RSL Avoids the Sword, Escapes Sporting KC With a Point.

Rich Balchan helped RSL to a scoreless draw against Sporting KC. (KSL.com)

So I was sitting in a restaurant after work last Saturday night when I saw the RSL lineup hit my notifications bar.  I knew Wingert would be out, but I saw that Nick Rimando and and Tony Beltran would be out as well.  In stepped Jeff Attinella, Rich Balchan, and Abdoulie Mansally to try to hold down the fort.  Now I'm pretty comfortable with Attinella in goal, as he filled in well for Rimando last year after Josh Saunders went down during the Gold Cup run.  However, forgive me, but at that moment I thought that RSL was going to end up like the Starks at the Red Wedding in this MLS Cup remtach.

Luckily I was wrong. Attinella had a beast of a match in goal, and Balchan and Mansally more than held their own as RSL rode out the storm to claim a point in a nil-nil draw.  Sporting got their chances though, and the first of which fell to Dom Dwyer, who made headlines before the match with his "we hate RSL very much" talk.  In the 11th minute he got through the RSL defense and had a chance to put his money where his mouth is in a 1v1 with Attinella.  However the RSL backup man was more than a match for Dwyer, stopping him cold to end the danger and leaving the Englishman like Joffrey after getting slapped by his uncle Tyrion.

Dwyer would get a chance to redeem himself in the second half though.  In the 63rd minute he managed to evade Attinella and sent a shot in on the open net.  Unfortunately for him, the shot hit the post and bounced away.  Sal Zizzo recovered the rebound and seemed to have the match's opening goal in the bag, but his shot was desperately cleared by the bearded Nat Borchers, looking like a member of the Night's Watch fresh off the Wall.

Can you tell what show I watched this weekend?  I apologize.

RSL seemed to be holding on for dear life when they caught a break in the 83rd minute.  KC midfielder Oriol Rosell went in hard on Devon Sandoval and received a straight red for his trouble.  However, RSL couldn't really mount much of an attack from their defensive posture, though Chris Schuler did manage to send a header just past the post from a Morales cross late in stoppage time.  Attinella was called on more time though, as he stopped a goal bound effort from Graham Zusi in stoppage time as well.  In the end, neither team could manage as many goals as Jon Snow has had girls....Sorry.

All in all it as a great defensive performance by RSL and a masterpiece by Attinella in goal.  In my mind, it was always going to be an uphill battle to win in KC, even if we would have had all of our first choice guys available.  I didn't really buy in to the "revenge" talk, as even a win wouldn't have brought the MLS Cup back our way.  Thankfully it looks like Jeff Cassar and the team didn't buy into it either, and I'm really impressed with the way he set up the team, especially given the injury situation.  

As I said earlier, I'm more than comfortable with Jeff Attinella in goal, but he was really standing on his head Saturday night.  Thankfully his one error didn't cost us, but even Rimando has his moments.  Balchan and Mansally both proved their worth as well, especially Balchan, who largely contained Zusi.  RSL didn't have many chances, and with only having a paltry 43% of the possession their defense was pushed to the max.  I think all of them passed with flying colors and helped the team pick up what could be a crucial road point.  For Sporting Kansas City, they have to look at this match as an opportunity missed, and despite their large possession stat, I wasn't all that impressed outside of a couple of moments of good buildup.

Here are my three stars from the match:

FIRST STAR--Jeff Attinella, RSL.

I can't really say it better than the official MLS recap says it: "No Rimando? No problem."  Jeff continues to impress me every time he gets in goal for us, and the more experience he gains, the less scary the inevitable future departure of Nick Rimando becomes.

SECOND STAR--Rich Balchan, RSL.

This guy has waited so long for his crack at the RSL first team, and so far he's really showing me why the club stuck by him during his last big injury.  He strikes me as a better than average 1v1 defender and looks really comfortable in the system on the offensive or playing defense.  He didn't have a perfect night against Zusi, but he certainly limited the danger posed by the US international.

THIRD STAR--Nat Borchers, RSL.

Chris Schuler has deservedly gotten a lot of the ink this season, even from me, but Nat really showed what he brings to the table in this match.  He was a steady veteran presence that helped lead the depleted defense all night and his clearance of Zizzo's shot truly preserved the point for RSL.

RSL Punishes TFC For First Home Win

Luis Gil added a goal as RSL beat TFC 3-0 Saturday night at the RioT. (Yahoo Sports).

There has quite understandably been a lot of excitement around Toronto FC so far this season.  The club, which up until now has been a doormat in the Eastern Conference, made vast improvements to their side during the offseason with the additions of USMNT midfielder Micheal Bradley, former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe, and Brazilian National team keeper Julio Cesar.  All three of these guys took to the pitch at Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday night, but in the end, it was a different look, but the same old TFC  for Real Salt Lake as they took apart the visitors in a masterful performance.

The crap hit the fan early on for TFC as Doneil Henry threw Alvaro Saborio to the ground in the box with the a wrestling move in the 10th minute.  Referee Baldomero Toledo immediately pointed to the spot and Sabo stepped up to take the penalty kick.  With the extra motivation of TFC coach Ryan Nelsen calling for his suspension earlier in the week, Sabo iced the PK to give RSL the 1-0 lead after 11 minutes.

It didn't get any easier for TFC after that as they looked semi helpless against an organized RSL squad that was hell bent on keeping the ball, and defended very stoutly when they lost it.  TFC tried to find some joy over the top a few times as Micheal Bradley attempted to connect with Jermaine Defoe, but for the most part, RSL dealt with both of these guys confidently.

RSL was nowhere near done after the Sabo PK either, and the next goal came in the 28th minute after some classic RSL build up.  Javier Morales, who was SPECTACULAR all night, fired a ball along the ground that looked to find Sabo at the top of the area, but at the last minute, the big Costa Rican dummied it, and let it through to an onrushing Chris Wingert, who smashed a shot on target.  Cesar made the save, but the rebound fell to a perfectly placed Luis Gil, who calmly slotted past the befuddled 'keeper to make it 2-0.

TFC came out of the halftime break in an attacking mood though, and nearly got one back.  Early on in the second stanza Michael Bradley launched a shot at the RSL goal that from the other end, I was sure was going in.  He had Nick Rimando absolutely frozen.  Fortunately for RSL, the ball slammed off the post and out of danger, and the lead was intact.

Then in the 55th minute, the Claret and Cobalt put the points in the bucket for good.  Kyle Beckerman connected with Morales, who flicked the ball over the defense to Sabo, who put a tidy chip inside Cesar's left post to make the score 3-0, and cap the night off right for RSL.

It really was just clinical from RSL on the night, and you have to wonder if Ryan Nelsen took notes.  RSL came out and played like a team with great chemistry and TFC came out and played like a team with three high priced players and some other guys.  Think about it folks.  Outside of Keane and Beckham, none of these big dollar DPs have won the Cup yet, and those two guys had a much better supporting cast than TFC has.  They also have that guy named Landon Donovan, and Bruce Arena is a much better coach than Nelsen will ever be.  Henry and Cahill have yet to sniff MLS Cup, and their cast is better too. It remains to be seen how well TFC will gel for the rest of the season, and it is quite possible that the drubbing handed to them by RSL might facilitate that process.

However both sides came away from the match with injury concerns.  For RSL, Chris Wingert left the match in the 58th minute with a tweak to his groin.  Rich Balchan came on filled in very well, however.  Cassar has now commented that it looks like Wingert might not be able to go when RSL faces Sporting Kansas City this weekend at Sporting Park.

The news is arguably worse for TFC.  In the 62nd minute Jermain Defoe came off and headed straight to the locker room for what TFC have confirmed is a hamstring injury.  He is currently listed as questionable for this weekend's match at undefeated Columbus.   Julio Cesar took a knock in a collision with Olmes Garcia, but stayed in the match and should be ok to go for TFC.

So now here are my three stars for the match:

FIRST STAR--Alvaro Saborio, RSL.
It would be easy to give Sabo the first star just for the goals, and the fact that he earned the PK that resulted in his first.  However, there was much more to his performance than that.  He was all over the place for RSL, both on offense and defense.  Some RSL fans like to knock Sabo for a percieved lack of work ethic, but he was definitely above reproach on Saturday night.

SECOND STAR--Javier Morales, RSL.
RSL's midfield maestro was on fire against TFC, with pinpoint passes, flicks, creativity...he had it all and TFC had no way to deal with him.  He showed why he is still one of the best play makers in MLS.

THIRD STAR--Chris Schuler, RSL.
It wasn't a flashy night from the RSL defender, but he was very solid.   If he was at all intimidated by the flashy big names of Defoe and Gilberto, he didn't show it.  He was equally good passing at the back even when the TFC forwards were closing in on him trying to make something happen and force an error.

