I am a serious Real Salt Lake supporter, having attended their first home match and sitting only about 50 yards from the goal post past which Brian Dunseth scored the first goal in RSL history, in the section overlooking the corner flag he ran to and planted, like a conquistador victoriously usurping a "new" land. I follow every game the club plays, whether it is an official MLS fixture, a tournament game, or a friendly. I have attended countless games at Rice-Eccles Stadium and have seen them play against almost every team in MLS, as well as Monarcas Morelia of the Mexican First Division, Real Madrid of La Liga, and other international teams.
The tides, I am proud to say, are turning. After week 18 of the 2008 MLS Season, Real Salt Lake has held the top position in the Western Conference for three consecutive weeks, and now sits third place in the entire league. With a 6-0-5 record at home (7-6-6 overall) , they are one of only two teams in the league (the other being Toronto FC) which has not given up a home loss yet this season. Their biggest weakness so far this season has been away games, but with an impressive display at Toyota Park last week against the Chicago Fire, they took a point away from the draw, perhaps signaling that they are getting into a rhythm with their away games as well. Nick Rimando, RSL's keeper, has been on an incredible run of form in recent weeks, and is currently tied with Jon Busch and Kevin Hartman for the most shutouts in the league with 7. He leads the league with the most minutes played (1710 this season - tied with RSL teammate Nat Borchers) and is averaging just 1.05 goals scored against him per match (2nd in the league, behind the Chicago Fire). He holds the season record for the longest stretch without giving up a goal, at 355 minutes from June 28 to July 28. Javier Morales, the Argentine midfielder, is 4th in the league in assists, with 7 in 18 appearances, and was notably missing from last week's All-Star team in Toronto. Fitness has been in RSL's favor this season, with 5 players having played in all 19 games so far (Kyle Beckerman, Nat Borchers, Nick Rimando, Kenny Deuchar, and Robbie Findley) and 3 players having started all 19 games (Beckerman, Borchers and Rimando). Perhaps making the biggest difference, RSL has finally fired up its offense, having taken 33 more shots than any other team (they've taken 267) and second in the league with shots-on-goal at 104 (behind FC Dallas at 107) - as I mentioned earlier, scoring goals has been RSL's biggest problem in the past.
I look forward to RSL qualifying for their first ever playoffs, and will eagerly await seeing how their performance shapes up for the rest of the season. For all you haters out there who said it would be a cold day in Hell when Real clawed its way up from the bottom of the league: it's time to invest in a good parka.
3 comments:
I'm happy to see a perennial celler dweller get up and make something of themselves...but I'm also not too sure about how they'll do once they make the playoffs.
RSL hasn't ever really had to face big pressure games, and their first trip to the playoffs could end with an early exit against a team more accustomed to the postseason, say the Galaxy or Dynamo (who by the way need to get with the program and drop the lame mascot-driven names). I'm not doubting the regular season form of RSL, just their playoff experience, which can matter.
Either way I think they've made a great leap forward, I just hope my Earthquakes can return to their former glory in the same way.
It'll be interesting to see how RSL does in the postseason, as this is new territory for them, but considering the form they're in and the fact that their home stadium is a fortress, I'm optimistic. Coach Kreis has been doing a great job with the team, and the addition of Robbie Russell should boulster them with some solid veteran experience to help anchor the team as they enter uncharted territory. Look for Javier Morales, Robbie Findley and Kyle Beckerman to continue to exert a lot of offensive pressure, while Andy Williams drops bombs from the midfield and Nat Borchers and Chris Wingert hold down the backline in front of the unstoppable stopper, Nick Rimando.
RSL Goalkeeper Nick Rimando was announced as July's MLS Player of the Month. He posted 3 shutouts in 4 games and has led the team on an undefeated streak in 9 of their last 10 games. For more details, check this link:
http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20080801&content_id=177104&vkey=pr_rsl&fext=.jsp&team=t121
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