July 20, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Utah Royals FC News Release
COMMERCE CITY, Colorado (Sat) – Real Salt Lake (12-5-8 / 44 points / 3rd West) fell to regional rival Colorado Rapids 3-2, losing control of the Rocky Mountain Cup in a non-Covid year for the first time since 2015. RSL winger Andrés Gómez scored his 12th and 13th goals of the year, his fourth multi-goal game of the season, to move into a tie for fifth in the MLS Golden Boot race.
Watch / Listen to RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni following 2-3 road loss to Colorado on Sat., July 20, 2024
Kicking off for the first 45 on a rainy night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Real Salt Lake came out flying, thoroughly controlling play as it broke through to take an early lead in the 9th minute. Seeming as though the Claret-and-Cobalt might cruise to a 15th Rocky Mountain Cup victory, the tables quickly turned as it would be Colorado that scored in lightning-quick back-to-back fashion in the 34th and 39th minutes to seize control of the Cup, Jonathan Lewis and Sam Vines the scorers. Heading into the locker room, Pablo Mastroeni’s side was dominant in every statistic except the scoreline, owning more than two-thirds of possession and more than doubling Colorado in passing (359-147).
During the halftime break, lightning strikes in the area postponed play for nearly two hours before play resumed at 10:21 p.m. local time.
It wouldn’t take long for RSL to square the affair in the second half, Gómez collecting his 13th of the 2024 campaign and second of the match with a beautiful left-footed strike in the 49th minute. Gómez’ outside-the-box strike continues his nearly unbelievable run of form, marking his 13th goal in the last 140 days after he scored just once in his first calendar year with the Club. The match would remain on equal footing, both teams struggling through adverse conditions until Colorado won a late penalty kick on a controversial handball call in the 85th minute, Cole Bassett stepping up to convert the chance and give his team the decisive 3-2 lead.
Despite the scoreline, RSL dominated the run of play, boasting 62% of the possession and nearly doubling Colorado in passes completed (609-327). Nine RSL players registered at least 30 passes, Justen Glad leading the way in volume with a staggering 99 while Braian Ojeda and Bryan Oviedo led in accuracy at 95% and 92%, respectively.
The loss gives Colorado its first Rocky Mountain Cup title since the disputed 2020 affair, just its…