Puddle's Goal of the Weekend: Saborio Punishes TFC

Sabo scored a brace to help lift RSL over TFC on the weekend (SL Tribune)

Saturday night was so much fun, I just have to put on my homer hat for this weekend's featured goal.  Of course, there is some background tho this too.  Early last week Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen called on MLS to suspend RSL's Alavaro Saborio after a tackle that was correctly given a yellow card in the previous match against the Galaxy.  Well, apparently MLS hasn't learned that you don't want to give RSL's main man extra motivation.  Sabo scored two goals, one of them a PK, to help bury TFC on a cool, windy night in Sandy, Utah.

I've chosen to highlight the second goal.  Check it out as Sabo takes a flick from Javier Morales in the 55th minute and chips it past Brazilian national team GK Julio Cesar for the final goal of the night.

MLS Top 5/Bottom5: Week 3.

Where do Will Bruin and the Dynamo sit in my first rankings?

So I really wanted to try my hand at some rankings and trend spotting this year in MLS.  The fact that there is so much parity in the league makes this kind of thing really fun and challenging for me, and gives me something to think about during long lulls at work, and to keep me up at night with my mind turning over and over.  I decided to wait a couple of weeks though, until everybody had at least a couple of games under their belt, though I suspect that rankings like this are always fairly inaccurate this early in the season anyway.   What I'm going to present to you are my top five and bottom five, with comments on each.

TOP 5--   


1. HOUSTON DYNAMO --The Dynamo were quite impressive in their opening matches, and Will Bruin (above) was on fire.  According to the league site, he is one of the most captained fantasy players going into week four as well.  Dom Kinnear's side has also yet to give up a goal.  However, they still might be a paper tiger.  Their first match was against the Revs, who have been absolutely awful so far, and their second was against the almost equally hapless Montreal Impact, sans Marco Di Vaio.  Also, both of those matches have been at home, where they're always good.  This week they travel to Vancouver, who should provide a better test.

2. TORONTO FC--I've been pretty skeptical about TFC in the offseason and through the preseason.  These new additions are great, but at this point, I still have to see it to believe it from them.  However, I just might be starting to see it.  The win at Seattle was definitely a quality win, though a 1-0 victory over DC at home was slightly less impressive.  Defoe and Bradley have been the real deal for sure, and Cesar is big time keeper in net.  However, their job gets a little harder this weekend coming to RSL, especially without speedster Jackson, who has been suspended by the disciplinary committee. 

3. REAL SALT LAKE--RSL's biggest problem in the opening weeks has been a failure to land the knockout punch, or the inverse, letting some rather simple defensive mistakes put teams back on level ground.  Still, undefeated with 5 points from 3 games with LA and San Jose (2 of them on the road) is a pretty solid start.  The other issue is injuries, especially up top, with Big Dev, Joao Plata, and Robbie Findley all injured. 

4. SEATTLE SOUNDERS--It wasn't a pretty performance, but Seattle took down Sporting in the first match at home at beat the Impact on the road last week.  Those two results were sandwiched around that home loss to TFC.  The Sounders played well at Montreal and executed their game plan and counter attack very effectively, despite not having Clint Dempsey.  If Obafemi Martins stays healthy, he's gonna cause MLS defenses some issues this year, without having to compete with the large "Pay Me" ego that he used to partner with.

5. COLUMBUS CREW--The Crew opened the season with an absolute smack down of DC United at RFK, and then beat the Union at home in week three.  They had to hold on a bit in that one, but it was still an impressive performance against a Union squad that I think is gonna be pretty good.  This weekend they travel to Seattle, where the local supporters will be less than welcoming after the fiasco that surrounded the "Seattle is sending capos to Columbus for the USMNT" article that happened last summer.  They have potentially the biggest test of any of my top five this weekend.


BOTTOM 5--

15. PORTLAND TIMBERS--Sorry, I'm still not sold on the Portland Timbers.  Apparently "Porterball" still means draw at home and lose on the road, at least so far this year.  Their defense is still suspect, and while the midfield is a strength, they still lack a true target guy up front.  Urruti doesn't cut it for me, he's just a bull in a china shop.  The Timbers have yet to show me that they can take the next step by converting all those draws from last year into wins and gain points consistently on the road.  It doesn't get any easier for them this weekend as they play at FC Dallas, who just missed out on my top 5.

16. CHIVAS USA--The Goats are definitely an improved side, and looked decent in their first two matches, even though they had to largely resort to packing it in to try to keep the Whitecaps out after going a man down at home.  It didn't work.  This last weekend they were largely pasted by FC Dallas on the road.  They're better, but not good enough, yet.  This weekend they travel to New York, where the Red Bulls will be looking to smack them around and get their season on track.

17.  MONTREAL IMPACT--I'm not rating them lower because they've been without Di Vaio, and hey, that  road swing through Texas isn't going to be easy for anybody.  However, they never really threatened the Sounders at home either.  They were in the match, but I never really thought, "Oh yeah, here they come."  Getting Di Vaio back will help, but as of right now, I really can't see Montreal really making a push for anything.  This weekend they play at Philly, and I'm forecasting a Union victory.

18. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION--I'm so disappointed in the Revs so far.  I really thought they were gonna build on the playoff run from last year, and they still might.  However, it's hard to really find much that they did right in their opening three matches, though they did get their first point this last weekend, albeit without managing to score a goal.  It's too bad that they didn't get to hold on to Juan Agudelo.  This week they travel to play at San Jose, and you'd have to figure in a win for the Quakes, maybe without having to pull the "Goonie" stuff.

19. DC UNITED--DC was another team that ostensibly got better this offseason, at least they threw a bunch of money at players, particularly one Eddie Johnson.  They then paired Mr. "Pay Me" with Mr. "I Dive and Miss Big Shots" in Fabian Espindola, who also is known to be a bit combative.  Both Seattle and RSL fans predicted that this experiment was not going to go well.  For all their spending and revamping, DC have shown nada, zero, zilch.   This week they host the Fire, and Mike Magee will probably look to feast on DC's back line.

RSL and Galaxy Meet Again, Fight to a Draw

RSL's Luke Mulholland in the second half of Saturday's action. (realsaltlake.com)

This afternoon I finally got over being bummed that I couldn't make the match last Saturday and fired up the DVR to take it in.  It was honestly about what I expected from an RSL vs Galaxy match.  A tight, methodical. sometimes physical affair with both teams seemingly afraid to risk to make a big mistake.  Ironically, both of the day's goals came off of mistakes on the part of both sides.

Of course the Galaxy actually made the first mistake of the match not even two minutes after the opening whistle.  Joao Plata caught Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez deep in his own end and swiped the ball, darting toward what looked like might be an easy finish.  Unfortunately, Plata snatched his ball wide of the post.  That goal would have come in handy at the end.

However, you have to like RSL scoring off of a set piece, which they did in the 19th minute.  Plata hit Sabo in the box with a cross, and well, the Galaxy seemed to think that RSL's big man was off lounging in the Costa Rican sun, because he was as unmarked as you can be. It what must have been like training move, Sabo took the ball down, set it, and smacked it into the back of the net making it 1-0 to RSL.

Unfortunately, the home side were not functioning to perfection on the back line either, and it cost RSL the lead and eventually a point..  Chris Wingert lost the ball around the midfield stripe on 35 minutes and Juninho recovered for the Galaxy.  He dropped the ball off to Robbie Keane, who sprinted toward the RSL goal.  Chris Schuler did a pretty decent job trying to stay in front of Keane and force him wide a bit, but in the end he just became the latest defender to get juked out of his shoes by the Ireland captain as Keane discarded him and put the ball past Nick Rimando with a clinical finish to tie the match at 1-1.

So both goals were well taken, and both sides made a mistake that cost them.  It's not really a surprise.  These clubs are just too good to let big mistakes go unpunished.  There were no further goals in the second half but there was some controversy and talking points.

First off, RSL had a pretty decent penalty case for a penalty, when Dan Gargan clearly held Sabo in the box with two hands on a cross.  Supposedly MLS is looking to crack down on some of that, but not this time.  Second, Sabo was shown the yellow card in the 63rd minute for a rather nasty hit on AJ DeLaGarza that featured a raised leg as he sent the LA defender to the floor in frustration.  Now, Bruce Arena is calling it dirty play and said Sabo was deliberately tying to injure DeLaGarza.  I watched it, slow motioned it, and checked out Simon Borg's thoughts on the "Instant Replay" segment.  I don't think Sabo was trying to hurt him, but as much as I just wanted to be able to see it as something clumsy that a forward might do, there was obviously a frustration involved and bringing the leg into it does make it worse.  Arena wants a ban, and he and the Galaxy openly called for it after the match, which I'm not a fan of.  This whole retroactive punishment thing has turned into a situation where players and coaches now OPENLY lobby for bans and fines after the match has ended, and that needs to stop.  It undermines the referee on the pitch and comes across as very whiny, I don't care who is doing it.  In this case, the referee gave Sabo a yellow, which I personally think was the correct call.  However, I wouldn't be surprised to see the league hit Sabo with a one or two game ban.  I don't agree with that kind of thing where the play was already given a card on the pitch because it takes away the referee's discretion.  It should be as hard to get a ban after a play has already been punished as it is to get a red card or ban rescinded, in my opinion, but we'll see what the league does, likely Thursday or Friday.

