These games are tricky. If you don’t have a killer instinct teams hang around, and it can turn into a hard night. – Jeff Cassar
SANDY — Real Salt Lake's clash against USL Pro Sounders 2 is set to kick off Tuesday night, with RSL making its fourth-round debut in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
RSL captain Kyle Beckerman was looking forward to the matchup though it’s unknown if the anchor in the midfield will suit up.
“I guess it’s the quickest way to a championship, to a trophy for your club. There are still clubs out there that don’t have a championship, so you’ve got to try and rack them up,” said Beckerman.
“This is a way to win a trophy, get into the Champions League and it’s fun. These are tournament times, the one game win or go home. We all love that type of tournament, so it’s just another fun thing to follow if you’re a fan of soccer.”
RSL manager Jeff Cassar admitted the club is taking a serious approach to this year’s tournament, just a year removed from the tough Open Cup loss that bounced RSL from the tourney in Cassar’s debut season.
“These games are tricky. If you don’t have a killer instinct teams hang around, and it can turn into a hard night,” said Cassar. “We need to have that mentality, that we want to start hot early and just change the game right from the get-go. We don’t want to give them any confidence.”
The Sounders 2 currently sit atop the USL Pro standings in first place heading to the Beehive State.
“They play very similar to the first-team, at least their shape and structure, obviously their personnel is a little bit different,” Cassar told reporters ahead of the match. “It’s a team that at the end of the day is first place in that league, and we have to take them seriously. That’s been a focus all week, making sure that we don’t take our foot off the gas.”
Fresh off a trip with the United States U-20 group, Boyd Okwuonu is likely to see some time against Sounders 2 with a second-team heavy lineup for RSL. Okwuonu has actually seen more playing time with the national team, but for the newcomer to RSL it’s all welcome competition.
“Every opportunity that I get out there on the field, it’s an opportunity that I have,” said Okwuonu. “Whether it be internationally or whether it’s here I take them all the same. I focus on what I have to do on the field.”
RSL is just two years removed from a championship run that fell short in a 0-1 loss to DC United in 2013.
Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Deseret News prep editor and Real Salt Lake beat writer.