Rio Tinto Stadium by Cole Bagley Photo: Cole Bagley.

SALT LAKE CITY — Following a disappointing series of ties and losses, Real Salt Lake (RSL) will now turn its attention to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as they begin the 64-team tournament on Wednesday night against Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC.

A much needed break from MLS-play, RSL has been unable to secure a victory for nearly a month and just suffered the worst loss in club history, losing to NYC F.C. 6-0 at Yankee Stadium.

The outcome was inevitable early on as RSL conceded two goals in the first 15 minutes of the match. Unable to create very many opportunities of their own, RSL was outshot 22-12 while only possessing the ball 43% of the time. Overall, RSL was simply dominated in every facet of the game and their inability to win contested balls cost them greatly.

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“I think we got off to a decent start. We were pressing them high, were winning some decent balls, and creating some half chances in front of goal but I just don’t think that when we won those balls and we looked for some fast breaks we just were not determined to pull the trigger or decisive enough to really score,” Mastroeni said.

Now transitioning to the U.S. Open Cup, RSL is presented with an opportunity to get back in the win column and defend their home turf. All-time, the club possesses a 6-1-1 (W-L-T) mark against USL/NASL teams on Utah soil, outscoring those visitors 20-11 on aggregate. With a notably inferior opponent, a midweek victory could prove to be invaluable before they face MLS-foe Portland on Saturday.

Wednesday’s match will be broadcast locally via ESPN700 AM radio. Spanish-speaking fans can tune in on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM, La Gran D 102.3 FM and KTUB 1600 AM for the local radio broadcast. No TV or Streaming coverage available locally. Kick-off is set for Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m. MT.