Battle in Seattle

By: Rocky Cole | Add Comments

It is not just that Real Salt Lake’s captain, Kyle Beckerman, has been working on his dreadlocks longer than the LA Galaxy’s David Beckham has been coifed with an under-cut resembling a mullet with a racing-strip, that leads me to predict RSL as the 2009 MLS Cup winner. Rather, it is that RSL is peaking at the right time and relishes the underdog role. I will hazard a guess that not many soccer commentators and fans outside of Utah predicted RSL would get this far. But then again, the same could be said of the LA Galaxy after last season’s dismal finish at the bottom of the table. Add the supposed “failure” of “The Beckham Experiment”, and LA wasn’t on the top of anyone’s pre-season MLS Cup prediction. But Beckham proved he is not just a pretty face with fashion-forward hair, and the Galaxy rallied under Bruce Arena to go from worst to first in the West. Read the rest of this entry »

Real Salt Lake Sends Defending Champion Columbus Out of the Playoffs!

By: Rocky Cole | 5 Comments

Andy Williams seals the deal for RSL with a late goal in Real’s 4-2 aggregate win to advance in the 2009 MLS Playoffs and move on to the Eastern Conference Final. Last week after Real Salt Lake beat Columbus at home in Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, Jason Kreis said something interesting after the game. “No one believes in us, but us,” he said in a local post-game interview. Maybe people outside the locker room are starting to believe now, Jason. But the thing is, RSL has been playing some of their best soccer in the past six weeks. The team has been able to put some balls in the back of the net and the defense has been as solid as any team in the league. Read the rest of this entry »

Real Salt Lake Gives Columbus Crew a Fright on Halloween – Takes Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals

By: Rocky Cole | 4 Comments

Robbie Findley, MLS’s Player of the Week during the last week of the regular season slipped a late goal past the diving Columbus Keeper from a beautiful Yura Movsisyan pass, and delivers the victory to Real Salt Lake in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semis. The score came late in the game, and it became apparent early on that Columbus would have been happy to get out of Rio Tinto with a nil-nil draw, but RSL was just as determined to get a win at home.

I was puzzled by Columbus’s strategy from before the game even started when I saw their star, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, not working that hard in warm ups and actually never taking his sweats off. Read the rest of this entry »

RSl Versus the Crew: The Power of the 12th Man in Rio Tinto

By: Rocky Cole | 3 Comments

I have been surfing the soccer blogs today and not many people are giving Real Salt lake much of a chance to get past defending MLS Champions, The Columbus Crew. I just want to remind people of three things:

1. Overall, RSL has scored 23 more goals than its opponents in home games this season. In its last four MLS home matches, Salt Lake has outscored opposing teams 10-1.

2. RSL had the best record in the league at home (9-1-5) with 34 goals for RSL and 11 against in its first full season in Rio Tino Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

3. RSL also set an interesting record by scoring the most goals (18) after the 75th minute of the game of any MLS team. Read the rest of this entry »

MLS Playoffs Begin Thursday Night in Seattle and then RSL Kicks Off Against Columbus Saturday

By: Rocky Cole | Add Comments

Conference Semifinals Begin

Finally, after seven months of play the real contest for Major League Soccer bragging rights begins on Thursday night in Seattle. Who would have thought that Seattle, the newest team in the league, would be playing post-season? Well, maybe Sigi Schmid and the guys that suit up in Sounder-Blue and Rave-Green week after week and walk out in front of insane crowds at Qwest Field in Seattle. And anyone who thinks that Seattle doesn’t have a chance to advance over perennial playoff favorites, the Houston Dynamo, hasn’t been inside Qwest Field during a game. Remember, Seattle already has one piece of hardware this year, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The Sounders took the cup from storied DC United at DC’s home field in September. The Seattle Sounders believe! Their fans believe! Drew Carey believes! So, Houston is not a sure thing to gain points up in Seattle, and the Sounders have designs on getting the win at home.

In an effort to keep our readers informed about what is going on with the playoffs and where to see the games, here is the listing for the first round. MLS plans to have one game each week on Thursday, so the playoffs actually begin tomorrow night in Seattle. Some notes on things to look out for follow each team’s schedule. Read the rest of this entry »

Why Does Everyone in Utah Have a Big Smile this Morning?

By: Rocky Cole | 1 Comment

Why does everyone in Utah have a big smile this morning? I will tell you why, because (imagine the Urkel happy dance) Real Salt Lake put the hurtin’ on the Colorado Rapids with a 3-0 win and the stars aligned when the Red Bulls decided to see just how slackidaisical they could make Toronto FC look. Add the icing on the cake of retaining the Rocky Mountain Cup and you understand the statewide smiles. Read the rest of this entry »

P=RMC2… or Playoffs Equal Rocky Mountain Cup Final For Second Year in a Row!

By: Rocky Cole | 1 Comment

You Don’t have to be Einstein to figure the MLS Playoff picture out, but it wouldn’t hurt. Seriously, I have been mulling over the various scenarios that will still allow Real Salt Lake to make the playoffs and it makes my head hurt. As I write this there are several tiebreaker scenarios – most involving the full-moon, crop-circles and the Mayan calendar predicting the end-of-the-world in 2012 – but the simplest way for RSL to make the playoffs is for them to beat the Colorado Rapids in the final leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup on Saturday night and Toronto FC, New England, D.C. United, and FC Dallas all to fall in their respective road contests. Read the rest of this entry »

She may Not be Singing But She’s Warming Up The Pipes – RSL Goes Down to Toronto FC

By: Rocky Cole | 1 Comment

I’m not read to give up the dream of post-season play for Real Salt Lake yet, but things look pretty bleak. As Coach Jason Kreis lamented after the 1-0 loss in Toronto on Saturday, this has been a frustrating season for RSL where one can look back at missed opportunities at every turn. It’s tough to have a team with so much potential and watch them lose games that they could have won or at the least picked up draw points. Read the rest of this entry »

An-dy Will-iams!!! RSL over Red Bulls 2-0

By: Rocky Cole | 4 Comments

Yes We Can!!! Real Salt Lake was at the base of Mount Timpanogos last night and things looked bleak, but now RSL is half way up the mountain. When the game began last night in Rio Tinto, RSL was four points out of a potential playoff spot with three games left. After Andy’s winning goal, and then the cracking insurance goal by Fabian Espindola, RSL is now one point out of the playoffs with two games left. While a win last night keeps them in the hunt, what gives me even more hope is the fact that the team controlled the midfield and no one got red carded or seriously injured. Coach Kreis wanted controlled intensity and that is what he got for the most part. Read the rest of this entry »

Climbing the Mountain – RSL Face Red Bulls

By: Rocky Cole | 1 Comment

Tonight, in just about two hours, RSL goes up against the New York Red Bulls in a must win game. RSL is up against the wall after 18 days off from league play. RSL is currently sitting four points out of a playoff spot with three games left. Two of the games are home in Rio Tinto, tonight’s match and the final match of the season at home against the Colorado Rapids. Sandwiched between those two home games is a road contest against Toronto FC. Must win tonight? Yhea, pretty much. Read the rest of this entry »