Real Salt Lake vs. Iwaki FC | 2019 Preseason Match Preview

Real Salt Lake have been fairly quiet so far in their preparations for Preseason presented by Advocare, but they’re riding the wave all the way to Hawaii to play in the Pacific Rim Cup, with their first match coming against Japanese side Iwaki FC on Friday evening.

Real Salt Lake

With winter hitting the continental 48, hard, in recent weeks, RSL have unsurprisingly welcomed the trip to Hawaii, although they been putting in the work even with the trip to an island paradise.

 Still, RSL head coach Mike Petke admits a recent session was one he’ll remember a long time.

“When I look back on my five years as a head coach, this is one of my favorite days,” Petke said to RSL’s website.  “I didn’t see it coming. After the long travel, getting to the field that was interesting – to say the least – the guys put it in. We not only reached our objectives, but we were able to add a couple more that we didn’t anticipate. And it was perhaps one of my longest sessions as a coach.  But it was a great vibe and a great atmosphere. The guys responded and it was awesome.”

Iwaki FC

Iwaki is a provincial team located in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture. Currently in the Japanese regional leagues, the club has aspirations to reach the J-League one day.

While there are no MLS ties to Iwaki FC, the team has one player, goalkeeper Timothy Shiraoka, who appears to be a Japanese-American dual national.