Rocky Mountain Cup Preview: Five Questions With Carson Lantz From Royal Riot

PREVIEW – It’s here. The third and final game of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Cup. Colorado Rapids host Real Salt Lake tomorrow in Commerce City. Rapids need a win to take back the trophy for the first time since 2020. Burgundy Wave reached out to Carson Lantz of the Royal Riot podcast to ask questions about RSL for our Rocky Mountain Cup preview.

We have to start with Chicho Arango. He’s serving a four game suspension for violating the league’s Anti-Harrassment Policy. Have we heard anything about what he did? What does his absence mean for the Rocky Mountain Cup?

Obviously, it’s never good for any team to lose their captain and top goal scorer, but that’s the situation RSL is facing with Chicho Arango’s absence for part 3 of the Rocky Mountain Cup. The specifics of his absence are unclear, with many assumptions and speculations, but even head coach Pablo Mastroeni has said, “I can’t really explain because I don’t know.” His loss will be crucial in a big match against the Colorado Rapids, as the claret and cobalt are losing one of their best overall players. However, don’t count out the likes of Anderson Julio; if he’s feeling it, he’ll make anyone pay.

Both teams come in with a draw and a loss in their last two games. What went wrong for RSL at Portland and LAFC? What can they do better on Saturday?

Real Salt Lake played poorly against Portland, as the 3-0 loss at Providence Park reflects. Phil Neville’s side showed more passion and grit, punishing Salt Lake three minutes into the game with a goal from Felipe Mora. The team as a whole didn’t look great in Portland; the chemistry was lacking, as many could tell since no one was linking up to create something, not even Chicho and Andres Gomez. But the attack wasn’t the only issue; defenses can’t shine forever, and Portland made Salt Lake look lost.

The LAFC game could’ve gone a lot worse for Real Salt Lake, as plenty of rotation was made with Anderson Julio, Maikel Chang, Phillip Quinton, and Nelson Palacio all coming into the starting eleven. However, the passion and fight missing in the Portland game returned against LAFC. The battle for the top of the west didn’t disappoint, with Brayan Vera’s occasional banger of a goal helping RSL leave Los Angeles with a point.

What I want to see on Saturday against Colorado is the typical RSL mentality: go in there, do your job, and leave everything on the field. I expect to see Diego Luna and Andres Gomez dominating their sides of the field and creating chance after chance. Matt Crooks could play a huge role with Chicho missing, and I’m hoping to see him explode in this game, as well as Emeka Eneli. Emeka can change a game at any moment, whether defensively or offensively. As we saw in the first Rocky Mountain Cup game, Emeka snuck onto the scoreboard, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the score sheet again.

Both teams have some injuries to deal with. Colorado have been thin at winger the last week. Salt Lake had Marcelo Silva and Justin Glad out in defense among others. How are the injuries going to impact the game plan?

Injuries are never good, and there’s nothing more I hate than having to see someone sit out because of injury. It sucks. Salt Lake has been plagued with injuries at center back all season, with Marcelo Silva and Erik Holt picking up long-term injuries. The most recent was All-Star Justen Glad, who recently returned against LAFC, and I expect to see him on the field on Saturday. Injuries might slightly impact the game, as RSL could end up playing with three outside backs in a back four, but I don’t think injuries will play a huge part in this match.

Cole Bassett and Diego Luna both got snubbed from the Olympic team then went off the weekend of 4th of July. Part of me’s hoping they go iso ball on each other and go off to stick it to Marko Mitrovic. What can Rapids fans expect from Luna? 

Rapids fans can expect to see the Diego Luna we all saw against Atlanta United. Salt Lake will need someone to step up, and Moon Boy could be that person. Luna will be on the ball, looking to create opportunities for himself and the team. He’ll be very aggressive on defense, and even when he loses the ball, he makes sure to get it back. Expect him to shift into the middle a lot in the attack to give left back Alexandros Katranis room to run. Lastly, Luna will be very confident on the ball, always looking for that 1v1 situation or cutting in on his right foot and curling the ball far post. Look out for Diego Luna, as he has a chip on his shoulder lately and is looking to prove a lot of people wrong.

Lastly, got a prediction for us? RSL’s finding a way to retain the Cup like usual, right?

Yes, I’m fully expecting RSL to come home with the cup and find a way to win out in Commerce City. I’m predicting the score will be 3-2 to RSL, as every game against the Rapids has been very exciting and high-scoring.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken

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