RSL v Seattle on ESPN2 Thursday

Last year RSL was struggling for the final slot to make the playoffs and scrapping for every possible point to make that happen. Then, the amazing run in the playoffs occurred, and RSL, a team that could not get a road win, pulled off multiple road wins en route to the MLS Championship game. That victory, as every fan knows, came at the home of the Seattle Sounders, Qwest Field… and Thursday night, RSL will take on the Sounders on their home turf of Qwest. The Sounders fans know what this game means and they will be out in force. Sure, the Seattle fans were awesome supporters of RSL going into last year’s championship game against LA -Thanks for that, by the way – but methinks that the fans may not be all that supportive of RSL on Thursday night. It’s okay, RSL fans get it. This game means somethig for both clubs.

The stakes are simply this: Seattle needs a win to get a shot at the playoffs this year. RSL wants to overtake Columbus and LA for a shot at the Supporters Shield (most points in regular season). Yes, the team without a big name Designated Player (DP) has a legit shot at passing LA and Columbus, two teams heavy with big name DPs. Believe it because it can happen and a win on Thursday night could put RSL one step closer to the Supporters Shield.

Beckerman Remains Sidelined for DC United Match

Real Salt Lake faces off against DC United for the second time this week, having gone down 2:1 to DC United in a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match on Wednesday. That was the low for the week, followed by the high of being honored as MLS Champions by President Obama at The white House on Thursday. Now, back to the pitch in an MLS league game against DCU.

While not all of Real’s starters played on Wednesday night, the team will likely pull out all the stops today. Unfortunately, Andy Williams and Chris Wingert remain sidelined with injuries as does RSL Captain, Kyle Beckerman. Robbie Findley is away with the US Men’s National Team for World Cup duty in South Africa. That said, Fabian Espindola and Javier Morales remain hot up top and the RSL defense is solid and deep. For a good head to head comparison of the teams take a look here.

Chivas USA Prepares for RSL Match at Home

There is a pretty good pre-game assessment of the Chivas USA versus Real Salt Lake match here. But the down and dirty assessment is that RSL has been ascendant while Chivas has been mired in mediocrity. Chivas was the hot team at the start of the 2008 season, but something happened to the team (not just the loss of Preki) and it has slipped to the place it now firmly possesses: Last Place in the West. Ouch!

Of course, Real Salt Lake has had some woes this season too. Real had high hopes for their “Defense of the Title” season, and while there have been detractors that said things like “Flash in the Pan” after losses to the LA Galaxy and Houston away, the team seemed different this year and was never out of any game. Now RSL is riding a three game win streak. Add to that the recent play of Alvaro Saborio, the return of Javier Morales and Ned Grabavoy, and even without Will Johnson and Robbie Findley – on respective national team duty with Canada and the U.S. – RSL looks hot. Recently RSL has shown it still has top form while home at Rio Tinto Stadium, but to avoid giving fans premature grey hair, the team has to string some road wins together. I would add that getting points now, prior to adding in CONCACAF games that take the team to the Caribbean and Central America mid week, would be a good thing.

What’s at stake in the tonight’s game at the Home Depot Center: If RSL wins away, they can take sole possession of second place in the West. If Chivas wins, they have hope of rising from their ignoble place at the bottom of the Western Conference Table. In other words, both teams have something to play for and games against Chivas USA in front of their home fans are always vocal and exciting. My recommendation: If you are catching one game tonight, this one is a good choice.

File Footage of RSL's 2009 Season Start

While the start of the 2010 MLS season for Real Salt Lake might not be as bad as their disappointing 2009 start (see file footage above or look at my 2009 posts), it is a far cry from how Coach Jason Kreis wanted his team to open their defense of the 2009 MLS Cup. Let’s face it, there were a lot of critics in the soccer-world who thought RSL’s 2009 title win was a fluke and that the best team in MLS did not hoist the championship cup in Seattle. Some thought LA was the best team in soccer as they surged at the end of the season, and others would have said that the Columbus Crew with the best record in MLS was clearly the best team, but few though the best MLS team was RSL.

With the “Minority Report” I chimed in that RSL figured a way to win without “DPs” and with a tough squad and good coaching. After all, that is why the games are actually played, because “supposed to win” and “won” are distinctly different things. Now and then it comes down to heart and to one or two players that do something extraordinary. At the end of the 2009 season it came down to RSL not giving up no matter who they were playing, Colorado, Columbus, Chicago, and finally LA… and the PK stopping ability of Nick Rimando. Add to that “no quit fight”, injuries on other teams, and luck (which all teams have both good and bad during a season) and you got what you got… RSL was crowned champion.

