RSL's Morales to welcome former roommate, Red Bulls to SLC


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SANDY — Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales will warmly welcome back former roommate of four years Jamison Olave before Wednesday night’s match at Rio Tinto Stadium.

As soon as World Cup veteran referee Mark Geiger blows his whistle, though, it will be all business.

Olave, Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls will invade the Wasatch Front on Wednesday for a rare nationally televised game in Utah, and RSL hopes to string together back-to-back wins for the first time since May 17.

“On the pitch, we play against the Red Bulls and we need three points,” Morales said after last week's 3-1 win over the Montreal Impact. “Jamison is a good friend, he did a lot for the club, but Wednesday, we want to beat them.”

Olave will be making his first trip back to Utah since RSL traded him on Dec. 3, 2012. The big Colombian defender helped his team earn a 4-3 win in the two sides’ lone 2013 meeting at Red Bull Arena.

“It’ll be a little different,” Morales said with a laugh. “The last time I played against him, he got me from behind. I hope it doesn’t happen again.”


On the pitch, we play against the Red Bulls and we need three points. Jamison is a good friend, he did a lot for the club, but Wednesday, we want to beat them.

–RSL midfielder Javier Morales


RSL will also welcome back former assistant coach Robin Fraser, who is now the top assistant to New York head coach Mike Petke.

“The guys have awesome relationships with those guys,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar said of Fraser and Olave. “It’ll be nice, but it’ll also bring out the competitive juices with us. That’s something we’re looking forward to.”

The match, which will be broadcast on ESPN2 with a 7 p.m. MT kickoff, will be RSL’s first regular-season broadcast on the worldwide Leader since 2011.

“It shouldn’t be this way, but it’s special when it’s nationally televised,” RSL defender Nat Borchers said after practice Monday. “We don’t get that many nationally televised games. We play the best soccer in the league, and we play the best product, but we are never on. It’s definitely good to show our brand off to the rest of the league.”

Contributing: Jeremiah Jensen

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