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the performance, though I think it was a tremendous lost opportunity to get the Galaxy right after a CCL loss and without their main 'keeper in net.  Last year we ended up regretting dropped points at home to Chicago and Sporting KC.  I wonder if we might regret this one similarly later on down the road.  However, the Galaxy deserve a massive amount of credit for coming in and locking horns with RSL, and taking their first point back home to LA.

So finally, here are my three stars for the match:

FIRST STAR--Alvaro Saborio, RSL.  I really hope Sabo can stay healthy this year.  He was a beast on Saturday and the Galaxy had lots of trouble with him.  He seems to be in a good frame of mind and looks to be really up for it this year.

SECOND STAR--Robbie Keane, LAG.  I hate it when he does what he does to us, but man, his skills are pretty amazing.  The way he just discarded Schuler and scored the goal past Rimando was the work of a master.

THIRD STAR--Chris Schuler, RSL.  Schuler bares no fault for the goal, that's on Wingert.  However, it is so great to see him back on the pitch.  If he can rekindle what we saw from him in the playoffs last year, he's going to be a beast for RSL at the back and who knows, future captain maybe?  I'm always much more comfortable when I see him next to Nat, the bearded one.

Don't forget to join us, yes even me, at the RioT on Saturday against Michael Bradley, Jermaine Defoe, and TFC.  Pop 'round to section 30 and give me a holler.  I'm next to the guy who brings all the cool tifos.

RSL Leaves Buck Shaw With A Point

Yeah, these guys.  Enough said. (MLSSoccer.net)

MLS starts off their official recap of the match by talking about how the Quakes "broke their RSL Hex" in season openers.  Well, despite the fact that I remain slightly frustrated after Saturday night's result, I wouldn't say that going down by two goals at home and then coming back and earning a last second draw is a particularly awesome thing to do.  I guess you can look at it two ways: one, the Quakes showed a lot of heart to come back at home twice this last week after going down.  Two, going down at home twice in a row cost the club two big missed opportunities, one in CCL, and one in MLS.  There comes a point where draws aren't good enough.

But speaking of missed opportunities, let's talk about the match and Real Salt Lake.  Might I say that things were a bit sloppy?  Yes.  Especially on set pieces, which were one of RSL's big issues last year.  They were really solid on them in LA, but less so up the road in San Jose, and it cost them in this one.  The first goal came off of a set piece in the sixth minute.  Shea Salinas sent a free kick into the box that found the head of Victor Bernardez.  (We'll talk about both of these guys again in a bit.)  Bernardez flicked the ball to Chris Wondolowski, who basically deflected the ball in at close range to give the Quakes the 1-0 lead.  Did anybody check to see if he had an extra "W" on the jersey?

Fortunately RSL responded well to going down a goal in the early stages.  I liked this, because it hasn't always happened with this team.  In the 11th minute Joao Plata dropped the ball off to Kyle Beckerman who drilled a shot on target from outside the box.  It bounced off the post and into the goal to knot the match at 1-1.  I always like to see Beckerman taking those kinds of shots, he's proved to be very dangerous out there, just ask the Portland Timbers.

From there on in, RSL controlled the rest of the first half and had the best scoring chances.  In the 32nd minute Plata torched a couple of Quakes defenders, then engaged in some nice give and take with Luis Gil, and then slotted the ball into the back of the net to give the Claret and Cobalt the 1-2 lead.  It really was top notch work from both Plata and Gil, who I thought looked pretty good filling in for the injured Javier Morales.

RSL would take further control in first half stoppage time.  Ned Grabavoy, who I thought had a better night than he did against LA, smashed a shot off of Quakes 'keeper Jon Busch, and RSL new boy Luke Mulholland played trash man, scooping the rebound and knocking it into the net to make it 1-3.  It was is first goal for the club in his first start.

Things seemed to be under control in the second half.  Well, as under control as they can be against the Quakes anyway.  You always wait for the other shoe to drop against them and sure enough it fell late on in the match.  In the 71st minute Aaron Maund, who I thought had another solid start, had to come off and was replaced by Carlos Salcedo.  Then in the 75th minute set piece issues struck again as Salinas (again) put a corner into Bernardez (again) who headed the ball into goal to make it 2-3.

Still, it seemed like RSL was going to survive and take all 3 points.  They took their one goal lead deep into stoppage time and looked to have it sealed up.  Then in the 95th minute Shaun Francis sent a cross into the box, and it looked like we had it dealt with, as Nick Rimando rose to try to punch it clear.  However, his punch was weak, and it went only so far as an unmarked Victor Bernardez, who hammered the ball into the back of the net to make it 3-3 at full time.

In the end, I guess it at least wasn't Lenhart that did the damage, but it was just as frustrating.  I'm not trying to blame Carlos Salcedo at all, but one wonders if Schuler or Maund were in the game late on, well maybe the defense is just a little tighter on those last two goals.  To Salcedo's defense, it often takes a CB 30 minutes or so to get into a match as they don't move and loosen up as much as forwards or midfielders.  In the end I think Maund going out was a big moment in the match.

At any rate, RSL should be relatively pleased by getting 4 points from that opening road swing.  They'll head home for the opener at Rio Tinto this weekend, again against the Galaxy, where the set piece defense is going to have to be better.  It would also be nice to see Schuler back in the lineup.  San Jose will travel to Sporting Kansas City, where the defending champs will try to break out of their early season doldrums, but before that, the Quakes will travel to Mexico to take on Toluca in the 2nd leg of their CCL tie.

So now here are the three stars for the match:

1st STAR--Shea Salinas, San Jose.  This guy caused trouble for RSL all night long, and contributed two set piece balls that led to the first two San Jose goals.

2nd STAR--Joao Plata, RSL.  Platita continues his role as danger man in chief for RSL during these early weeks of the season.  Saturday night he contributed a ton of energy, a goal, and an assist to the cause.

3rd STAR--Victor Bernardez, San Jose.  Yeah, the guy has a bit of an attitude problem on occasion, but to me there's no denying that he's one of the best center backs in MLS.  He's more than solid at the back and is ALWAYS dangerous on set pieces.  I would like to see our center backs emulate that particular quality on a more regular basis.

Rimando, Plata, Boost RSL to 3 Points Over Galaxy

Robbie Keane missed two sitters and a PK for the Galaxy (LAGalaxy.com)

Sorry, I couldn't help but lead my first RSL 2014 entry with this pic of Robbie Keane.  Let's face it. Keane is one of the best, if not THE best striker in MLS, but Saturday night was not his night.  Instead the night belonged to a heroic Nick Rimando and a dangerous Joao Plata as RSL defeated the Galaxy 0-1 at StubHub Center.

Of course, it was hard to tell that it was going to be RSL's night from the action in the opening half.  The Galaxy opened the match looking very dangerous, and finding quite a bit of open space for Keane, Landon Donovan, and new attacker Samuel.  They even got in behind the RSL defense a couple of times.  Aaron Maund got the start next to Nat Borchers at CB instead of Carlos Salcedo, and that made me nervous, even knowing that Keane absolutely abused Salcedo in LA last year.  Maund held his own early and throughout the game though.  At one point in the first half, LA found Keane behind the defense streaking toward Rimando in what appeared to be a 1v1 situation.  However Maund, showing flashes of his good speed, got back and tackled the ball away from Keane to save the day.  It was remarkable that he didn't give up a yellow card or even a foul.  In that moment, Jeff Cassar's confidence in the youngster paid off.

That wasn't the only good chance the Galaxy would have though.  In the 34th minute Rimando botched a clearance and sent it straight to Keane.  It looked to be lights out for the Ireland Captain as he knocked it back toward the goal.  Incredibly the ball smacked off the woodwork, hit the ground, then bounced away from the goal line and the score somehow remained 0-0.  A few minutes later, Keane found Donovan on an angle and Landon smacked toward Rimando's near post.  Rimando hit the deck and made an outstanding save though, keeping the match yet level as the teams headed into the halftime break.

LA continued their assault in the second half, and RSL's defense continued to bend but not break.  Gradually they did start to shut down the space though.  Still, the offense seemed to be sputtering some, so Cassar went to his bench.  The first sub for the Claret and Cobalt was former NASL Best XI player Luke Mulholland, who came in for Luis Gil in the 66th minute.  Gil never really got into the match, but Mulholland had no such issues.  Not long after entering, he found himself putting the ball into the back of the net off of a rebound from a Plata shot, but he was whistled offside, despite having two LA defenders and keeper Penedo between him and the goal at the time.

