Real Salt Lake

Founded:

2004

Stadium:

America First Field

Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). They play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won the 2009 MLS Cup and were runners-up of the 2013 MLS Cup, the 2010 MLS Supporters Shield, the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League, and the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The team's head coach is former MLS goalkeeper Jeff Cassar. Real Salt Lake became the twelfth MLS franchise when Major League Soccer awarded an expansion franchise on July 14, 2004, to SCP Worldwide, headed by Dave Checketts. Jason Kreis became the first player in RSL history, coming in a trade from the Dallas Burn. Other notable players that played in RSL includes veterans Clint Mathis, Eddie Pope and Jeff Cunningham to these early teams. RSL began play on April 2, 2005, by coach John Ellinger, in a windy, rain-soaked game against New York MetroStars at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, which ended in a tie. The following week, Jason Kreis scored the first goal in franchise history in a 3-1 loss to LA Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. RSL returned to Utah to play its first-ever home match on April 16. Before 25,287 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Brian Dunseth scored a header in the 81st minute to deliver a 1-0 victory over the rival Colorado Rapids. The season was mostly a disappointment, however, with the team setting a league record by posting a 557-minute scoreless streak (later broken by Toronto FC). They were also on a 10-game losing streak before managing a 2–2 draw on the road against San Jose Earthquakes. The first season finished with a record of 5-22-5 for Real Salt Lake. In 2006, Real Salt Lake's second MLS season, the team recorded five losses and one tie in the first six matches of the season. RSL had gone 18 consecutive matches without a victory—the longest winless streak in MLS history. The team managed two wins and four draws in their last eight matches, but failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing with a 10-13-9 record. Cunningham provided most of Real's highlights during the up-and-down 2006 season. He had come to Salt Lake from Colorado in exchange for Mathis, who had been a major disappointment for RSL.