WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 10, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The new stadium in Sandy is officially open, with RSL and Red Bull NY splitting the points with a 1-1 draw on Thursday night. Dave van den Bergh gave New York the lead in the 31st. That held for ten minutes before Jamison Olave equalized in the 41st. The game got surprisingly physical late, when New York's Juan Pietravallo was ejected for a dangerous play after his boot made contact with Clint Mathis's head in the 83rd. Bleeding heavily, Mathis had to be subbed out.
The draw makes both teams vulnerable to the weekend results. Red Bulls remain fourth in the East, but could be jumped in the standing by Kansas City and DC. Real Salt Lake are third in the West, but Colorado and Dallas could pass them by Sunday.
“Disappointing… frustrating," said Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman. "We played one of our worst games tonight. The way the fans were, the atmosphere, it was just unreal, unbelievable. They were great and they deserve nothing less than our best performance and a win. And to not give it to them, I feel sorry for the fans."
Playoff complications aside, the opening of the stadium remained the focus on Thursday.
“Well, we had a diner last night with I think 78 people," RSL investor/operator Dave Checketts said. "I call them the true believers, and they were people that, regardless of how many times this project died and was revived, they kind of stuck with it, they were great. So it was a lot of emotion last night. Tonight I was just more concerned about having everyone safe and feeding in and out and then getting a win, so it’s been a great couple of days here.”
