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SAN JOSE — There was no win on the road for Real Salt Lake in Northern California.
But a point is a point.
Salt Lake earned its fifth road point of the Major League Soccer season Saturday night, playing to a 0-0 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.
“If we want to play in the playoffs, you are going to have to get results on the road,” RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. “This was a big step for a lot of the young guys. This will give our whole team a lot of confidence, earning a point on the road.”
Nick Rimando earned his sixth shutout of the season for Real Salt Lake (9-9-4, 31 points), which earned three yellow cards — all on the team’s back line to defenders Marcelo Silva, Justen Glad and Brooks Lennon.
“You go home happy. You’re never satisfied; you always want three points,” said RSL assistant coach Freddy Juarez, who was filling in for head coach Mike Petke for the second of a two-match suspension. “But a zero away against a desperate team — a dangerous team — means we responded.
“It was a mixture of phases where we were attacking and defending. But the guys showed today a fight from the beginning to the end, and that was great to watch.”
San Jose (2-12-7, 13 points) outshot RSL 14-8, but put just three shots on frame against Rimando.
RSL standout Albert Rusnak left the match in the first 10 minutes, holding his neck and immediately retreating to the locker room after extensive medical evaluation. The Slovakian international complained of neck pain prior to the match and left after a non-contact injury, according to Real Salt Lake officials.
Damir Kreilach came off the bench early for Rusnak, and Real Salt Lake held the Quakes to just one shot on goal in a scoreless first half en route to the draw.
“It’s a huge credit to Damir,” Beckerman told the broadcast crew on the KSL TV app. “It’s not easy, to not be ready to play in the first half — but to come in and keep us moving along is big for everyone. Hopefully, it’s the start of good things to come.”
Next up:
Real Salt Lake hosts Chicago at 8 p.m. MT Saturday, Aug. 4. The match will be streamed live on KSL.com and the KSL TV app.
