May 11, 2023 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Real Salt Lake News Release
PORTLAND, Ore. – Real Salt Lake wins a 4-3 thriller at the Portland Timbers to advance its 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup journey Wednesday night. RSL MF Maikel Chang scored two goals – including the equalizer and game-winner – while adding one assist to lead Salt Lake, which will discover its 2023 Open Cup Round of 16 opponent in a draw from U.S. Soccer headquarters Thursday, May 11, at 12 noon MT, for a game to be played on May 23 or May 24.
Now unbeaten in five across all competitions, RSL now hosts defending MLS Cup champions LAFC on Saturday at America First Field in Sandy, Utah. Kickoff for that match is at 7:30p MT, with the Univ. of Utah Health Plaza opening at 5:30p MT; tickets remain at www.RSL.com/tickets for the expected sellout match.
After conceding an early fifth-minute goal to go down 1-0 to the hometown Timbers, RSL equalized at the half-hour mark, as Chang found FW Danny Musovski atop the six-yard box. Musovski deftly evaded his defender and slammed home the equalizer for his second goal in as many Open Cup contests this year for RSL.
RSL took a 2-1 lead into halftime, courtesy of heroics from both FW Andrés Gómez and GK Gavin Beavers, each of whom are club debutants in 2023. In the 41st minute, Gómez tracked down a ball deep in the Portland end, coming back into play from the right side, settling atop the corner of the box. After a cut to his left unbalanced the defender, Gómez put the ball back on his right foot and unleashed a looping shot far post, burying the ball spectacularly. RSL closed out the half with a series of scintillating Beavers saves.
Early in the second half, Portland took control and again assumed the lead. Halftime substitute Jaroslaw Niezgoda knotted the game at 2-2 with his first touch of the second half, in the 49th minute. The Timbers quickly grabbed the 3-2 lead when Justin Rasmussen slammed home an uncontested 18-yard shot following chaos in the box.
But RSL would not lay down, completing a four-goal, 10-minute span with two goals of its own, both courtesy of former Real Monarchs man Maikel Chang. Chang, a veteran of 86 MLS reg. season starts, notched his first-ever brace, taking assists from both Musovski and Gómez in quick succession to put RSL back on top with just 30 minutes remaining.
Despite danger from the Timbers’ Dairon Asprilla in the final 15 minutes, RSL rode a staunch defense led by homegrowns Justen Glad, Bode Hidalgo and…
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