Real Salt Lake visits high-flying Vancouver in search of back-to-back results

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The last time Real Salt Lake midfielders Diego Luna and Emeka Eneli shared the field with Brian White, they were U.S. teammates — not opponents — and Costa Rica was the enemy.

Luna famously suffered a broken nose that night but refused to sub out, returning to the field of play with cotton packing in his nostrils and immediately assisting on a Brian White goal. Eneli collected an assist of his own later in the night. 

They’ll play again on Saturday night, this time as adversaries as Real Salt Lake travel to take on Brian White’s Vancouver Whitecaps. The road trip carries extra significance for RSL’s star midfielder Diego Luna as he made his MLS debut at BC Place as a late sub for Sergio Córdova on June 4, 2022. 

The Whitecaps hired Jesper Sørenson as their head coach during the offseason and he has them first in MLS on 23 pts from 10 matches and tied for 1st in the league in both Goals Scored (20) and Goals Against (7).

Brian White leads the team with six goals scored in league play, but Vancouver has been getting offensive production from plenty of other players, including Sebastian Berhalter and Pedro Vite. All three of them scored on Wednesday night as Vancouver went on the road for the second leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal and knocked Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF out of the tournament. 

None of those players are as familiar to Real Salt Lake fans as former club captain and fan favorite Damir Kreilach. Kreilach signed with Vancouver following the 2023 season and scored the opening goal the first time he faced his former club, refusing to celebrate out of respect.  

Real Salt Lake also collected 3 points in its last match, a 3-1 victory on the road against San Diego FC behind a brace from Diego Luna and a long-range rocket from Sam Junqua, who replaced a seriously injured Brayan Vera just 20 minutes into the match. Vera was involved in a brutal collision with teammate Rafa Cabral and appeared to be knocked unconscious, but was able to walk off the pitch under his own power after being treated by medical staff for several minutes. 

Vera is currently going through the league’s concussion protocol and is listed as Day-to-Day. He has not fully trained since the incident.

With right back Bode Hidalgo suspended after a bizarre second yellow card as time expired in San Diego — a harsh decision at the end of a solid shift — Real Salt Lake will once again shuffle their backline.

Defender Philip Quinton, who deputized at center back on Saturday for an injured Justen Glad, will likely slide over to right back against Vancouver. Quinton quietly led the team defensively with 9 clearances and 3 recoveries and provided needed leadership, reorganizing the backline after Hidalgo was sent off. 

RSL now seeks to do something they have not managed thus far this year — collect results in back-to-back matches. 

“It’s an exciting challenge for us,” Quinton said. “You want to play these teams that are flying and are giving you a really high product on the field. We’re all excited. We know it’s going to be an absolute battle, but that’s what we enjoy as a team. That’s what we look forward to. For us, it’s just about focusing on what we can do to control the game in as many ways as possible.” 

Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM MT at BC Place in Vancouver and will be broadcast live on Apple TV+ via MLS Season Pass.

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