Still, RSL's had signaled their attacking intent and LA was starting to look nervy at the back.  In the 80th minute Captain Kyle Beckerman played Plata into the box, and Platita slotted past Penedo to make it 0-1 to RSL.  This time there were no flags.

The Galaxy cranked up the pressure over the last ten minutes looking for an equalizer.  New Galaxy man, and rather large attacker, Rob Friend entered the match and caused trouble along RSL's back line, but the boys held into stoppage time, that's when it looked like it was all going to blow away.

In the final minute of the 3, Friend went up in the box over Tony Beltran.  He fell over theatrically, with the ball striking his hand on the way down.  The ref fell for it though, and awarded the Galaxy a penalty kick on the rationale that Beltran had undercut him.  It looked to be the opposite for me, but my opinion doesn't matter.  Keane stepped to the spot and hoped to redeem himself for earlier misses, but his PK was stoned by Nick Rimando and the points were preserved for Real Salt Lake.

The win launches RSL's new season and the Jeff Cassar era on a high note.  They showed real grit and determination despite several things going against them.  The Claret and Cobalt will take on San Jose at Buck Shaw stadium next week.  For the Galaxy, the played well, and were superior to RSL for large swathes of the match, unfortunately for them, they couldn't finish even one of several possible chances.  Still it's hard to argue that LA didn't deserve a point.  They have a bye in league play next weekend, but they host  Tijuana this week in CCL play.  That should be interesting as both Keane and Donovan played 90 minutes in this match.

Now, here are my 3 Stars for the match, the first installment of 2014:

1st STAR: NICK RIMANDO: RSL.--Yes, Nick made a pretty big goof in the first half, but bounced back in epic fashion.  He had nine saves on the night, including the big one on Keane's PK in stoppage time.

2nd STAR: Joao Plata: RSL.--Plata was the most consistent offensive threat for RSL.  He forced Penedo into a save in the first half on a driven shot, earned a rebound that Mulholland put in for the called back goal in the second, and eventually beat the LA shot stopper for the match winner in the 80th minute.

3rd STAR: Aaron Maund: RSL.--Hell yes, I was nervous.  However, Maund did have a good preseason, and really justified Cassar's selection by putting out a solid performance in the back.  He also nearly had a goal in the first half.  I would really like to see our CBs be a more consistent threat on set pieces this season.

RSL 2013: Success, Disappointment, or In-between?

The Western Conference title was the highlight of RSL's season (USA Today)

So.....it's been a mighty tough week to be an RSL fan.  The disappointment of the MLS Cup Final needs no further description.  That's followed up by losing Jason Kreis midweek, and then on Friday finding out that the Portland Timbers would be taking the last spot in the 2013 Concacaf Champions League as opposed to RSL.  It's tempting to look back on everything that's happened this year and be pretty disappointed, and I can't blame those who might take more of a "glass half empty approach."

However, what happens when we look at the entire body of work in the 2013 season and match it up with preseason expectation?  I could rehash all the events of the last offseason and recount expectations going into 2013, but that ground has been well worn.  Suffice it to say, I picked them 4th prior to the season, so my expectations were exceeded in that regard.

When you put the actual results of the 2013 season alongside the preseason expectations, I think the season can definitely be judged as a success.  When we look back, we see that RSL sat atop both the Western Conference and MLS wide table for a significant portion of the season and for the most part they were remarkably consistent.  How many games did Beckerman, Rimando, Saborio, and Beltran miss with international duty?  Stack those alongside with a significant injury to Chris Schuler, who was stepping into the role of Jamison Olave, and more injury issues for Sabo, who always seemed to get broken when he went to play for Costa Rica.  Also, both Kwame-Watson Siriboe and Josh Saunders suffered season ending injuries in this time, forcing untried backups into action.  Despite all of this, the Claret and Cobalt hung in there all season, and though they did slip from the Supporter's Shield race at the end, they never really fell into the slog at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture with LA, Seattle, Colorado, and San Jose.

Individually, several players had remarkable seasons as well.  I think we have to start with Nick Rimando here.  He kept RSL in a lot of matches this season, especially early on.  He was also a beast for the USMNT in the Gold Cup and for RSL during the playoff run.  I really have a major issue with him losing out on the Goalkeeper of the Year award.  Outside of Rimando, check out Nasty Ned Grabavoy.  Earlier in the season Kreis had challenged Ned to step up and be more of a leader on the club.  He did just that.  He continued his stellar work rate all over the pitch, and in my mind some of RSL's best moments of the year offensively came when he was more involved. especially on secondary runs from the midfield.

Two other men really emerged in the playoffs, and RSL fans should be hoping that these guys carry that form into next season.  First off I'm speaking of Robbie Findley.  Robbie took a lot of flack throughout the regular season, some of it deserved.  He seemed to be the favorite whipping boy for RSL fans on the post game shows.  However in the playoffs he came to life again and showed us the dangerous offensive weapon he really can be.  Now we just need him to add consistency, in my estimation.  I also want to prop up Chris Schuler, who I was touting on twitter as the most important piece for RSL during the playoffs.  His return was HUGE for the Claret and Cobalt.  Not only did he team up again with Nat Borchers to help solidify our defense in front of Rimando, but he became an offensive threat on set pieces as well, and this is something I think we need more of from our big guys at the back.  Hopefully he can continue to be that presence next season.

Now I'm also a "results matter" and "trophies matter" kind of individual.  To play in two cup finals in a season is excellent.  To win neither of them borders on unacceptable.  I have to level this criticism again here and it remains valid.  When the big prize is on the line, something just seems to be lacking with this group.  There will almost always be one or two fatal errors, maybe the only errors that are made by the boys during the match.  We saw both DC United and Sporting Kansas City exploit these errors and come away with trophies.  Now I'm not going to castigate the team for falling just short in MLS Cup away to a very deserving Sporting Kansas City squad, but to me the loss of the US Open Cup final at home to a DC United squad that was criminally horrible all season is a low point not only of this season, but in recent RSL history

So in the final analysis, yes the season was a success, but I think we should definitely look back on it with some disappointment.  It was good, but it could have been great.  It was a chance to put down once of the best seasons in MLS history, but in the end we couldn't quite seize that moment.  The important thing now is, what do we do with that disappointment?  We'll have some new blood at the top next year, and some new faces on the pitch as well.  I hope the club takes a healthy dose of "what could have been" from 2013 and uses it for motivation to get better, to develop that needed killer instinct.  Hopefully the new coach will be able to facilitate that as well.

Jason Kreis and RSL: The Roads Diverge.

It's the end of an era at Rio Tinto Stadium

Late this summer a frightening specter emerged for RSL fans to think about.  Rumors began to circulate that head coach Jason Kreis, the face of the franchise, was considering a move to expansion franchise New York City FC as their first head coach.  It caused a considerable ruckus to say the least, leading into the US Open Cup Final and a big regular season clash with the Seattle Sounders, both of which RSL lost.  Gradually things calmed down though, and RSL rebounded with a tremendous run through the MLS playoffs falling just short to Sporting Kansas City in the MLS Cup final last weekend.

However, once that match was over, the eyes of everyone affiliated with RSL and many affiliated with MLS turned to Kreis to see what choice he would make regarding his future.  Last night, coach Kreis had the team up to his house and broke the news: he's taking the job at NYCFC.

Now one can't fault RSL fans for feeling like they've been kicked in the teeth while they were down.  The jubilation of beating Portland in the Western Conference final gave way to huge disappointment with the cup loss, and to deal with this three days later is kind of hard to swallow.  My own immediate reaction last night was severe disappointment, as I had hoped Kreis would stay.  To me, there was a sense of unfinished business this year after 2 Cup final losses.  However, after sleeping it on it, I've come to a different perspective.

First off, Jason Kreis owes this club and it's fans absolutely NOTHING.  I'm not sure that anyone in MLS could have built RSL from what it was into what it is in as short an amount of time as Coach Kreis.  We've gone to from doormat to champions and perennial contenders.  This last year, after jettisoning several key players, Coach Kreis lead this team to an MLS Cup final in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year.  Kreis has more than earned his wage and our respect in Salt Lake City.

Second, this is a HUGE chance for Jason Kreis.  Not only will Jason be moving into a huge role with a ton of cash to play with to face his latest challenge, but he's going to be a first hand witness to big time European Club football.  According to the NYCFC website, Coach Kreis will travel to England to work directly with Manchester City staff including manager Manuel Pellegrini.  He'll also get to work with Director of Football Txiki Bergiristain, who won the Champions League with Barcelona.  For a man who wants to continue to progress as a head coach in football, whether in the USA or abroad, this is a chance that cannot be passed up.

