All eyes are on Real Salt Lake.
Following a disappointing 1-0 loss to Nashville SC in the 2022 MLS opener, the Seattle Sounders are fully focused on the task at hand: picking up three points against RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday (3:08 p.m. PT; FOX 13+, Prime Video, iHeart Radio, El Rey 1360AM).
“Our club has not had a great record at RSL,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “Not at all. We will take it as we approach every other game. We’ll have a good game plan; we’ll go there to win. We’re not going there just to play for a draw.”
Away matches against the Utah side have been historically difficult for the Sounders. The Rave Green’s last win at Rio Tinto came during the 2012 playoffs. You have to go back even further to the 2011 season to find the last time Seattle picked up three points there in the regular season.
Numerous factors have led to Real Salt Lake’s dominance at home: the altitude, weather conditions, and a team that seems to relish turning their stadium into a fortress.
“It’s a place where I’ve been for five years so it’s a familiar place for me,” added midfielder Albert Rusnák, who joined the Sounders as a Designated Player from RSL in the offseason. “I know all about the possibility of playing in a snow game, and then the altitude and all those factors… We’re going there and I’m expecting a tough game, but we definitely have to perform better than we did against Nashville.”
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Throughout the past decade, there have been countless heated matches between the Sounders and Real Salt Lake, especially in the postseason. Saturday’s match serves as a bit of extra motivation for the Sounders, as the hosts eliminated Seattle from the 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on penalties at Lumen Field.
Rather than cast an eye toward the past, the team is focused on refining nuanced aspects of their playing style for the campaign ahead. With so much talent on the roster, the early phase of the season is all about securing results while developing their chemistry.
“Obviously we added some new pieces and bringing Nico \[Lodeiro\] and I back into the mix; we weren’t in a lot last year,” said winger Jordan Morris, who missed almost all of the 2021 season with an ACL injury after finishing 2020 as an MLS MVP finalist. “I think it’s going to take a little bit of time to get adjusted to each other… We know we have the quality to do it. We just have to show it when we’re out there. I think it’s coming along well but we know still have work to do.”
One additional bright spot for the squad is the return of João Paulo, who made his first start of the season against Nashville SC and went 65 minutes after missing most of preseason. With Seattle’s Brazilian midfield maestro back on the pitch, he should amplify the skillsets of the talented players surround him.
“JP is kind of the engine room, the brains of our team,” said Schmetzer. “He does a lot of good things for us. His defending is great, so [we are] very pleased.”
After this weekend’s match against Real Salt Lake, the Sounders will host Liga MX powerhouse Club León at Lumen Field in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 8. You can get your tickets HERE.