Real Salt Lake did what it could in the off[season to keep the core of their squad together, and had high expectations coming into 2010. It was clear that Jason Kreis, the players, and the entire RSL organization was aware they had something to prove, and after the opener against San Jose and the 3-0 win, it seemed like RSL was ready for the challenge. Then, a loss in Houston, a tie at home against Seattle, and a loss to LA, and things were not looking great. But what I saw in those games was that RSL was never out of the game. They played all the way through and they were tough matches. Now, with several tough road games done and a home win against Toronto, RSL is looking to build points with a win against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. The Union has not had a bad start for an expansion team, and Chris Seitz will return to RSL as the Union’s starting keeper and will receive his MLS championship ring before the game.

The Union will be looking for an upset in Rio Tinto Stadium, and RSL should expect the Union to come at them from the first whistle as that has been where the Union has found success this season. The kickoff has been moved to 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time so as not to conflict with the Utah Jazz playoff game against the LA Lakers in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

Was RSL ever off-track this season? Personally, I don’t think so. It’s a long season and you can’t win every game… unless you are the LA Galaxy, that is.

Edson Buddle is on fire in LA

I am a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, and while Real Salt Lake was a bit tired and beat up from playing three games in seven days, the LA Galaxy deserved the win they got on Saturday night in LA. Both teams played a high energy, entertaining game, but in the end LA looked fresher and more in control of the match. The only question I have is: What happened to set Edson Buddle on fire this year? Seriously, seven goals in four games… 100% of the goals scored by the LA Galaxy this year have been scored by Buddle. Add to that the fact that LA had not allowed a goal until Kyle Beckerman put one in during this game, and LA is looking pretty darn good in 2010. All that said, RSL continues to do something they have not done in years past, and that is to play well even when they are down. Sure, this was a loss on the road, but RSL was never out of the match and they have a belief they can always fight back in games.

Wednesday RSL had a tough Lamar Hunt US Open Cup match in San Jose, where RSL ended up playing 120 minutes and then having to go to PKs to pick up the win. RSL may have lost this match in LA’s home stadium, but RSL looked pretty good in the game and their best this season is still ahead of them.

My final word on Edson Buddle is that the way he has started this season should earn him a serious look by Bob Bradley as he is looking to finalize a US team for The World Cup. When a striker gets on roll like Buddle is currently on, respect the streak. I am a big supporter of RSL, but I am also a supporter of the US Men’s National Team and Buddle deserves a serious shot to make the team.

What do you think?

Win was not good for my Blood Pressure

Currently I am on vacation with my two sons at Zion National Park in southern Utah. (Highly recommended, by the way). But, regardless of my personal schedule, soccer continues. Sadly, yesterday’s game between RSL and the San Jose Earthquakes was not on TV, but it was broadcast on KALL-700 radio. After a day of hiking in Zion, my sons and I decided to drive over to St. George to check on movies. Going to a movie got scrubbed in favor of dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.

The cool thing about the drive was that we listened to the RSL v SJE game on KALL-700 AM radio as we drove. We heard the 1st half driving over, ate, and as we were driving back listened to the last 10 minutes of the game. When we turned the radio on after dinner, RSL was up 2-1, then, just before regulation ends SJE scores. Here comes thirty minutes of overtime with no Golden Goal. We listen to overtime as we are driving back. Then, SJE scores and so it is 3-2 but just as we are getting back to Springdale, Nat Borchers scores on a head from a Robbie Russell cross. (Now that is an offensive combination I’d not thought of).

My son, Adam yells loudly, and it’s going to PKs! We drove up and down Springdale’s main street to listen to the rest of the game, hoping the Springdale cops wouldn’t think we were casing the joint. As for the PKs, Nick Rimando had to sit and watch this time. Kyle Reynish had been keeper for RSL all night because they were resting Rimando for the Galaxy game on Saturday. Jon Bush was keeper for SJE with Cannon on the bench. The very first Quake up, Arturo Alvarez, missed his kick wide and that was enough to get the win for RSL as all of the other four Quakes and the five RSL players all made their PKs. It took 120 minutes, but RSL won the game and will move on in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup. Now, on to LA today for the Saturday night game at The Home Depot Center.