Finally, this was obviously not easy for Coach Kreis.  I encourage everyone, RSL fan or not, to listen to his interview with ESPN 700's Bill Riley. It's heartbreaking in spots, and gut-wrenching for RSL fans.  In the interview, Kreis speaks of the agony of making the choice, knowing he would have to make up his mind soon as the playoffs wore on.  He also said that telling the team was the hardest message he's ever had to deliver.   Listen to the interview for more perspective on this.  It's fantastic.

Are there potentially pitfalls here for both Kreis and RSL?  Absolutely.  The club has stated their intention to hire someone who will continue with Kreis's system, or as he put it: the RSL ethos.  However, if next season does not go well, one can quickly see the questions and finger-pointing beginning immediately.  If it goes south quickly, we'll have one unhappy fanbase.  For Kreis, he'll go right into the pressure cooker.  NY is an entirely different sports culture than Salt Lake.  Granted, it's not the Yankees or the Giants, so the spotlight won't be quite as white hot, but MLS, Man City, and the Yankees have invested a lot of time and cash into this enterprise, and results will be expected quickly.  Also, when you think of both New York and Manchester City, "The team is the star" is hardly the first thing to come to mind.

The path ahead for both RSL and Kreis is risky, but nothing worth having is usually easy.  For now, I hope other RSL fans will join me in expressing their gratitude for Coach Kreis and pondering the legacy he has left here.  Soon enough, a new frontier awaits the club and the man, and when that time arrives, fortune will indeed favor the bold.

MLS Coach of the Year: My Take

Right now you're thinking I'm totally gonna RSL homer this post.  Read on to see if I do.......

As the Major League Soccer regular season comes to a close, there's a lot of banter going on about this year's post season awards.  The award for Coach of the Year has been getting some serious heat on the MLS comment site and social media networks.  Here I'll present my top 4 candidates for the award and give the best reasons that I can think of for and against before presenting my pick for the award.  I'm sure that whoever I pick will be just as thrilled to get my pick as the actual award.

Caleb Porter--Portland Timbers--The turnaround of the Portland Timbers is certainly one of the major stories in MLS this year, and a large part of it is due to the attitude and system installed by Caleb Porter.  Porter has been considered to be one of the bright young American soccer minds for awhile, but that rep kind of took a hit when he failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics with the USA U-23 team.  That image has certainly been restored this year.  Portland has been solidly in contention all season long, and here with one game to go they have a legit shot not just at first in the west, but the Supporter's Shield as well.  This certainly bodes well for his chances, and he's seemed to be the odds on media favorite.  A major drawback to me is the number of draws that Portland have settled for.  Yes, you can call it getting results, but the Timbers have also failed to finish off teams a number of times this year, including two high profile matches at home against Real Salt Lake.  This could bite them in the playoffs.

Jason Kreis--Real Salt Lake--Speaking of RSL, how about the job that Jason Kreis has done?  Now, stay with me here.  A lot of folks wrote RSL off this season, picking them barely into the playoffs or perhaps out of the playoffs with the loss of Will Johnson, Jamison Olave, and Fabian Espindola among others.  They called it a "rebuilding year."  Kreis went out and replaced these guys, and managed to up RSL's goal scoring in the process.  In this "rebuilding year," RSL will finish 2nd or 1st in the west, depending on results this weekend.  Kreis and this club also accomplished this while missing their number 1 keeper, their Captain, their top goal scorer, and their best fullback for a month of the season as those players were away on international duty.  To me, that increases the odds.  However, RSL's somewhat lackluster finish to the season and reputation for folding in big matches will hurt his candidacy.

Oscar Pareja--Colorado Rapids--While RSL has gets most of the press in the Rocky Mountain region, Pareja has very quietly reforged the 2010 MLS Cup Champions not only into a playoff team, but in my mind, a genuine contender for MLS Cup.  The Rapids went through a preseason dump as large as, or maybe greater than, that of RSL.  Pareja's draft picks (Deshorn Brown and Dillon Powers) are the odds on favorites for Rookie of the Year, and have both contributed significantly.  The additions of Vincente Sanchez and Gaby Torres (the club's first DP) have made the Rapids all the more dangerous.  Let's not forget the emergence of Clint Irwin in goal or Chris Klute on defense either.  Pareja has brought these young men along in spectacular fashion.  The Rapids thrashing of the Sounders was kind of a coming out party in the the MLS media, but not to me.  I've been preaching Pareja and the Rapids in the Playoffs all year long.  They'll be more dangerous next year too.  Unfortunately for Pareja, the lack of media attention given to the Rapids could very possibly derail his chances.

Mike Petke--New York Red Bulls--Don't look now folks, but the Red Bulls are damn close to actually winning a trophy, though the Fire will try to have a say in that this weekend.  I think Petke has done a phenomenal job in his first year in charge of a club that has long been the pinnacle of  high salaried dysfunction in MLS.  He brought in Robin Fraser to help him out, oh yeah and he is the biggest beneficiary of RSL's preseason salary dump.  Petke has addressed the long standing issues in defense for the club more than adequately, and Luis Robles has finally stabilized the situation in net.  Couple these things with the emergence of Tim Cahill, and the Red Bulls might finally be able to fulfill their aspirations, and I think Petke is a huge part of that.  Now, some people will say that with the caliber of players at Petke's disposal, he ought to be where he is.  There will also be continued skepticism of RBNY's ability to close the deal until they win MLS cup, but I think he's still a solid candidate.

So there you have the case for these four men laid out as best as I can manage. In my mind, all four are totally deserving and I wouldn't mind if any of them win it.  However, in my mind, the award goes to..........

Oscar Pareja of the Colorado Rapids.

Sorry Porter, at least Oscar can beat Jason Kreis, and I'd take the Timbers in the playoffs over the Rapids in the playoffs any day of the week.  Congrats to Pareja and the Rapids on a great season.

Quakes Wreck Toothless RSL

Chris Wondolowski and Joao Plata square off. (Deseret News)

Saturday night Real Salt Lake returned to Rio Tinto Stadium with high hopes of leaving least weekend's loss to Seattle behind them.  The Claret and Cobalt were 2-0 against the Quakes so far this year, and since the Quakes had just played a CCL match on Wednesday, so the cards looked set to be laid out for a match that RSL really should win.  San Jose, to their credit, had other ideas.

The match started innocently enough, with RSL controlling most of the possession and forcing their way into the San Jose end.  There was a nice chance for Kyle Beckerman early on, but the captain slipped his driving shot just over the crossbar.  Devon Sandoval also directed a header at goal, but hit it right at Jon Busch, who was barely troubled.

RSL still looked to be in control has San Jose calmly waltzed up RSL's defensive left side in the 18th minute.  No RSL players pressured the ball and Cordell Cato was left open to send an easy, textbook cross into the box where Steven Lenhart slipped away from Nat Borchers and put the Quakes in the lead as easy as you like with a training type header to the near post.  To me it looked like our defense was banking on a secondary run and got caught flat footed.

The crowd at Rio Tinto was stunned, but they were brought back to life a few moments later when RSL found an equalizer.  Kyle Beckerman sent in a corner kick that found an unmarked Javier Morales.  Javi slammed it easily past Busch to knot the score at 1-1.

At this point I remember thinking to myself from my seat in section 30, "Ok, we're back on level terms.  We need to reassert our offensive gameplan and go from there.  Our defense isn't going to screw up that badly twice."  I was dead wrong.  Moments later RSL gave up a silly free kick just outside the area and Shea Salinas was able to impart another basic cross into the danger zone.  Lenhart slipped Borchers yet again and headed past Rimando to make it 1-2 to the visitors.

Watching Lenhart's gyrations and celebrations made me sick to my stomach, but the absolute pedestrian style of RSL's defensive play on the two goals was downright nauseating.  I don't know how you let THAT GUY loose twice in four minutes like that.  RSL got the torching they deserved.  San Jose quite effectively parked the bus in front of their goal for the rest of the half, and RSL wasn't able to muster more than a half chance as they headed toward the break.  The crowd came to their feet in stoppage time as RSL earned a corner, but they played an inexplicable short corner where Kyle dropped the ball off to Beltran, who tried to send in an early ball, only to see it blocked by the defender that was camped right in front of him.  That colossal waste of a chance ended the first half.

The Quakes came out on fire in the second half as RSL looked a like a deer in the headlights, backed into their own defensive end.  The bus that was now parked was Claret and Cobalt in color as RSL seemed just barely able to thwart attack after attack by the Quakes.  Finally around the hour mark Jason Kreis had seen enough and sent Olmes Garcia and Luis Gil into the match.  They immediately changed things and brought RSL a sharper attacking look, but San Jose drew their defense back in.  RSL looked to be at a total loss at how to break the bunker.  They sent in cross after cross, 34 on the night, but to no avail.  The only height based attacker we had available was Sandoval, who had come off for Garcia. 

