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The final installment of the Rocky Mountain Cup will be on Saturday, August 3rd, as the Colorado Rapids will face rivals Real Salt Lake. With a win or a draw, Colorado will claim the trophy for the first time since 2006.
Colorado (9-7-7) are looking to continue their 6-game unbeaten streak. The Rapids most recently defeated a weakened LA Galaxy side 2-0 on the weekend. The Galaxy were missing Landon Donovan and Omar Gonzales to the United States national team and Robbie Keane and Robbie Rogers were both sidelined with injuries. Hendry Thomas and Dillon Powers both found the scoresheet in the victory.
Real Salt Lake (11-7-4) are currently top of the Western Conference but have lost their last two matches in dramatic fashion. RSL fell to Sporting Kansas deep into stoppage time on July 20th and somehow managed to lose to the New York Red Bulls 4-3 after leading 3-2 in the 89th minute. (Yes, I was laughing quite hard when I saw the highlights.) With a win on Saturday, Colorado will end up level on points with them, and they will jointly be top of the table in the league.
Real Salt Lake will get a boost as captain Kyle Beckerman and goalkeeper Nick Rimando will return after a successful CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign with the United States national team. Nick Rimando played in nearly every game for the Stars and Stripes while Beckerman anchored Jurgen Klinsmann's midfield. Rapids midfielder Hendry Thomas will miss the match due to a 1-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. Three RSL players will join him on the suspension bench: Yordany Alvarez, Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran.