Real Salt Lake vs.
LA Galaxy
Tuesday, July 14, 10 pm ET
Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Watch: youtube.com/ussoccer
SANDY, Utah - Real Salt Lake will look to legitimize what has so far been an otherwise disappointing season with a deep run in the US Open Cup tournament. The only problem is, the LA Galaxy are standing in the way.
The quarterfinal match-up Tuesday night will be between two teams who know each other very well. The Galaxy are bristling with confidence after a string of positive results and with their newest signing, Steven Gerrard, in the fold.
RSL are trending in a very different direction.
The Utah club is fresh off a heartbreaking result against their Rocky Mountain rival, the Colorado Rapids, where they gave up three unanswered goals in the space of 10 minutes after grabbing the lead late.
If RSL can best the Galaxy, they will be through to just their second US Open Cup semifinal in club history. The last time they made the semifinals in 2013, they beat the Portland Timbers to advance to the final before losing 1-0 at home to eventual champions D.C. United.
This tournament gives RSL a chance to change the narrative of their lackluster season.
“We’re three wins away from winning the Open Cup,” RSL head coach, Jeff Cassar said after practice Monday morning. “We can’t let anything in the past linger. It was five wins to win the cup when we started; we have three more to go. We can’t have any letdowns against the Galaxy.”
-- TYLER GRAY | More at RealSaltLake.com
Steven Gerrard surely expects to make his competitive debut for the LA Galaxy in Tuesday night's US Open Cup quarterfinal at Real Salt Lake, and it only makes sense for him to do so, but head coach Bruce Arena says those decisions won't be made until the team is in Utah.
Gerrard made his first Galaxy appearance on Saturday night, playing the first half of a 2-1 International Champions Cup victory over Mexico's Club America, and he needs more minutes to build toward his expected MLS debut Friday night at home against San Jose and becoming fully fit.
“It was very important that I got out there and got 45 minutes,” the English midfielder said following the America clash. “Hopefully, I get some more minutes Tuesday and be ready for the big game on Friday.”
Arena's response: “Well, we'll see. We'll figure it out.”
The Galaxy's first Open Cup quarterfinal since 2011 -- they last reached the final four in 2006 -- comes during a busy stretch, with an ICC game against Barcelona a week away and a trip to Houston the following weekend. Next week will be the fifth time in six weeks LA has played two games, and with three starters away at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, roster rotation has been vital.
“We have a lot of options, since we played [nearly everyone no more than] 45 minutes on Saturday,” Arena said Monday. “We have players who can play Tuesday and Friday, we know that. So we'll make those decisions when we arrive in Salt Lake City.”
The Galaxy are making the Open Cup a priority, now that they're among the final eight.
“I think we're at a point where it's gotten really important,” defender Dan Gargan said. “It's an opportunity for us to win some more hardware, and I think we can all see the finish line at this point. Some of the earlier[-round] games are tough to play in, and they're tough to get results. ... I think we all feel that there's a real opportunity to win a championship, and we're focused on that.”
-- SCOTT FRENCH | More at LAGalaxy.com
