Real Salt Lake 2 - 3 Sounders
Final
  for this game

Seattle, RSL renew rivalry at CenturyLink Field

Sep 11, 2014 - 9:04 PM Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Seattle Sounders FC and Real Salt Lake will renew their rivalry on Friday when the two sides meet at CenturyLink Field.

The clubs have become bitter foes, regularly battling for supremacy in the Western Conference.

Seattle currently holds the edge, entering the weekend atop the overall MLS table with 51 points from 26 games, five points better than Real Salt Lake's total through 27 games.

The Sounders also come into the affair in better form, taking maximum points from their last three league games. They most recently cruised to a 4-2 defeat of Chivas USA on Sept. 3.

And with a nine-day break, the Sounders are ready to embark on the business part of their season.

"It's great to go in with three straight wins because everyone was concerned that we were in a dive or something at that point, and I said 'this isn't last year, it's a different year,'" Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said. "... When we start off again with Real Salt Lake when we have five games in 16 days and those games are going to be in four different cities. That's going to be a good stretch."

Salt Lake, meanwhile, comes into the game on the back of a run of four points collected from its last three league games.

The Claret and Cobalt earned an impressive 2-1 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday, a result that helped RSL solidify third place in the Western Conference while keeping its hopes of a Supporters' Shield alive.

"The Supporters' Shield is going to happen by us taking care of business," said RSL head coach Jeff Cassar. "We have a huge game coming up against Seattle. I think if we get a really good result there we can start putting ourselves into the mix for that. But I really want to keep these guys focused on one game at a time, taking care of business, and not trying to look too far ahead."

Home field advantage has accounted for a great of success in meetings between Salt Lake and Seattle.

RSL has been shut out on its last four trips to CenturyLink Field in all competitions, last scoring at the venue on May 12, 2012.

The Sounders, meanwhile, last won in league play at Rio Tinto Stadium on May 28, 2011, a span of four games.

The two clubs have met twice already this season with the home team winning on both occasions.

Seattle claimed an emphatic 4-0 victory on May 31 behind goals from Gonzalo Pineda, Marco Pappa, Chad Barrett and Obafemi Martins.

Salt Lake responded well, though, answering with a 2-1 defeat of the Sounders on Aug. 16 with Joao Plata and Luke Mulholland scoring four minutes apart.






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