March 2, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Real Salt Lake News Release
SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake (1-1-1, 4 pts.) kicked off the home portion of its 2024 Major League Soccer campaign with a dominant 3-0 win over visiting Los Angeles Football Club (1-1-0, 3 pts.) in a weather-delayed home opener at America First Field.
With high winds, lightning and snow all affecting the kick time for the midday Wasatch Front kickoff, RSL eventually rode a dominant three-goal first half to earn its first victory of the 2024 campaign as winger Andres Gomez stole the show with a first-half brace inside the first 42 minutes and added an assist in first-half extra time to striker Chicho Arango.
Despite being out-shot and out-possessed by LAFC on the whole 90, Real Salt Lake capitalized on creativity of its wing players and a 150-plus pass advantage over the opposition to claim the full three points in emphatic fashion.
Watch / Listen to RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni, FW Andrés Gómez and MF Matt Crooks Post-Game Comments following 3-0 home win over LAFC on Sat., March 2, 2024
RSL returns home again next Saturday, with a 7:30 p.m. MT kickoff at America First Field against Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids, in the first of three 2024 meetings in the fan-created rivalry, won by RSL in 13 of the last 16 years. Tickets are available at www.RSL.com/tickets.
Scheduled to kick off at 12:00 p.m. MT at America First Field, high winds pushed the start back to 2:10, but the play would be delayed once again in just the fourth minute of play, when nearby lightning strikes forced a 62-minute pause. Returning to the field of play, RSL displayed its adaptability on a pitch increasingly under assault by snowfall. The breakthrough came for the Claret-and-Cobalt in the 18th minute, as Diego Luna played an incisive ball to Chicho Arango up the left wing, creating the space for Arango to switch the play across for Andrés Gómez. The ball was played short for Gómez at the edge of the box, when the Colombian cut across the face of his only marker to find himself one-on-one with LAFC’s World-Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the box, showing composure with a clean strike into the left corner for the first goal at America First Field to be scored this year.
Buzzing up and down the right wing with unrelenting pressure, Gómez nearly netted his second of the half just three minutes later. His flair on full display, even in the adverse conditions, Gómez sliced through the LAFC…
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