RSL picks up point in 1-1 road draw against FC Dallas

SANDY — Goals in the seventh and 70th minutes led Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas to a 1-1 stalemate Saturday in a clash between Western Conference playoff contenders in Frisco, Texas.

As those who have followed RSL this season could probably guess, the goal in the seventh minute was not scored by the Claret and Cobalt.

RSL was able to keep possession early but made the mistake of leaving Alan Velasco open in the box, and the 20-year-old Argentine slid one just past Zac MacMath. It was the 10th goal conceded by RSL in the opening 15 minutes this season.

The referee called for an RSL penalty kick in the 30th minute after the Dallas keeper made contact with Justin Meram on a punch out of the box, but VAR ended up overturning the call on the field and no penalty was given.

Jefferson Savarino got his best chance of the first half in the 35th minute on a laser from just outside the box, but the ball went straight at the keeper. Maikel Chang picked up the rebound and won a corner for RSL, but Dallas immediately won back possession on the set piece.

Possession was knotted at 50-50 between the two teams throughout the match — fitting for the eventual even result.

RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni said the heat and humidity were "palpable" in Frisco, leading to quicker exhaustion for both teams.

RSL elected for some early substitutes in the second half to try and spark a comeback, bringing on Rubio Rubin and Anderson Julio around the 60-minute mark to replace Sergio Cordova and Chang.

Julio was the first to make an impact just minutes after coming on with an aggressive drive into the box, but his near-post attempt was easily blocked by the keeper. The efforts paid off just minutes later as Aaron Herrera found Julio on a cross, and the super-sub headed it home for his second goal of the year to equalize 1-1 in the 70th minute.

Costa Rican national team member Bryan Oviedo made his debut for RSL in the final 10 minutes of the game as it looked to preserve its point on the road.

"Obviously, everyone wants to go, but I think there's been a lot of minutes being played from a lot of guys this year, in particular in more attacking roles," Mastroeni said of rotating in substitutes. "(It's) trying to find a good balance where we can continue with the type of chemistry I think that we had in this game and not losing that."

The Claret and Cobalt begin a two-game week on Wednesday when Minnesota United FC visits Rio Tinto Stadium at 7:30 p.m. MDT.

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