Another game, another clean sheet for Real Salt Lake, as Utah's MLS side put in a dominating performance overall en route to notching a 4-0 win over the University of Tampa in an exhibition contest at Pepin Stadium on the school's campus. RSL MF Alex Nimo would earn the eventual game-winner in the early going, while FW Luis Miguel Escalada, MF Will Johnson and FW Yura Movsisyan added a goal apiece in the second half, helping the Claret-and-Cobalt push their preseason record to 3-0-1. Goalkeepers Kyle Reynish and Steve Clark would pair up to notch Real Salt Lake's fourth shutout in as many contests to start the 2009 preseason, helping to push the team's scoring margin during the exhibition slate to 14-0.
RSL would dominate possession out of the gate and, for the second straight contest, would find its first goal in the 7th minute. It was a poorly cleared corner kick by MF Clint Mathis that fell into the path of Nimo, and the diminutive playmaker put his full weight behind a 20-yard, first-time strike that took a slight deflection before finding the back. Reynish would not be pressed into service much in his 45 minutes of action, but he did well to keep Tampa off the board in the 34th minute, leaping to tip a shot directly off a free kick from just outside the penalty area over the crossbar to keep RSL's defensive ledger this spring spotless.
Escalada would have a few chances on the evening go for naught as the hour mark approached, but his last touch in the 59th minute would be his finest. The Argentine striker cleaned up a loose ball inside the area, finishing from 12 yards out and doubling the RSL lead just prior to his planned exit one minute later.
RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis ended up with a fairly representative first-choice eleven on the field for the final half hour, and it showed as the ball found itself more and more in the visitors' final third. It was Johnson linking up with Movsisyan for RSL's third in the 80th minute, the duo working a give-and-go at the top of the area that resulted in a Johnson blast from 16 yards. The Spartans 'keeper did well to make the initial save but gave up a bouncing rebound, and Johnson followed his own play to score from the right edge of the six-yard box to push the RSL cushion to 3-0. Just four minutes later it was Movsisyan doing the honors with a solid blast into the far left side netting, finishing a quick build-up that included a run down the right flank by DF Chris Wingert and a nifty final pass by MF Andy Williams.
The match featured the return to competitive action for a pair of Real Salt Lake regulars suffering from recent injuries, as DF Nat Borchers and FW Robbie Findley would log the first and second halves, respectively. Also getting a run in was new trialist Carlos Salazar, a left midfielder from Colombia who joined the RSL camp earlier in the day.
Real Salt Lake will close down its Tampa-based camp with practices across the next two days at the University of South Florida before returning to Pepin Stadium for its third exhibition of the trip this Friday, Feb. 27, against Swedish first division side BK Hacken. Friday's exhibition contest, part of the University of Tampa's fifth annual Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival, is set for a 7:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. MT) kickoff.
Real Salt Lake 2009 Preseason Game #4
RSL @ University of Tampa
RSL 4 : 0 TPA
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Pepin Stadium, Univ. of Tampa - Tampa, Fla.
Scoring Summary:
RSL - Alex Nimo (unassisted) 7'
RSL - Luis Miguel Escalada (unassisted) 59'
RSL - Will Johnson (unassisted) 80'
RSL - Yura Movsisyan (Andy Williams, Chris Wingert) 84'
Discipline Summary:
None
Real Salt Lake Line-up (4-4-2): GK-Kyle Reynish (Steve Clark 46); DF-Brennan Tennelle (Andy Williams 60), DF-David Horst, DF-Nat Borchers (Jamison Olave 46), DF-Tony Beltran (Chris Wingert 60); MF-Clint Mathis (Raphael Cox 46) (Ian Joy 60), MF-Jean Alexandre (Kyle Beckerman 60), MF-Alex Nimo (Javier Morales 46) (Raphael Cox 78), MF-Raphael Cox (Carlos Salazar 30) (Will Johnson 60); FW-Luis Miguel Escalada (Yura Movsisyan 60), FW-Leonel Saint Preux (Robbie Findley 46)
Real Salt Lake 2009 Preseason Schedule (subject to change)
Feb. 2-14: Preseason Trip #1 to Oxnard/Ventura, Calif.
Sun., Feb. 8 - Real Salt Lake 0 : 0 Ventura County Fusion - Buena H.S.; Ventura, Calif.
Fri., Feb. 13 - Real Salt Lake 8 : 0 Shandong Luneng Taishan (China) - Oxnard College; Oxnard, Calif.
Feb. 18-28: Preseason Trip #2 to Tampa, Fla.
Sat., Feb. 21 - Real Salt Lake 2 : 0 Univ. of South Florida - USF Soccer & Track Stadium; Tampa, Fla.
Tues., Feb. 24 - Real Salt Lake 4 : 0 Univ. of Tampa - Pepin Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Fri., Feb. 27 - RSL v. BK Hacken (SWE) - Tom Fitzgerald Memorial Soccer Festival - Pepin Stadium @ Univ. of Tampa - 7:00 p.m. ET
March 1-3: Training in Utah (sites/times TBD)
March 4-15: Preseason Trip #3 to Charleston, S.C. - Carolina Challenge Cup
Sat., March 7 - RSL vs. D.C. United - 3:00 p.m. MT
Wed., March 11 - RSL vs. Charleston - 5:15 p.m. MT
Sat., March 14 - RSL vs. Toronto FC - 3:00 p.m. MT
Saturday, March 21: Exhibition contest - Opponent/Site TBD
