As the road trip to Audi Field continues, the western portion begins for the Black-and-Red this weekend. First up, United travel to Utah to take on Real Salt Lake this Saturday, with game coverage beginning at 8:30 PM ET on NewsChannel 8 and CW Richmond. With another bye week behind them, United are still hungrily seeking their first away victory of the season, but are set to meet a Salt Lake side equally determined to pick up points as they return to Rio Tinto Stadium following two consecutive road losses.
Going after it collectively. United's road trip to @AudiField heads west, starting with Real Salt Lake. #DCUpic.twitter.com/cuquaNCDG1
— D.C. United (@dcunited) May 10, 2018
Saturday's game is United's first of four consecutive Western Conference matchups—the Black-and-Red travel to face Real Salt Lake, the San Jose Earthquakes, LAFC, and the Seattle Sounders all before mid-June. With such an important and challenging stretch of matches ahead, United are focused on putting together consistent, strategic performances in order to pick up as many points as possible prior to Audi Field's July 14 opener.
It's been nine months since the Black-and-Red last saw Real Salt Lake in a wild, two-part showdown in August 2017. After inclement weather struck in the 28th minute and forced the game to be delayed until the following day, United fell 1-0 to the visitors in Sunday's remaining action. The match still served as an important milestone, though—Paul Arriola and Bruno Miranda made their United debuts against Salt Lake.
Since last August's matchup, United continued to bolster their roster with young, energetic talents. Ulises Segura, Joseph Mora, Yamil Asad, Darren Mattocks, and Zoltán Stieber each may face Real Salt Lake for the first time in Black-and-Red come Saturday. Salt Lake have also added new contributors since the 2017 season, setting up for what will be much different positional matchups than fans saw in the teams' 2017 meeting. Damir Kreilach (one goal, two assists) and Corey Baird (two goals, one assist) each joined the Utah side in the offseason and have produced for their new club so far.
While United were shut out against Salt Lake last season and struggled to find the back of the net in numerous matches, the Black-and-Red have showed increased attacking prowess and flashes of their lethal potential at various points in 2018. United have scored in six of their seven matches this season, a stark contrast to the four shutouts they suffered in their first seven games of 2017.
Darren Mattocks leads the way with three goals, while Yamil Asad has added two and Luciano Acosta, Zoltán Stieber, and Ulises Segura have pitched in one each. Much of United's most promising attacking play continues to flow through Acosta, who has tallied three assists, with Asad and Paul Arriola also notching two assists each. The Black-and-Red's offensive production has improved vastly from last season, and the visitors will look to continue trending upward on the attack when they face a Real Salt Lake team that has conceded 19 goals in nine games.
With the attacking chemistry growing, United's back line will now look to put together their strongest 90 minutes of the year in Utah. An impressive defensive effort at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on April 14 saw a 10-man United side stave off waves of Columbus' attack for nearly 90 minutes to earn the 1-0 shutout victory, but the Black-and-Red were disappointed to then concede three goals to the Union in their last match. Saturday's game presents another opportunity to get back on track on the defensive side as the visitors go for their second shutout of the season.
United will need to remain especially weary of Albert Rusnák, the Slovakian Designated Player who has served as Salt Lake's primary playmaker. The forward has two goals and two assists on the year, but his impact up top extends beyond the stat line. The dynamic 23-year-old has a knack for distributing the ball in the final third and generating offensive creativity for his team—even if Rusnák is not scoring the goal or serving the assist, he is often a key piece in Salt Lake's best stretches of build-up play. Combined with Joao Plata (three goals), the Slovakian has remained one of Salt Lake's most influential pieces up top since joining the league in 2017.
With goalkeeping legend Nick Rimando also going for his 200th career Major League Soccer win on Saturday, the United-Salt Lake matchup puts three important points on the line for two sides itching for momentum. Tune in at 8:30 PM ET on NewsChannel 8 and CW Richmond to watch all of the action unfold.
