Real Salt Lake in must-win situation versus Rapids (Aug 26, 2017)
The Rocky Mountain Cup will be on the line when Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids square off on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. But Salt Lake has bigger fish to fry and more pressing goals than winning the season series with its rivals from the east.
Real Salt Lake still has an outside shot at the postseason, but cannot afford to falter at home against one of MLS's worst teams if it is going to make a final push for the playoffs.
RSL (9-13-5, 32 points) is coming off a romping 4-0 home win over San Jose on Wednesday that allow it to keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
With only seven games left in the season, Real Salt Lake is three points behind sixth-place Vancouver and one point behind seventh-place San Jose. Vancouver has three games in hand from RSL and San Jose has one, meaning Real Salt Lake's margin for error over the stretch run is even smaller.
"I can't predict the future, but I believe in this team, they believe in themselves and when they are confident and doing the things we asked of them and believing it, anything is possible, especially in a league like Major League Soccer," Real Salt Lake coach Mike Petke said after the win on Wednesday.
"We are going to need another performance like this on Saturday night. Every game from now on is a playoff game for us."
Real Salt Lake has lost just one of its past eight home games (4-1-3), with all four of those victories coming in shutouts. It started the season winning just one of its first five home matches (1-3-1).
"Things have finally started to work for us," RSL midfielder Albert Rusnák said. "Even two months ago we were playing very well but we weren't clinical enough in front of the goal. We didn't score the goals, but we created so many chances every game."
The Rapids will head to the Salt Lake City suburbs on the heels of a 2-1 loss at Portland on Wednesday in a game where they did show some attacking flair under interim coach Steve Cooke.
Colorado (6-14-4, 22 points) is tied with Minnesota United FC at the bottom of the Western Conference table for fewest points in MLS and is winless in its past seven matches. The Rapids have lost both outings since Cooke took over for Pablo Mastroeni on Aug. 19.
"It's one step at a time and right now it doesn't feel like a moment to pat ourselves on the back really," Cooke said after the loss at Portland. "The one thing about this group is that they're bitterly disappointed and they've put everything out there. They've worked as hard as they possibly could. They're absolutely devastated they haven't got something. But that's football. Sometimes it comes down to a couple of moments in the game."
The Rapids have scored just four goals on the road this season, the fewest in the league.
RSL has a chance to lift the Rocky Mountain Cup thanks to their 2-1 victory at Colorado on April 15 when Yura Movsisyan and Brooks Lennon scored in the final five minutes of the match to erase a Rapids' lead. The final match of the series will be played Oct. 15 in Colorado.
Real Salt Lake leads the overall series between the two sides 16-12-10 and has a 11-3-5 advantage in matches played in Utah.
