Columbus Crew SC are coming in off a 3-0 short-handed loss against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday night and will continue their road trip to take on Real Salt Lake on Saturday for a 8 p.m. ET kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium.
This will be the only meeting between the cross-conference rivals.
The Black & Gold hold an overall 11-5-3 record over Salt Lake, and the clubs only met once last season on May 28. The 4-3 victory last season was a memorable one, especially for forward Ola Kamara, who netted his first goal of the season and his first MLS hat trick.
Real took the early lead with a rocket from outside the box by Luke Mulholland (13’) but Kamara erased the deficit just four minutes later. RSL helped put the Black & Gold on top with an own goal in the 20th minute to finish off the first half. Kamara brought the heat in the second half with back-to-back goals in the 64th and 74th minutes. Salt Lake tried to keep up with two goals of their own (Jordan Allen 78’, Joao Plata 83’) but ultimately fell short to the Black & Gold.
Columbus heads west to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday, July 29 at 8 p.m. ET. The Black & Gold return home on Saturday, August 12 to battle the Chicago Fire at 7:30 p.m. ET at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus.
