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Real Salt Lake earned their third shutout in four matches by battling to a 0-0 draw with the Portland Timbers on Wednesday night in Sandy, Utah. Salt Lake (3-6-3, 12 points) has gone four consecutive matches and 370 minutes without scoring a goal, though the team has posted three draws in that stretch. Real Salt Lake have scored just two goals in the nine matches they have lost or tied this season. Portland (4-5-4, 16 points) earned its third shutout of the season and its first since March. It was also the first shutout for goalie Aljaz Ivacic, who made four saves. The Timbers came up empty on offense after scoring 12 goals over their previous five matches. RSL goalie Zac MacMath was credited with four saves en route to his third shutout of the season. Both defenses held their ground through 90 minutes after the two clubs combined for seven goals in a U.S. Open Cup match a week earlier. RSL captured that contest 4-3 in Portland. Salt Lake finished with a 17-10 edge in total shots on Wednesday. RSL also held possession 60.4 percent of the time, leading to numerous quality chances that resulted in near misses. Salt Lake's Andres Gomez blasted a left-foot shot from outside the box in the 11th minute. The ball struck the right post and bounced away from the goalmouth. Salt Lake's Justen Glad nearly headed home the ball from the center of the box in the 45th minute. Glad latched onto a cross from Jefferson Savarino and sent it forward, but Ivacic swatted the ball away with his outstretched hand. Finishing didn't get easier for either club in the second half. Glad took another shot from outside the box in the 71st minute. Ivacic denied him a second time. Portland nearly found the net in the 75th minute. Dairon Asprilla collected the ball on a takeaway and pinged a right-footed shot off the bottom of the left post with no defender between him and the net. A weather delay pushed kickoff back 90 minutes from its original start time. --Field Level Media
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