Real Salt Lake Sets Franchise Record In 4-3 Win Over Sporting KC
Jun 19, 2024, 8:57 PM | Updated: Jun 20, 2024, 11:02 am
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Real Salt Lake set a franchise record with the 4-3 win over Sporting KC at Children’s Mercy Park on Wednesday.
The club extended its MLS unbeaten streak to 15 games, breaking the previous single-season mark of 14.
RSL’s recent run of form has them comfortably sitting in the Western Conference’s top rank.
THAT’S 15 UNBEATEN GAMES #SKCvRSL | @SelectHealth pic.twitter.com/VXV3BsgIbg
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) June 20, 2024
RSL Avoids Late Scare To Beat Sporting KC On Road
It was an eventful first 45′ at Children’s Mercy Park.
After an early push from SKC, Real Salt Lake showed that they can still find the back of the net with Chicho Arango on the bench.
Andres Gomez showed off his speed in the 14th minute and pushed ahead of the pack off a pass from Diego Luna.
From the right side of the box, Gomez drew in the goalie and sent a shot past him into the bottom left corner.
RELATED: Andres Gomez Gives Real Salt Lake Early Lead Against Sporting KC
GOALMEZ PUTS RSL UP EARLY! ⚽️#SKCvRSL #RSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 20, 2024
In the 23rd minute, Braian Ojeda was called for a foul in the box, setting up a Kansas City penalty kick.
19-year-old goalkeeper Gavin Beavers made a highlight save on the PK on the right side of the net to keep the score at 1-0.
RSL blocked back-to-back attempts from Sporting KC in the 26th and 28th minutes but the home club eventually broke through.
Stephen Afrifa found an equalizer in the 28th minute off of a deflection.
Real Salt Lake wasn’t done there though. Anderson Julio had an easy look at goal off of a perfect long pass from Luna.
An easy chip shot from just outside the six-yard box gave RSL the lead right back.
RELATED: Anderson Julio Responds To Kansas City Equalizer With Chip Goal
The pass and the finish 🤌🤌#SKCvRSL #RSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 20, 2024
Kansas City created a couple more quality scoring looks but couldn’t capitalize as RSL took the one-goal lead into halftime.
Gomez scored early in the first half and he repeated history after the break.
In the 51st minute, Gomez scored a chip shot of his own to put RSL up 3-1.
RELATED: Andres Gomez Makes It A Brace After Halftime To Extend RSL Lead
Gomez with the brace and his 10th goal of the season 2️⃣#SKCvRSL #RSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 20, 2024
With the home crowd cheering them on, Sporting KC kept their foot on the gas.
Johnny Russell and Erik Thommy forced Beavers to make two saves in the 57th and 59th minutes.
Once again, when Real allows the opponent to apply steady pressure, it will eventually go wrong.
In the 70th minute, SKC broke through once again to make things interesting. William Agada’s goal made it a one-score game and brought the Kansas City fans back to their feet.
The next 12 minutes saw back-and-forth action with no side taking a clear upper hand.
In the 83rd minute, Arango showed that subbing him in was a good idea as he gave Matt Crooks an easy tap-in goal in front of net.
RELATED: Matt Crooks Scores First MLS Goal To Put RSL Up Two Late
Matt Crooks scores his first #MLS goal at the perfect time! 🤝#RSL #SKCvRSL #RSLonKSL @rslshow
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 20, 2024
Crooks’ goal looked to be the game-winner. But, Kansas City wouldn’t go down without a fight.
In the 95th minute, Agada scored his second goal of the night to make it 4-3. In the closing seconds, Thommy took a shot for a brace and the tie but hit the post.
Real Salt Lake scrapes by with a one-goal win and three points to stay atop the Western Conference.
How To Watch Real Salt Lake
All Major League Soccer games are broadcasted on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2024 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
