- Ethan Gomberg
SANDY, UT – A night of counter attacks and penalty kicks, probably overshadowed by DC United forward Charlie Davies and a controversial decision, ended in Utah tonight 1-1. The announced attendance of 16, 841 were on hand for important match for both teams.
Showing posts with label RSL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RSL. Show all posts
- Ethan Gomberg
SANDY, UT - Real Salt Lake found their feet with a 1-0 win over Chivas USA at Rio Tinto stadium, to bounce back following losses to Monterry in the CONCACAF Champions League and Portland in MLS play. Will Johnson scored for Salt Lake in the 87th, but the home side also lost the services of playmaker Javier Morales for a significant period of time after he was stretchered off with a fractured leg.
- Ethan Gomberg
Real Salt Lake may have been the first MLS team to advance to the Champions League final but could not advance any further tonight at their home of Rio Tinto stadium.
RSL and Monterrey both came into this final leg with some disadvantages. Both RSL coach Jason Kreis and Monterrey coach Victor Vucetich had to make some changes to their best starting 11. Monterrey, mising key players such as star forward Aldo de Nigris and midfielders Luis Perez and Jesus Zavala, also had to play a match in Mexico this past weekend, while RSL was without their captain and stalwart holding midfielder, Kyle Beckerman. Vucetich decided to put in midfielder Osvaldo Martínez and defender Héctor Morales in to replace his missing players. Kreis picked veteran midfielder Ned Grabavoy in place of Beckerman. After the game, Kreis said “I do think Kyle’s presence could have been a difference. Kyle is an extremely important player, not only with how many defensive plays he makes for us, but how active he is in our possession.”
Let’s just re-establish just who needs convincing when Real Salt Lake hits the field against Monterrey in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Final (FSC & Telefutura, 10 PM ET) tonight at Rio Tinto Stadium:
1. American soccer fans who look down on MLS
2. European soccer fans who look down on MLS
3. American sports fans who look down on soccer, and by extension, MLS
4. Everyone else
Brought to you by USDish.com
- Jason Davis
Just saw this through a link on Twitter, had to share. Click for full size.
Tonight. Fox Soccer Channel. 10 PM ET. Real Salt Lake hoists the hopes and dreams of American soccer—including Major League Soccer, its players, coaches, fans, assorted auxiliary staff and myriad hangers-on, not to mention every kid playing in every town on every field across this great land—onto their collective shoulders as they face off against Mexican stalwart Monterrey at the Estadio Tecnologico in a game that is not just a game, but is also a referendum on the growth, improvement, and worth of the American game, how it is played, run, taught and supported, and whether steps taken by the league in recent years to push quality to a higher level has worked or was just an exercise in slapping a more gregarious shade of lipstick on a healthy, but uncoordinated, beast of the swinish genus.
Keith just posted his weekly power rankings, and you might have noticed the absence of a top ranked team. It doesn't take an Oxford don to reason out that there's no number one listed because the league's top team is just that obvious; as Jared DuBois said on the American soccer show by way of Luis Bueno, the rankings might as well be 1. Real 2. Salt and 3. Lake. That's how big the perceived gap between the Royals and the rest of the MLS appears to be.
- Jason Davis
Jared and I reconvened yesterday to survey the American soccer landscape. What we saw both frightened and enthralled us. We therefore decided to record ourselves talking about it for just under an hour, with bits on everything from the Timbers home debut to Henry's defiant celebration interspersed with snazzy music. Lucky you.
It was the most highly anticipated MLS game of the season so far, and it turned into the most comprehensive beatdown of the season so far. Real Salt Lake curbstomped the Galaxy for three in the first half, and Morales was the man pulling the strings from behind, scoring twice (including an absolute screamer in the 41st) and helping to create another in the eventual 4-1 win.
- Ethan Gomberg
SANDY, UT
Although up against the draw of the USA/Argentina match 3,000 miles away, Real Salt Lake hosting the LA Galaxy at Riot Tinto Stadium represented an early season match with massive implications for the Western Conference. Both LA and RSL were coming off decent first week results. LA defeated the Seattle Sounders away, then took a point in a tough draw with New England at home. Goals in both games came from budding Brazilian midfielder Juninho. RSL had a rough go in San Jose last week, but were able to steal three points in terrible conditions from an Earthquakes side coming off a conference finals appearance in 2010.