Late on Kreis went three at the back and subbed out Salcedo for Robbie Findley.  Robbie had the best look at an equalizer for RSL, as they played him through on a counter late in the match.  Robbie lashed a shot but just missed the upper 90.  A good portion of the fans in the north end thought it was in, but it was plainly the wrong side of the net.  That was pretty much the last breath for RSL and the match ended in the disappointing 1-2 loss.

So what do we make of this?  This was the most unfocused I've seen our team at home this year.  For the most part they seemed without a clue offensively or defensively.  The official party line afterward attributed the result to San Jose's bunker tactics, and that surely had a part to play, but the worst part of the whole thing was RSL's identity crisis.  We don't have a chance at scoring crosses without Saborio in the match, especially against guys like Victor Bernardez.  I doubt any of the crosses in the second half seriously troubled the Quakes CBs.  Our desperation and lack or creativity played right into San Jose's hands.

Creativity you say?  Yes.  We've scored so many goals this season off of creative midfield play and late, secondary runs into the box.  These seemed to be few and far between.  Grabavoy had a couple, but couldn't pull the trigger.  Luis Gil also caused a little havoc, but couldn't create much.  For me, I thought he and Garcia should have been subbed in at half time.  By the time they came in at the hour mark, 15 precious minutes had drained from RSL's search for an equalizer.

Much of the speculation after the match swirled around coach Kreis and his rumored trip to NYC to meet with the NYCFC folks.  He gave an interview late in the week saying both he and the team were totally focused on winning.  That was obviously not the case Saturday night, as both team and coach appeared to be absolutely befuddled.  It was like they had never seen a team park the bus before.  Anyone who has been to RSL matches at the Riot the last few years can tell you that we've worked against plenty of bunkers though.

Nat Borchers stood up and took accountability for the goals, and good on him, he was exactly right to do so.  However his mates on the back line were nowhere to be found in that stretch, and we continued to give up stupid fouls on rash challenges.  Again, I attribute this to total lack of focus.  RSL is so much better than that.  We'd be remiss not to lay some of the blame at the feet of the MF and forwards though, neither of whom could create or finish to save their lives.

I hope RSL does the right thing and locks up coach Kreis.  This distraction has already had negative effects and will continue to do so.  The story is not going away, but if it isn't fixed, RSL's trophy and playoff chances just might ride off into the sunset with him.

The Grinder: RSL Hold Off Houston Dynamo

Houston's Adam Moffat conceded the PK that turned into the winning goal.

Saturday night was RSL's first league home match since this disappointing loss to Sporting Kansas City last month.  Recent MLS results had seen the Claret and Cobalt pick up only one of their last nine available points, yet somehow they were still at the top of the Western Conference.  Wednesday night, an Open Cup play win over the Portland Timbers instilled some new confidence in the team, but again they gave up a late goal, which had been the hoodoo of the side in recent weeks.

Houston came out well in the first 15 minutes, determined to put some pressure on RSL's more tired legs.  It seemed to work well for a time, even getting some possession in the RSL 3rd.  However, their midfield really didn't seem to be connecting well with Will Bruin up front, and for the most part he was a non factor.

After weathering the opening Houston storm relatively unscathed, the Claret and Cobalt started to assert themselves fairly well.  Jason Kreis came out in a 4-2-1-3 formation featuring Alvaro Saborio, Joao Plata, and Olmes Garcia up front.  Plata didn't have the best of nights, but the Dynamo seemed to have particular trouble with Olmes, fouling him quite a bit.  Still, the pressure mounted by RSL didn't pay off until late in the first half.

In the 37th minute, Olmes Garcia went up for a header in the penalty area.  Houston's Adam Moffat came in and clearly undercut him, dropping him to the ground as he went for the ball.  The referee pointed to the spot, awarding RSL a PK.  The Dynamo and some media folks have tried to call this into controversy, but I think it was the absolute right call.  You see that particular call made at midfield all the time and nobody says a word, because it's foul.  If you do it in the penalty area, you concede a PK.  It seems pretty cut and dry to me.  At any rate, Saborio wrong wayed Tally Hall on the PK, sending RSL into the locker room up 1-0.

The Dynamo came out in the second half with the same intensity that they started the first half with.  I expected a similar outcome, that they would press really hard for 10 or 15 minutes and then RSL would gain control again.  That didn't happen though as the fatigue from Wednesday night started to set in.

Despite the pressure, it never really felt out of hand.  There were a couple of times that I wanted to avert my eyes though, as RSL gave up some dangerous set piece opportunities late in the match.  Brad Davis and the Dynamo specialize in these.  There was one in particular, either late in regulation or in stoppage time, where Davis had pretty much a straight on look at the goal. I wrapped my scarf around my face in panic, but couldn't resist having a peek.  RSL's wall stood firm though, repelling the attack and holding on to the 1-0 win.

So certainly Saturday night wasn't the Claret and Cobalt's best performance or finest hour.  In my mind, the fatigue from Wednesday took it's toll, and one has to remember that Kyle Beckerman has basically been playing two matches per week for the last 6 weeks.  He was also carrying a knock.  Kreis said post game that he will look to rest the RSL captain in training this week. 

But it was Beckerman's own post game comments that resonated with me.  He mentioned that the team was really focused on keeping the clean sheet, and it showed.  Late goals cost RSL points against Sporting, New York, and Colorado.  RSL was in position to win all three of those games, but only took one point.  Saturday night the defense, bolstered by the return of Wingert, Beltran, and Salcedo, clamped down on a dangerous Dynamo attack and held all three points.  It WAS one of their finest hours and a job well done.

So with that in mind, here are the Puddle's Three Stars for Saturday Night:

THIRD STAR--Carlos Salcedo, CB, RSL:  I just can't get enough of this kid.  Salcedo has been a complete revelation this year out of the Academy.  We could have been in big trouble with Schuler and Kwame out, but this kid has not only stepped in, but he has stepped UP.  He did have one bad give away in the first half, but he got back to help limit the chance, and it didn't hamper his effort for the rest of the match.

SECOND STAR--Olmes Garcia, F, RSL: Olmes didn't have any goals Saturday night, but the Dynamo really couldn't handle him, hence the fouls and the PK.  The great thing about this kid is that he's only going to get better.  We'll see if the league adjusts to him.

FIRST STAR--Ned Grabavoy, MF, RSL:  Ned is very quietly having a career year, and it's a testament to him that it's been so quiet.  He steps in anywhere and everywhere and does whatever is asked of him.  Saturday night he missed one pass out of 42.  Insane.

RSL Tops Timbers, Punches Open Cup Final Ticket

RSL held off the Portland Timbers in US Open Cup Play (USA Today Sports)

It's happening folks, we're getting another Cup final at Rio Tinto Stadium!  Last night Real Salt Lake outlasted the Portland Timbers to take a 2-1 win in the US Open Cup semifinals.  By virtue of the coin flip held a few days ago, the Claret and Cobalt will host US Open Cup Final on October 1st.  Their opponent will be DC United, who advanced by beating the Chicago Fire in their semifinal.

It wasn't easy for RSL, and it never was going to be against the Portland Timbers, who have made huge strides forward since Caleb Porter took over at the beginning of this season.  However, what we saw last night was largely an experienced Claret and Cobalt side going up against a younger Timbers side that was lacking experience in big time contests, especially on the road.  A draw wasn't going to be enough for the men from Portland this time.

RSL got a much needed game changer in the 7th minute, and it was the returning Gold Cup players to the rescue.  Kyle Beckerman found Alvaro Saborio in the box and Sabo expertly headed the ball inside the back pot to make it 1-0.  It was a huge break for the Claret and Cobalt, but afterward things got a little rocky.

Portland took to their possession game to see what they could do about their new disadvantage.  To some it seemed like RSL was just content to let the Timbers possess in their own half and midfield, but I think there was an element of nervousness to it, and I guess given recent results, you couldn't blame them.  Still, the defense was pretty solid and limited the Timbers to very few clear cut chances.

The best of those in the first half came from former RSL favorite turned Timbers Captain Will Johnson, who unleashed a hellish strike on goal in the 40th minute.  Thankfully for RSL, they had Gold Cup winning 'keeper Nick Rimando in net, who stoned his old teammate to preserve the lead going into the halftime.

The second half proceeded along similar lines, with RSL doing a bit better at keeping some of the possession for themselves.  However the game changed for good when Joao Plata checked in during the 62nd minute.  Our little bundle of speed, touch, and energy helped put Portland on their heels a bit more, and in the 78th minute he slashed a great goal into the back of the net to make it 2-0 off of a great setup from Saborio.

As it turned out, the Claret and Cobalt would need that goal.  In the first minute of stoppage time, Rimando managed a huge reaction save on Portland's Diego Valeri.  Unfortunately the rebound went right back to the Portland playmaker who headed it in with Nick still on the ground to make it 2-1.  Thankfully the defense held and there would be no stoppage time glory for the visitors to Rio Tinto that night.

