSL Season Opener @ Seattle Sounders FC - 8:30 p.m. MT
Thursday, April 2: Columbus Crew @ RSL - Rio Tinto Stadium - 7:00 p.m. MT
