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SANDY — Real Salt Lake played arguably its best first half of 2023 so far on Wednesday and avenged last week's disappointing 3-2 home loss to advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals with a 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy.
"It's huge. You're always playing for something, competing for a trophy," Rubio Rubin said. "The Open Cup is a special tournament. We have two more games and we, obviously, want to get the trophy this year."
LA is known for its star-studded rosters, but it was RSL whose stars shone brightest in front of their home fans. Captain Damir Kreilach had two goals in the first half and Jefferson Savarino sealed the win with a third goal just after halftime to all but assure RSL's place in the final four.
It was RSL's first home match of the tournament after starting off its run with three-straight road wins. Next up will be the semifinals against the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 23. It's the first semifinal appearance for RSL in the Open Cup since 2015 and the third overall in team history.
The match still had its fair share of drama, as Open Cup games are known to have, including a penalty for each team and a pair of quick goals in the final 10 minutes from the Galaxy to keep the fans at America First Field on their toes.
Douglas Costa makes it 3-2 in the 84th 😨😨😨 pic.twitter.com/GkEpFHuFOA
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) June 8, 2023
RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni brought on a pair of defensive-minded subs in Bode Hidalgo and Jasper Loffelsend to try and keep the Galaxy run from escalating any further, and it paid off, even with a generous seven-minute stoppage time period to account for.
The win marked RSL's first home victory in all competitions since April 22.
"It's been weighing heavy on us, you know, not getting results at home that we like," Mastroeni said. "A lot of Open Cup matches, there's not a lot of crowd in some of these venues. And what's special about the AFF is the passion, the stadium is full. Credit to John Kimball and his staff for filling up the stadium; it means a lot to the players.
"I think the game of football is played with passion and emotion, and the conduit to all that are the fans, and you want to do everything you can to put forth a very nice performance."
RSL will remain at home this week to take on New York City FC in MLS play on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MDT.
