Real Salt Lake Play To Scoreless Draw In Season Opener At Houston

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake’s 2022 season has commenced with a scoreless draw on the road against the Houston Dynamo.

“I think it was a really impressive performance from the guys,” Pablo Mastroeni said immediately following the fixture. “I couldn’t be more proud of the effort, the commitment, we created a couple of plays that looked really promising. I’m really excited and proud of the performance,” he added.

It was a depleted opening game roster to kick off the season following the absence of five key figures. Aaron Herrera is unavailable due to red card suspension following his dismissal during last year’s Western Conference Final against Portland. Everton Luiz is unavailable as he awaits the approval of his P-1 visa. David Ochoa is unavailable as he rehabs a quad strain suffered in the team’s final preseason match while in Portland. Rubio Rubin remains sidelined as he rehabs from a recently conducted adductor surgery, and Nick Besler is unavailable as he recovers from nose surgery in which he had his deviated septum repaired following the break of his nose towards the end of last season.

😠😠😠😠🙂🙂
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— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) February 28, 2022

Therefore, Mastroeni was forced into a less than ideal starting XI. Zac MacMath started in goal with Erik Holt, Justen Glad, and Marcelo Silva providing back three coverage. Andrew Brody and Tate Schmitt acted as wing-backs while Scott Caldwell made his Real Salt Lake debut alongside Pablo Ruiz and Justin Meram in the midfield. Recently named captain Damir Kreilach and second-year U.S. international Bobby Wood stood at the point of the attack.

Spirited Opening 45

The opening 45 minutes consisted of a spirited performance by Real Salt Lake and despite losing every meaningful statistical battle, generated more true goal-scoring opportunities.

Ruiz found the head of Silva from a set-piece and forced Steven Clark to make a somewhat comfortable save. The biggest moment of the half occurred when Meram played a dangerous ball onto the feet of someone who was unable to make contact.

Real Salt Lake entered the halftime tunnel having only two shots to Houston’s six, but none of Houston’s shots made it on frame whereas Real Salt Lake had one shot on target. From a possessions standpoint, Houston dominated securing 62 percent of the possession to Real Salt Lake’s 38 percent.

More Chances, Nothing To Show

The second half consisted of more chances being created by Real Salt Lake. It also included a formidable defensive shape, making life very challenging for Houston to penetrate MacMath’s net.

The moment of the game came deep in the fixture when Darwin Quintero cut onto his non-preferred left foot and struck a shot that hit the woodwork, beating MacMath with power.

Earned a point on the road to start the season. 🔴🔵⚽️

FT @HoustonDynamo 0@realsaltlake 0

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— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 28, 2022

MacMath was also tasked with making a handful of saves throughout the second half, however, none of the saves were overly troubling and the usual backup was left with reasonably simple stops.

“I was really impressed with the shape of the team and the mentality. Especially at the start of the second half when we were under the pump for a while there, we stuck to it and were able to get out of any trouble. I am really proud of the performance,” MacMath said during his post-game media availability.

Sergio Córdova came off the bench for Wood and Jasper Löffelsend also appeared in the dying seconds to notch his professional debut for Real Salt Lake.

The Numbers

Houston ended the fixture with 10 shots to Real Salt Lake’s 8, while both clubs ended with 2 shots on target. Houston won the possession tally with 62 percent. Houston also won the corner kick tally with 9 to Real Salt Lake’s 8.

Ultimately, the stats directly reflect the fixture itself. Houston was able to create more chances, but Real Salt Lake was also able to create a handful of their own chances.

“Shutout, a point on the road, it is as good as it gets in my books,” Meram said following the conclusion of the game.

It was an incredibly impressive performance from a depleted Real Salt Lake roster to kickstart the 2022 season.

Next Match

Real Salt Lake will host Seattle Sounders and Albert Rusnák on Saturday, March 5, with kickoff slated for 4 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.