SANDY, UT
Although up against the draw of the USA/Argentina match 3,000 miles away, Real Salt Lake hosting the LA Galaxy at Riot Tinto Stadium represented an early season match with massive implications for the Western Conference. Both LA and RSL were coming off decent first week results. LA defeated the Seattle Sounders away, then took a point in a tough draw with New England at home. Goals in both games came from budding Brazilian midfielder Juninho. RSL had a rough go in San Jose last week, but were able to steal three points in terrible conditions from an Earthquakes side coming off a conference finals appearance in 2010.
- Ethan Gomberg
SANDY, Utah
Although most American eyes were on Seattle tonight for MLS First Kick, the eyes of Utah and the rest of the continent will be on Rio Tinto Stadium. Both Saprissa (Costa Rican winners) and Real Salt Lake (MLS’s last entry in the CONCACAF Tournament) have focused a great deal on this match. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said before the match that “this might be the biggest game we have ever had here”. Indeed RSL has made it a preseason focus to make their CCL run this focus of the 2011 season.
SANDY, Utah
Although most American eyes were on Seattle tonight for MLS First Kick, the eyes of Utah and the rest of the continent will be on Rio Tinto Stadium. Both Saprissa (Costa Rican winners) and Real Salt Lake (MLS’s last entry in the CONCACAF Tournament) have focused a great deal on this match. RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said before the match that “this might be the biggest game we have ever had here”. Indeed RSL has made it a preseason focus to make their CCL run this focus of the 2011 season.
- Jason Davis
Whether the result of shaking off pre-season rusts or due to the greater comforts of being at home, Real Salt Lake proved themselves worthy of their prohibitive favorite status as they dispatched an outmatched Columbus Crew side 4-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday night. A crowd of 15,045 looked on as RSL playmaker Javier Morales scored twice and collected an assist on Alvaro Saborio's opening tally, leading the charge for the home side.
Whether the result of shaking off pre-season rusts or due to the greater comforts of being at home, Real Salt Lake proved themselves worthy of their prohibitive favorite status as they dispatched an outmatched Columbus Crew side 4-1 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Tuesday night. A crowd of 15,045 looked on as RSL playmaker Javier Morales scored twice and collected an assist on Alvaro Saborio's opening tally, leading the charge for the home side.
- Jason Davis
- Jason Davis
Thank god for small miracles, like the MLS season starting before the MLS season actually starts. Training matches are nice, even if we only know those games are happening through official Twitter accounts and the geekiest live chats of all time, but a real game tonight, a full three weeks before the league schedule kicks off, is an uplifting thing for this soccer soul.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Real Salt Lake, the defending MLS Cup champions and overall second place team during the 2010 regular season, is their depth. RSL's big names are well known as major drivers of their recent succss; Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Alvaro Saborio and Jamison Olave all come to mind as all-league type players. But RSL also features "lesser" names that contribute to their overall success; these players fill defined roles, operate under the radar, and come off the bench when needed to fit perfectly into the greater team concept. That depth and across-the-board quality are true testaments to the what Garth Lagerwey and Jason Kreis' have built in the Utah desert.
In Major League Soccer, hope springs eternal. Even in October.
Toronto FC has just one league match left of their schedule, a road date with DC United on Saturday. Having already lost to United at home last month (which effectively ended their playoff hopes), the only thing left for TFC to play for is avoiding the ignominy of being swept by the league's worst team. 2010 is over. Time to look ahead.
I grew up really, really caring about baseball. In baseball, a sport that is as much an individual pursuit as it is a team game, awards given to players really, really matter. Careers can be made on a Cy Young or an MVP, and even lesser awards like the Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers are hotly debated. Every year the same question pops up when it's time to crown MVP: should the award go to the best player in the league, or should it be given to the player who means the most to his team? Despite the debate, the award inevitably goes to the best player, meaning the guy with the best stats. Hit a lot of homeruns and collect a lot of RBI, and you're likely to be the MVP. All that talk about what "valuable" actually means is just a bunch of window dressing.
