34 reasons to travel to an RSL match, home or away, in 2015


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SANDY — There are plenty of reasons to attend a Real Salt Lake match in 2015: to see how second-year head coach Jeff Cassar fares in his sophomore season, or to see World Cup veterans Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando (who also happens to be Major League Soccer’s all-time shutouts leader).

Need more reasons? KSL.com compiled 34 reasons why you should go to an RSL match in 2015 — one for every game on the schedule.

March 7 at Portland: Former central defender Nat Borchers moved to Portland in the offseason, and his RSL teammates get a chance to visit him at Providence Park in the season opener.

March 14 vs. Philadelphia: It’s the home opener at Rio Tinto Stadium, and in mid-March against the starting goalkeeper for the Algerian national team in Rhais Mbolhi and the Union.

March 29 vs. Toronto FC: U.S. men’s national team standout Michael Bradley and one-time RSL assistant coach Robin Fraser make their only appearance against RSL in this East-West matchup in RSL’s first of three Sunday home games.

April 5 at San Jose: The Earthquakes are opening an 18,000-seat, $100 million stadium in 2015, and RSL gets the chance to test its natural grass surface in the early weeks of the season against Chris Wondolowski and his crew.

April 11 at Sporting Kansas City: It’s a re-match at the site of the 2013 MLS Cup final, which Kansas City won in an extra round of penalty kicks. Enough said.

April 18 at Vancouver: The last time these two teams met in Sandy, there were late fireworks courtesy of Darren Mattocks’ controversial equalizer and a scuffle on the Rio Tinto pitch.

April 25 at New England: The Revs are the defending MLS Cup runners-up, Eastern Conference champions who boast rising U.S. star Lee Nguyen, German-American international Jermaine Jones and a host of young talent similar to RSL’s side in its MLS Cup-winning 2009 season.

May 1 vs. San Jose: It’s your first of only two chances to watch Real Salt Lake on a Friday night. Get a date, and impress him or her with your soccer knowledge.

New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis, shown with director of football operations Claudio Reyna and chief business officer Tim Pernetti, will make his return to Rio Tinto Stadium on May 23 after exiting the club in 2013. (AP photo)
New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis, shown with director of football operations Claudio Reyna and chief business officer Tim Pernetti, will make his return to Rio Tinto Stadium on May 23 after exiting the club in 2013. (AP photo)

May 6 vs. L.A. Galaxy: Landon Donovan is gone, retired from professional soccer, but the Galaxy still boast Irish international Robbie Keane and American standout Omar Gonzalez for a series that is fast becoming one of the top rivalries in the Western Conference. May 9 at Chicago: RSL has three games in nine days, including this road match in the Windy City, so no one blames you if you are tired by now. But just imagine how the players feel at this point?

May 16 at Montreal: There’s no Marco DiVaio in this one, but there are few greater road trips to eastern Canada than Montreal, a city with history, culture and a linguistic mecca.

May 23 vs. New York City FC: Circle this one on your calendars, RSL fans; former coach and RSL legend Jason Kreis makes his first-ever return to Rio Tinto Stadium with former RSL players Ned Grabavoy, Sebastian Velasquez and Chris Wingert — as well as Spanish striker David Villa. Premier League standout Frank Lampard probably would be there, but there are plenty of other storylines for the 2015 expansion outfit.

May 27 at L.A. Galaxy: After four trips to Los Angeles in 2014, RSL only gets one chance to visit the City of Angels in 2015 for this date with the Galaxy. MLS’s second L.A. team, Chivas USA, was contracted the week after the regular season, and Los Angeles FC is set to begin play in 2017.

May 30 at Vancouver: RSL makes its first visit to the Pacific Northwest since the opening week of the season for a visit to the massive, 54,320-seat BC Place (21,000 for soccer).

June 7 vs. Colorado: If you don’t want to drive to Rio Tinto Stadium for this Sunday afternoon affair in the Utah summer sun, you can watch the first-ever live MLS match on ESPNews at 3 p.m. MDT.

June 21 vs. Sporting KC: With Kansas City moving back to the Western Conference for 2015, RSL gets two chances to build up this burgeoning rivalry against U.S. central defender Matt Besler and company.

June 24 at New York: Former RSL assistant coach Robin Fraser has moved on from New York, and new Red Bull coach Jesse Marsch will try to stave off former Red Bull defender Jamison Olave and his new-old team in the only meeting between the two sides in 2015.

June 27 vs. Columbus Crew SC: RSL was the only team to go undefeated against the Eastern Conference in 2014, and the new-look Crew will try to get revenge after a half-reserves lineup won in Ohio a year ago.

July 4 vs. Orlando City SC: The second expansion club to visit the Wasatch Front in 2015, there will be fireworks on the pitch in Orlando with designated player and Brazilian legend Kaka — and a postgame fireworks show for those who stay through the end of the 9 p.m. MDT kickoff.

July 12 at Colorado: RSL makes its first return trip in the Rocky Mountain Cup series with its shortest road trip of the year to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park near Denver.

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July 18 vs. Houston: Former Chivas USA standout Cubo Torres will join U.S. star Demarcus Beasley and the Dynamo after spending part of 2015 with Chivas de Guadalajara in Liga MX. July 24 vs. Sporting KC: More fireworks in July? The annual Pioneer Day matchup and second of two Friday night games gives fans a reason to stay up for another late 9 p.m. MDT kickoff.

Aug. 1 at D.C. United: Ben Olsen’s team won the Eastern Conference regular-season crown in 2014, and returns most of its squad, including former RSL striker Fabian Espindola, in a rematch of the 2013 U.S. Open Cup final.

Aug. 8 at Vancouver: If you didn’t make the B.C. trip the first time, you get another chance here.

Aug. 15 vs. Portland: RSL welcomes former fan-favorite Will Johnson back to Rio Tinto Stadium, and Nat Borchers will play his first game against RSL wearing an opponent’s colors since 2005.

Aug. 22 vs. Seattle: RSL only draws two meetings against West rival Seattle, and new general manager Garth Lagerwey and the Sounders make the trip to Salt Lake City for the first one.

Aug. 29 at FC Dallas: If a humid summer day in Dallas doesn’t sound appealing to you, remember that the Hoops’ home stadium in Frisco, Texas, is located 26 miles from north Texas’ largest city.

Sept. 12 at Houston: Sticking in the Lone Star State, RSL plays its second of two games against the recently relocated Western Conference outfit.

Sept. 19 vs. L.A. Galaxy: RSL’s annual playoff push begins with a team it knows well in the third and final matchup between the two teams in the 2015 regular season.

Sept. 27 at San Jose: RSL returns to the Bay Area to see just how the Earthquakes’ new “cloud-enabled” stadium has held up in its inaugural season.

Oct. 3 at Colorado: For most of the past four seasons, the Rocky Mountain Cup has been clinched by one team heading into the final game of the series. Will 2015 be any difference?

Oct. 14 vs. Portland: Did you miss Johnson and Borchers the first time? Don’t worry; you have another chance in this Wednesday night affair.

Oct. 17 vs. FC Dallas: From hot and humid in Frisco to cold and potentially snowy in Sandy. Sounds like a fair exchange between RSL and the Hoops.

Oct. 25 at Seattle: RSL wraps up the regular season the same way it started: on the road in Cascadia country, this time against the rave-green Sounders and a former general manager.

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