So in the end there are two things I take away from last night’s game: Number one, it sucked that RSL had a 2-0 lead and took its foot off the gas and let the Quakes get back in the game; and number two, unlike early last season, RSL fought back and never stopped playing for a win. No, it wasn’t good for my blood pressure, but it was good to get the win. Unfortunately, the team expended a lot of energy and now heads down to LA to play the Galaxy on Saturday night. That will not be an easy match as LA looks as good as I have ever seen them this early in the season. That said, RSL has definitely applied some lessons from last year to this year. But will it be enough in LA on two days rest?

Mr. Bill - Famous Actor From Saturday Night Live

I remember watching classic Saturday Night Live when I was back in high school. It was the John Belushi and Chevy Chase era. (Yes, I know this dates me.) One of the recurring skits had the claymation character of “Mister Bill” constantly getting squashed by “Mister Hand”. Bill would be happily going about his business and out of nowhere Mister Hand would show up and Bill would squeal, “Oh Nooooo!!!!” -then squash. Of course, the next week Mister Bill would be back to normal and going happily about his life.

This memory of Mister Bill comes to mind today because last night I kind of felt as if Jamison Olave was Mister Bill and the referee was Mister Hand. Olave, playing the aggressive style that he usually does, picked up two penalties in the box within the early minutes of the second period. Both penalties occurred within a three minute span and both resulted in Brad Davis scores. Nick Rimando picked the correct side on both PKs, but Davis’s style of taking kicks is to blast them past the keeper. Rimando had no real chance of making the stop.

Jamison Olave

I think that it was “Oh No, Mister Olave!” Both “alleged” penalties were iffy the way that I saw them. After looking at them several times I still think that, but you know what, stuff happens in soccer. It is just a shame that marginal calls can effect the outcome of a match but it will happen now and then. For the most part the refs get it right, but then there are those other times.

Now as I write this, I realize that there are lots of Houston fans that will see what happened in that game a different way. No problem. Things even out. Even though Real Salt Lake lost the game on two penalty kicks does not negate the fact that RSL dominated play in the first half and most of the second half. That is a great indicator of the team’s character and potential this year.

So don’t feel bad Mister Olave. Rest this week and get “un-squished” and get back out on the pitch and do your job the way you’ve always done it. Things will even out.

Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy in 2009 MLS Final

There are two significant MLS games tonight on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. The first pits the defending MLS Champion Real Salt Lake against the always dangerous Houston Dynamo in its home stadium. Houston opened their season last weekend, with a 1-1 draw against fellow Texas team, FC Dallas. The second of tonight’s “MLS Game(s) of the Week” has the team Real defeated to win its first MLS title, the LA Galaxy, battling Chivas USA in Los Angeles, with the Galaxy wearing the mantle of home team at their shared stadium.

The games tonight will be significant for a couple of reasons. First, even though Real Salt Lake won the MLS Cup last season and began its 2010 title defense with a resounding 3-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday night, not many soccer commentators have ranked Real at the top of the teams in the MLS Western Conference as the 2010 season begins. In fact, most “soccer pundits” have ranked the LA Galaxy, who also notched an opening 1-0 win at home against the New England Revolution, several places ahead of Real Salt Lake.

Granted, New England is probably a tougher team to play than San Jose, but Real showed confidence and solid play on both offense and defense when they opened last week. For those readers with keen memories, Real Salt Lake was horrid on the road at the start of last season, a monkey Real finally got off its back during the team’s playoff run. For Real to get a win on the road in its first 2010 game is a significant confidence boost. Playing Houston away with a quick turn around will be an early season test of Salt Lake’s mettle. If Salt Lake can go into the lions den of Houston and play with the same gritty determination they showed in taking the 2009 title, soccer writers and commentators may be compelled to revise their early season rankings.

LA will also be facing a test of sorts in taking on Chivas – “Super-Clasicos” are always tough, and by Landon Donovan’s own admission after the New England game, LA did not play all that well. Still, the Galaxy managed a win, and that is what champion quality teams do: They find a way to win even when they do not play at their best.

Chivas USA had a rough campaign last year and did not achieve the success they had hoped for. Add to that the departure of Preki for Toronto, and Chivas is likely not going to be in top form this early in the season. Chivas USA opened against the Colorado Rockies last week and fell 0-1. That said, when the Galaxy and Chivas play each other the game elevates into something special. Maybe it is not quite the same as when Everton plays Liverpool, but it is one of the best rivalries American soccer can offer.

