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PROVO, Utah — Real Salt Lake made the commute south to Provo Saturday afternoon to take on the Brigham Young University Cougars in a friendly exhibition match and came away with a 1-1 draw.
RSL was first to hit the back of the net and held the lead for the majority of the match off a first-half stoppage time goal by midfielder Will Johnson, but BYU didn’t give up before the final whistle.
The second half saw BYU play a lot of defense as RSL held the majority of the possession, but the Cougars weren’t about to give up the game, and BYU sophomore David Gates tapped one past RSL goalkeeper Kyle Reynish in the 89th minute to tie up the match and ultimately draw with RSL.
“It’s disappointing to give up a goal late in the game, but some players saw some minutes they hadn’t seen in awhile,” said RSL assistant coach Jeff Cassar. “We had plenty of opportunities to score and didn’t and credit to BYU, they hung in there and were able to push at the end and get a goal.”
Gates said his final-minute goal “just all kind of came together,” adding, “the whole game we had great opportunities, but we just weren’t able to connect in the net. I just made sure I stayed focused — skipped the keeper like I’ve practiced. It was just a great opportunity and a great feeling to get that goal at the last minute there.”
With 3,845 fans in attendance, BYU was happy to take a draw and just overall glad it had the opportunity to host RSL to finish up the Cougars' preseason.
“Obviously a huge opportunity for our guys,” said BYU men’s soccer head coach Chris Watkins. “We’ve done it a few times in the past, of course, but to get them at home once a year or so is a real honor for us, especially with how good they are. Right now they’re in the top of the league, and they’re an absolutely brilliant team, so it was a real honor for us to get them on our home field.”
The majority of the RSL roster traveled to Provo, but a few of the regulars didn’t see any minutes as head coach Jason Kreis gave a lot of players the opportunity to get minutes.
RSL midfielder Cody Arnoux, who’s battled injuries this season, was able to get back to training with RSL this week and saw the pitch again during the final 45 minutes. He was impressed by the Cougars.
“Kuddos to (BYU),” Arnoux said. “They played a good game, they came out and ran hard.”
RSL midfielder Sebastian Velazquez, who hasn’t seen a lot of minutes recently, also got on the pitch during the second 45 minutes and also was impressed with BYU.
“A great crowd, a great field and it was a great game,” Velasquez said. “(BYU) worked really hard. I think we had a couple chances we should have finished, and it was just a bit tough and then (BYU) came back and had a great chance and put it away. Soccer is about who scores the goals — it was a great game, a great effort by both teams.”
RSL will remain on break from MLS action until Saturday, when it will host MLS opponent FC Dallas at Rio Tinto.
Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
