This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Despite being healthy, regular Real Salt Lake starters Yura Movsisyan, Javier Morales and Burrito Martinez began Saturday's match against the Columbus Crew on the bench.

The trio represented seven goals and three assists on the season, and each had started at least eight matches in 2016.

To replace those stalwarts, coach Jeff Cassar chose Devon Sandoval as his striker, Jordan Allen on the right wing and Luke Mulholland at attacking midfield.

Holding midfielders Sunday Stephen and John Stertzer were asked to anchor the RSL midfield in place of captain Kyle Beckerman, who was away on national team duty.

Shorthanded Columbus

While RSL largely made voluntary changes in Mapfre Stadium, the home team was forced into several for a variety of reasons.

Crew SC dealt star forward Kei Kamara at the trade deadline, allowing backup Ola Kamara to make just his third MLS start. He entered the match without a goal or an assist.

A pair of international calls left Columbus without regular starters Cedrick Mabwati and Harrison Afful, allowing fringe U.S. Men's National Team winger Ethan Finlay back into the lineup after losing favor in a poor start to the year.

Thanks to injuries to veterans Gaston Sauro (knee) and Tyson Wahl (concussion), rookie central midfielder Rodrigo Saravia was asked to step into the center of defense for Columbus next to Michael Parkhurst.

Weather delay

The match was delayed more than 90 minutes due to pop-up storms in Columbus.

Despite sunny skies, radars detected lightning within a 10-mile radius almost exactly as players were set to take the field. After a few moments of confusion in the stadium after the original kickoff time, it was announced that the match had been delayed and fans were told to head toward the concourse.

After a stretch of intermittent rain, players were given another chance to warm up, and the match began at 9:09 p.m. local time.