One of the thing Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy have in common this year is that both teams worked very hard in the off-season to keep the core of their respective squads that achieved last year’s success together. By and large Jason Kreis and Bruce Arena were able to do this and to make specific acquisitions to fill gaps left by departing players. The short week for the four teams playing tonight will show where the top teams in the West might fall out this year. Seattle remains the wild-card, having had a good game at home last week against the newest team in MLS, the Philadelphia Union.

Look for a couple of barn-burner games tonight. Kick off for Real Salt Lake and Houston is at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time (6:00 p.m PST); Kick off for the LA Galaxy and Chivas FC game is 11:00 p.m. on the East Coast (8:00 p.m. PST). The games will be nationally televised on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Findley, Beckerman and the Hardware

Saturday night I was blessed to be in Buck Shaw Stadium at Santa Clara University to watch Real open the 2010 MLS season against the San Jose Earthquakes. I am pleased to report that unlike last season, there were no “Road Monkeys” anywhere in the vicinity, and RSL looked fantastic in their opening game in defense of their 2009 MLS Crown. Before the match I was confident in RSL’s defense, which was basically unchanged from last season, but a little nervous about how the offense would fare without Yura Movsisyan in the middle. What I saw Saturday night put all fears to rest, and other MLS teams may want to give RSL a bit more “street cred” than it has so far. This advice, by the way, also applies to commentators such as… oh… Alexi Lalas, who continues to talk about every team in the league as a contender, but seems to forget RSL.

Just before the game, Kyle Beckerman, who was in the midst of warm up drills, gave me a thumbs up when I walked by, and his play on the field showed his confidence and control of the pace of the game. Beckerman has embraced his role as leader and field-general, and when he is in the game it is RSL dictating the pace of play. Robbie Findley continues to run past defenders, and his consistent breaks through the San Jose backline wrought havoc and gave Joe Cannon fits. Besides Findley’s fast play, Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola showed creativity and an eye for the goal that wasn’t always apparent last season. I have no idea what the offense did in the off-season – perhaps it was just the development of belief in their abilities from winning the MLS Cup – but they seem to be on fire.

Of course, the heart and soul of RSL remains the defense, and Borchers, Olave, Wingert and Russell form one of the strongest backlines in the league in front of Nick Rimando. Even so, “shots happen”, and Rimando remains one of the best instinctive, reaction save keepers on duty in MLS. His saves of some decent Quake strikes kept the sheet clean. Borchers and Olave got a bit banged up in the match, and while Borchers will play on Thursday night with the stitches in his face bandaged, Olave may not. Rauwshan McKenzie, the defender RSL picked up on waivers from Kansas City filled in ably when Borchers had to leave the game with a cut face, and he may have to play in Olave’s spot this Thursday when RSL takes on the Houston Dynamo. That game will be the MLS Game of the Week on ESPN2.

The turn around is quick this week, and how RSL responds will be a good indicator of what we may see this season. So far so good, and keep your eye out for Road Monkeys.

16 year-old Luis Gill makes RSL debut

Real Salt Lake faced off against The College of Charleston Cougars on Saturday and came away with a 2-1 win, both goals coming in the second half of play. There are a few notable things about the game. First, it was the first time that the entire RSL team was together now that Robbied Findley, Kyle Beckerman, and Nicky Rimando have returned from duty with the U.S. Men’s National Team, although Beckerman and Findley sat the game out. Second, it was the introduction of sixteen year-old Luis Gil, who played the first half of the match as a striker. Third, one of the two goals in the second half was scored by Pablo Campos who was acquired in 2009 from the San Jose Earthquakes.

Campos is the player that RSL is hoping will step up and fill the role once ably played by Yura Movsisyan. Will Campos be able to be that dominating presence on the front line and score regularly? The judge is out still, but Campos has shown in previous play at San Jose and in his limited time at RSL that he is capable. More playing time and greater expectations may be just the things that Campos needs to get to the next level. If you look back through the history of this blog, you will see that it began last year during RSL’s road trip to this tournament, The Carolina Challenge Cup. RSL won the cup, but more importantly, this is where RSL began to gel as a team and RSL’s play in the cup was indicative of how the season went. Last year though, RSL struggled on the road, especially early on, and this year Coach Kreis would like nothing better than to have a strong start and not have to go through the road woes of last season. This is a big year for RSL. There are detractors out there that believe RSL was a “one hit wonder” and did not deserve the MLS Cup. Others (and I am one) think that Garth Lagerwey and Jason Kreis built a tough, intentional team, and that the operative word is “team”. There are no superstars on RSL and that is exactly the way they want it.