Real Salt Lake Hoping To Bounce Back Against LAFC
Mar 22, 2019, 4:29 PM
Real Salt Lake celebrate their second goal during Los Angeles FC's MLS Western Conference Knockout match against Real Salt Lake at the Banc of California Stadium on November 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Real Salt Lake won the match 3-2 (Photo by Shaun Clark/Getty Images)
(Photo by Shaun Clark/Getty Images)
SANDY, Utah – After losing to D.C. United 5-0 last week, Real Salt Lake is hoping to pick up a road win against LAFC, a rematch of the Western Conference Knockout Round last season. RSL won that match 3-2 on the road.
Defender Aaron Herrera has made 18 appearances for Real Salt Lake since his debut in 2018. While he prefers to play the position of right-back, he has been asked to switch sides and play at the left back position. The transition has been a big adjustment for the young defender, but his perseverance and work ethic have helped him along the way.
The 2019 season was off to a sensational start for Herrera, after the Week 2 game against the Vancouver Whitecaps, which he made five tackles and had two interceptions, Herrera was awarded with his first MLS Team Of The Week (TOTW) selection.
A Turn For The Worse
In professional sports, as is often the case, younger player(s) often have a hard time with consistency. Herrera is no exception.
During Real Salt Lake’s Week 3 game against D.C. United, Herrera had a number of turnovers, with one error leading to a D.C. United goal.
Herrera addressed the previous two weeks and how he intends on bouncing back this weekend against LAFC.
The last two weeks have been a roller coaster ride for @aaronherrera_22, who looks to bounce back into form this weekend against LAFC. pic.twitter.com/ehMXhJojkd
— Tom Hackett (@TomCantHackett) March 21, 2019
LAFC Up Next
Real Salt Lake will travel to Los Angeles and face the very talented and explosive, Carlos Vela led, LAFC team.
RSL will be without Albert Rusnak, Corey Baird and Sam Johnson due to International duty. Marcelo Silva and Jefferson Savarino will both be unavailable after picking up red cards in the game against D.C. United.
LAFC will be without a few familiar faces as well, Mark-Anthony Kaye and Dejan Jakovic will both represent Canada, Marco Urena, Omar Gaber and Laurent Ciman will represent Costa Rica, Egypt and Belgium respectively.
They have wins over Sporting Kansas City and the Portland Timbers already this season. This past weekend they drew with NYCFC away from home at Yankee Stadium and currently sits in second place in the Western Conference.
Coming home with a point.
Join us: https://t.co/DVpdE6GZ05 pic.twitter.com/FkcbzdzFlZ
— LAFC (@LAFC) March 18, 2019
The History
The last time these two teams met at Banc Of California Stadium was for the Western Conference Knockout Round, when Real Salt Lake stunned the hosts and escaped with a 3-2 victory.
Damir Kreilach scored a brace that included the famous “crane” volley, a goal that will go down as one of the best in Real Salt Lake history.
Damir Kreilach and his crane kick lead @realsaltlake to a stunning 3-2 upset of LAFC in the knockout round of the @MLS Cup Playoffs. #RSLvsLAFC #RSL #MLSCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5RGL3Gots0
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) November 2, 2018
The LAFC vs. RSL match will kickoff at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday and can be streamed on sports.ksl.com and the KSL TV app.