I really urge everyone to come out on October 1st to support the club in the Open Cup Final.  It's roughly six weeks away, plenty of time to try to get off work, which I am definitely going to try to do.

Now here are the Puddle's Three Stars:

Third Star: Diego Valeri, MF, Portland Timbers--Valeri was the biggest danger man for Portland last night, and scored their lone goal in stoppage time.  However, he also missed the target on a clear header earlier in the half that probably should have been a goal.

Second Star: Alvaro Saborio, F, Real Salt Lake--I'm still amazed that we have folks who don't like Sabo.  What did he do last night?  Oh, he just scored the first goal and set up the winner.  No biggie.

First Star--Nick Rimando, GK, Real Salt Lake--Nick has been on fire this year, and came up with some huge stops again last night.  I'm really hoping he gets the recognition due to him at the end of the year, because no 'keeper in MLS is having as good a season as he is.

With the RM Cup Over, What's Next for RSL?

Early heroics from Ned Grabavoy weren't enough for RSL (Realsaltlake.com)

There was good news and bad news for RSL coming out of Commerce City. Colorado, Saturday night.  First and foremost for many fans, despite a gutty performance from the Claret and Cobalt, the Colorado Rapids evened the match at 2-2 in the second half to claim the Rocky Mountain Cup for the first time in seven years.  It's indeed a bummer for RSL fans, but it's a well earned accomplishment for Oscar Pareja and his young Rapids group.  Suffice it to say, the rivalry has been rekindled.

However it wasn't near all bad for RSL.  A point on the road in MLS, especially in a rivalry match like this, is never a bad thing.  This result, plus the draw between Portland and Vancouver, keeps RSL on top of the Western Conference exiting the weekend.  That's right, despite only claiming 1 point out of their last 9, the Claret and Cobalt are still on top.  Also Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman returned to the lineup after missing a month with Gold Cup duty.  Rimando was clearly man of the match, with his several saves earning RSL that valuable point.  

With the angst of the Rivalry melting quickly in the rear view mirror, what is next for the Claret and Cobalt?  What lies ahead?  Obviously attention immediately shifts to US Open Cup Semifinal match this Wednesday against Portland.  It's two wins for RSL until they can collect not only a trophy to add to the cabinet, but to lock down a CCL spot for next year and claim the corpse of that particular White Whale.

Portland are no slouches though, and former RSL man Will Johnson will lead his club into Rio Tinto  on Wednesday night with the exact same goals: the winner of this match will host the final.  Hopefully RSL will be able to have the services of Javier Morales as he left the Colorado match early for precautionary reasons.  Look for Nick Rimando to make his first start of this year's Open Cup campaign, and look for the return of both Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert to help bolster RSL's defense.  Those points should be a great relief to RSL fans.  Wingert and Beltran's suspensions are now over in league play, which means they can return to the lineup when RSL host the Houston Dynamo at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night.  Those three points could be crucial, especially with three six pointers coming up against Portland.

RSL will need to defend it's home field advantage to lock up the playoffs and make any kind of a run at the Shield or a high seed.  There are six remaining League matches at the RioT vs Houston, Columbus, Portland, San Jose, FC Dallas, and Chivas USA.  Hopefully worst case scenario lands you 12 out of those 18 points.  That would put RSL at 50 points, if they don't earn another on the road.  All of RSL's remaining road matches are against Western Conference Playoff teams, if one assumes that Seattle will make a run with Dempsey in the fold.  The points on the road could be at a premium, making winning our matches at home even more vitally important.  Circle the August 23rd date at LA and September 28 at Vancouver as matches that could be targets for at least a point.  Seattle is kind of an unknown quantity with Dempsey, for now.

So there's plenty to play for, and the Claret and Cobalt are going to have to play at the top of their game from here on in to make a run at a solid playoff seed.  The conference is going to be very tight.

The Rocky Mountain Cup: Dawn of a New Era or Continued Domination?

The Rocky Mountain Cup: It's gonna be feisty.

Cascadia gets all the rivalry attention from Major League Soccer, and let's face it, the atmosphere created around those matches is indeed quite the spectacle.  However, for my money, the most underrated rivalry in MLS will have it's final chapter for 2013 (at least in the regular season) written at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado: The Rocky Mountain Cup.

It's quite true that the rivalry between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids has been rather one sided in terms of results over the last several years.  However, the matches are always super-competitive and can be nail-biting for the non neutral fan of other stripe.  It's physical, at times it's pretty ugly, but it's always unpredictable!

So who do I tip to raise the cup, or shall I say "drive the Suburu" come this weekend?  The inside track clearly goes to the Colorado Rapids.  They earned a great road result with a draw at Rio Tinto earlier this year and took all three from RSL in the first meeting at the Dick.  All they have to do is draw, and RSL's record at the Dick isn't really any better than Colorado's at the RioT.

RSL will also be missing some key players, especially on the back line, which has been the biggest vulnerability in recent weeks.  Chris Wingert will be out due to the extra game suspension he earned for laying out Sporting KC's Kei Kamara.  Tony Beltran will be back from Gold Cup duty, but will also be suspended for the red card he picked up in his last match for RSL.  Injuries further complicate things for the defense.  No Schuler, No Kwame, perhaps no Carlos Salcedo.  This leaves Borchers alongside either Aaron Maund, who is still very much a project, or newcomer Brandon McDonald.  Take a deep breath, RSL fans.  Also, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see Yordany Alvarez pick up a suspension from the disciplinary committee for his challenge on Tim Cahill in New York.  If Kyle Beckerman picks up a knock in the All-Star Game, well, I don't even want to think about it.   Rapids fans have good reason to be hopeful.  They're going to get some chances, and RSL's defense is going to make some mistakes.

However, it's not all doom and gloom for the Claret and Cobalt and not all roses for the folks in Burgundy either.  The Rapids will be missing Hendry Thomas, who will be suspended due to yellow card accumulation.  In my mind he's been a key cog for them in front of their back line, which has also proven to be vulnerable at times this year.  With Alvaro Saborio back in the mix and others in RSL's rejuvenated attack, RSL will get some quality looks as well.  The other good news is that Nick Rimando is back in the fold for RSL.  Yes, he'll be at the All Star Game as well, but we can hope that he doesn't see action.  His heroics have been enough for RSL in the past, and they'll need him for this one.

Again, for the cup, all the Rapids need is a tie.  However, don't expect them to play for the tie.  They've been one of the more dynamic teams in MLS in recent weeks, and they have their eyes firmly fixed on the top of the table, where Real Salt Lake currently sit.  They want all three.  The Western Conference race is so tight right now that a point out of this match at home will clearly not be good enough for the Rapids.  They'll attack all out like Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg, and they should do so.  RSL's makeshift defense demands it.

This could leave RSL with some nice chances on the counter though.  I don't expect them to sit back and absorb pressure, they're not very good at it, but when the Rapids do get men forward, and they will, their defense could be left ripe for the picking as well, and RSL has showed it's ability to put up multiple goals on pretty much anybody.

So in my mind, this comes down to two things.  First, which defense makes the fewer mistakes, or avoids making the catastrophic mistake?  Second, which goalkeeper puts on the best show: Nick Rimando or Clint Irwin?  Irwin has been pretty much a rock for the Rapids, and he'll need another strong showing, as will Nick Rimando.

How do I see it unfolding right now?  I'm going with a 1-1, or maybe a 2-2 draw.  The result gives the Rapids the cup and hands them the battle.  However, that would keep RSL ahead in the war that is the standings, for now anyway.  Portland plays Vancouver at Jeld-Wen, so you probably tip them to win that one.  The standings could shuffle, but one thing is for sure, this weekend will be highly interesting.

Opinion: Hard to Blame Officiating Mistakes

As long as there have been sports, there have been men and women who have the job of enforcing the rules of the sport and making impartial judgements on the field of play.  As long as these referees have existed, spectators and players have complained about them and pinned failure to win a contest on them.  I can imagine that if you go back to the days of the Maya, there were probably fans and players who complained about the officials in their handball games that took place in the stone courts of Chichen Itza.

Of course we all do it today as well.  Even if you say you don't, most likely you do.  I follow soccer fans of most MLS clubs on twitter, most of them, if not all of them, are highly intelligent when it comes to the game, still I could go back on my timeline over the years and find at least one instance where most of them have complained about a referee.

I'm certainly not exempt from this either.  After Saturday night saw RSL lose to Sporting Kansas City, my initial reaction was to blame the referee.  I even tweeted that "incompetence in the center circle" cost RSL.  Now, in the heat of that moment that is what I thought.  Now, a couple of days later, I still think the officiating in the match was poor and inconsistent on both sides.  However, if you read my previous post summing up the match, you know that I backed off the "ref cost us the game" argument.

