On their home field, Real Salt Lake performed better than DC United in terms of ball possession, shots, and shots on goal. Compared to DC, who attempted 8 shots on goal with 3 of them being goal attempts, RSL attempted 16 shots, of which 8 were goal attempts.

Real Salt Lake made a strong start by scoring the first goal attempt. Unfortunately, the initial attempt missed the goal as Jefferson Savarino power-kicked it in the middle after receiving the ball from Andrew Brody on the left side. Ola Kamara's right-footed effort was stopped in the 17th minute, which was DC United's first goal attempt. With a thorough understanding of the action, Zac MacMath positioned himself in front of the ball for a significant block. RSL had a few more opportunities to score, but a few of their shots were either too low, where the goalie could easily block the ball, or a bit too high, where they hit the crossbar, as one did in the 41st minute, when a shot narrowly missed the net and struck the crossbar.

The second half started out with Real Salt Lake firing on all cylinders. They made many chances at scoring, including one in the 81st minute when Marcelo Silva headed the ball towards the goal. However, David Ochoa made the incredible save by reaching out to only lay a finger on the ball and deflecting it over the crossbar. Silva was present when Anderson Julio's comparable play, which was immediately after this effort, failed. The defense of both sides was what kept the contest close and balanced.

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Abram Iman]