SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — With their season on the line, Real Salt Lake heads into hostile territory on Saturday night, hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive in a must-win battle against a familiar rival- Minnesota United FC.
The sides played to their fifth straight draw on Tuesday night in Sandy, but Minnesota prevailed in a penalty shootout to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
Real Salt Lake’s Man of the Match had to be goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who kept his side in it with six saves, including a fantastic double stop in the 83rd minute to preserve the draw and push the match to penalty kicks. He then saved a penalty from Minnesota captain Michael Boxall in the shootout to give RSL an edge, but they failed to capitalize.
MacMath, with three shutouts in his last four matches, was not interested in taking any credit. Nor was he willing to admit that playing with an ever shuffling defensive lineup in front of him presents any sort of challenge.
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“Whoever is playing in front of me, my job is to give them as much information and help them as much as possible and I thought the back four did a great job defending,” he said after the match on Tuesday. “Whoever plays on Saturday — we’re ready and hopefully we can hold onto another shutout.”
Left-footed central defender Brayan Vera is eligible for selection after serving a three-match ban for spitting in the direction of Boxall when the sides faced off in a regular season match on Oct. 2. Vera’s return would give RSL a more stable back line, allowing breakout player Emeka Eneli to return to his natural midfield role — just in time for a match that demands control in the middle.
For fans, this match means everything — a win in Minnesota brings RSL back home for a decisive Game 3 on Friday night. For Real Salt Lake, the mission is simple: win and stay alive, or let their playoff dreams peter out in St Paul.
“We’ll give it our all,” said central midfielder Matt “Tree” Crooks after training on Friday morning. “Performances come and go but if you’re giving it 100% effort that’s all you can really ask for, so the lads are gonna give that and hopefully we can bring it home.”
Kickoff is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m. MT at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota. The match will be broadcast on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with RSL legend Brian “Dunny” Dunseth commentating alongside “Tio Max” Bretos.