Let's take a different approach to this argument.  Let's say that all the cards given against RSL were incorrect, but that they happened anyway.  Let's say that Wingert's sending off was wrong (it wasn't) and let's say that the referee was wrong to allow more stoppage time then he originally alotted (debatable).  Was the referee the one who failed to clear the ball out of the RSL penalty area on Sporting's first goal? No. Did the referee save Olmes Garcia's late strike on Jimmy Nielsen's goal?  No.  Was it the referee's job to mark up the Sporting players on the last goal of the match?  No.  The scoring of goals and the prevention of goals is what wins and loses soccer matches.  One can argue that the red card to Wingert influenced RSL's ability to defend on the goals, as at least one Sporting player was going to be unmarked.  However there were, count 'em, FOUR unmarked SKC players on that goal.  Trust me, it happened right in front of me.  It was just bad set piece defense, period, which is also, you guessed it, not the fault of the referee.

So what's my point?  I'm not trying to troll my own team and fans here, I'm just trying to present an objective view.  It's very difficult to blame a referee for the outcome of a match because so much of the decisions are subjective and by nature are hard to quantify.  A player should or shouldn't have gotten a yellow/red card.  It's opinion based on the laws of the game.  It's fine for us as fans and players to have opinions on this, but it's the referee's opinion that counts.  They're not always right, either.  MLS has overturned a few red cards this year, including one to RSL's Carlos Salcedo.  However, don't expect the cards to Wingert to be overturned, because they were correct, in my opinion, and certainly when viewed objectively, they're reasonable decisions for the referee to make.

Let's say there's a hand ball.  Okay, you can objectively, often with the aid of replay, say for certain if a ball struck a player's hand or arm.  There's still room for the subjective here as well.  Did the player handle it on purpose?  Was he trying to avoid it?  Where were his hands when the contact was made?  These factors all go into a referee's decision on whether or not to whistle for a hand ball. It's not always as black and white as we in the stands tend to see it.

Not only are many of these things subjective, but we also have to remember that these individuals are just human.  They can't be every place at once, and their sight is limited.  For example, they can't see through players.  One of the nastiest tackles in the match occurred in the first half when Javier Morales tried to split two SKC defenders on a counter attack.  As he got in behind them, one of the defenders wrapped his arms around Morales and horse collar tackled him to the floor.  It was a tackle worthy of an NFL linebacker.  In my mind, it was certainly a foul and a yellow card, and you see reds given for hands about the neck and head.  However, the referee was trailing behind the play and my guess is couldn't see it through the two defenders.  The linesman was coming in from behind as well.  You can openly criticize referees' positioning on the field, but in the end, it is what it is.

The point is that many of us as fans haven't stepped into the referee's shoes and taken up the whistle.  Honest mistakes masquerade as incompetence, and inconsistency, which all humans are prone to, comes across as conspiracy.  I'm quite sure neither of these are usually the case.  Does that make officials and referees immune to criticism?  Of course not.  Most fans, players, coaches, and probably even league officials would admit that the standard of officiating in MLS is rather poor, and doesn't seem to be improving.

That brings us to the last point, which was the argument that Jason Kreis and many RSL folks have been touting since the end of the match.  Kreis criticized the referee's inexperience, as he has before, complaining that RSL often gets stuck with these less experienced officials.  According to the numbers, he has a point here.  Matt Montgomery crunched the numbers and you can see them over at RSL Soapbox. While the numbers are intriguing, and I would love to see MLS comment on them, what conclusion can we really draw from that data?

Can we generalize from that data that things would have turned out differently Saturday night if we had say, Toledo or Geiger in charge?  Of course not.  I think most referees would give Wingert those two yellow cards, which really was the turning point in the match.  Plus, you hear PLENTY of complaining about the more experienced refs as well.  Let's face it, the refs all around the league need to get a lot better, and there are many high profile calls that are seemingly blown, and the "experienced" refs are just as vulnerable to this as the newbies.  In the end this issue is highly subjective as well.

In the end, it is up to the teams to recognize this issue and deal with it.  RSL didn't do this Saturday night.  One of our veteran players, who should know better, put himself in a compromising position in the first minute of the match.  I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose, but it happened.  That same player made another crucial mental error later in the match that put RSL permanently behind the Eight-Ball.  I'm not trying to crucify Chris Wingert.  I'm sure he'd already put his hand up for the mistakes, but it is the pertinent fact of the match, not the referee's decisions.

Truth be told, nobody wants to hear Jason Kreis complain about refs anymore than they want to hear Ben Olsen do it.  We as RSL fans have gotten a reputation for bitching about the refs every time we lose.  You can argue whether the reputation is deserved or not, but it's there.  I'm sure in the heat of the moment I'll complain again sometime down the road, but hopefully we as fans, and our club, learn to deal with these issues and our team can gain a little more discipline to overcome them.

I'll leave you with a challenge from my friend Scott, who is in fact a soccer referee aside from his day job as a paramedic.  He said on Twitter, to paraphrase: stop complaining about refs and go be a ref.  Kids games always need refs.  Maybe if more of us did that, we'd have a little more perspective.

Just some food for thought.

Smash and Grab: Sporting Kansas City Steals 3 From RSL

RSL keeper Jeff Attinella after conceding the match winning goal. (Deseret News)

I have so many emotions in my mind right now.  I thought that after a night's sleep I might feel a little, well a little less cranky, but that's not the case.  I think the above Deseret News picture of Jeff Attinella pretty much sums up what most of us are feeling, just absolutely gutted.

Let's dispense with a couple of things right off the bat.  Yes, the officiating was poor.  There were multiple calls missed on both sides.  I'm not going to get into the "big games should have big refs" argument because it's totally subjective.  The officiating in the league is mediocre at best no matter who is on the pitch.  While I do sympathize with fans making this argument, having Baldomero Toledo in the center circle doesn't always mean a well officiated match.  We all know this.

Let's look at what the referee got right, in my opinion, and how it affected the match.  First off, you have Wingert with an arm to the face of Kei Kamara in the opening minute. I don't think Chris meant to do it, but a yellow card was warranted.  As my pal Justin, who you know as the RSL correspondent for the Standard Examiner, noted: with Allen Chapman as the fourth official, RSL might have been lucky not to have Wingert sent off right then and there.

That put Chris on a yellow card for essentially the entire match.  Kamara is a big, physical attacker, and the chances that Wingert gets out of that match without picking up the second yellow are extremely low.  I'm not much in the habit of second guessing Coach Kreis, but in my opinion, Wingert should have been subbed at halftime.  Now as my friend Kris Lindsay points out on Twitter, you can't really do that because Wingert is your only other centerback option should either Borchers or Maund go down with an injury.  While this is true enough, I think it's the risk you take.  I'd rather run the risk of playing somebody out of position with an injury as opposed to the strong likelihood of playing a man down.  Of course, you trust your veteran players, but in the end the end it didn't work out.

The ref also got the second yellow correct, in my opinion.  It was a professional foul to stop a counter attack.  In my mind, we're up 1-0, and there are other defenders in the area.  That was a bad foul for Chris to take and in my mind, that bad decision cost RSL the match more than anything the referee could have done.

Poor set piece defense undid RSL as well, despite an amazingly poor performance from Graham Zusi, who's heart must have still been at the ESPYs.  Of course when you're minus your two starting full backs, you've got your 5th choice centerback, and your third string goalkeeper on the pitch, I guess its understandable that not everyone's going to be on the same page.  You can't lay it at the feet of Jeff Attinella though, he had another solid match.

What positives can we take away from this for RSL?  You have to learn from it and move on.  First I thought the team played another pretty good match despite missing several guys.  The Claret and Cobalt were the better side up until the red card, but that changed the match.  Several guys continued to step up, Yordany Alvarez and Lovell Palmer to name a couple.  Olmes Garcia again impacted the match positively, but it was tough for him to gain traction with RSL down a man.  Javi Morales was good, as per usual, but Sporting had him on the ground so much it was hard for him to do a lot.  I wonder how Peter Vermes would have reacted if RSL put Zusi on the ground as much as his side hit Javi?

In the end, Sporting Kansas City are too good.  You can't dodge all the bullets when when you give them that advantage, they're going to hurt you.  It was a credit to RSL that they so nearly escaped with a point, but in the end, scoreboard is what matters.

So now, here are my three stars for the match:

THIRD STAR--Jimmy Nielsen, GK, Sporting Kansas City. Though he did bumble on the RSL goal, his save late on Olmes Garcia saved a chance at points for Sporting.

SECOND STAR--Lovell Palmer, DF, RSL.  Lovell played really well last night helping the Claret and Cobalt cope with Sporting's deadly attack.  He made a couple of key tackles and clearances late that kept RSL in the match.

FIRST STAR--Javier Morales, MF, RSL.  Despite being flattened by Sporting on nearly every turn, Morales was easily the best player on the pitch last night.  His free kick created the RSL goal and he was a constant danger man.  Unfortunately in the end, it just wasn't enough for RSL.