RSL faces Hailstorm in US Open Cup, hosts USL League One side

After a (completely reasonable) delay that was too lengthy for comfort, the U.S. Open Cup is back, and Real Salt Lake knows who they’ll face: North Colorado Hailstorm FC — and it’ll be at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Hailstorm notably just beat Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the second round, a fact about which all Real Monarchs fans will be undoubtedly pleased.

There’s a real air of excitement about the Open Cup this year, in part I suspect because of the break. The match is set to take place at some point between April 19 and April 21, placing it between matches against the two 2021 MLS Cup contenders, strangely enough. Real Salt Lake visits New York City FC on April 17 and hosts Portland Timbers on April 23.

While this certainly doesn’t come at an optimal time from a health and fitness perspective for RSL, it should give us a prime opportunity to see RSL’s youth corps in full effect.