Herediano holds RSL scoreless, Salt Lake club out of Champions League



(by Kira Terry ksl.com 10-24-12)
 

Real Salt Lake played its final 2012-13 Champions League match Tuesday night as the Costa Rican club C.S. Herediano held the Salt Lake club to a scoreless match, ending its CONCACAF hopes.

A result that RSL fought hard to avoid.

“It’s a tough one to take,” said RSL Captain and midfielder Kyle Beckerman. “We created enough chances to score four or five tonight, but we didn’t and so we’re not moving on.”

RSL head coach Jason Kreis agreed with Beckerman on the result being a tough one, despite the fight his club put up.

“I think it’s always going to be a little mentally frustrating when you get some clear chances and you don’t take them, but I think our guys put all the right effort into it,” said Kreis. “Herediano made it very difficult.”

RSL entered game needing either a 1-0 win or a two goal win over Herediano in order to advance to the next stage of Champions League play in 2013. Instead, Herediano held RSL to a 0-0 draw, enough for the Costa Rican club to advance.

Playing without its leading scorer, Alvaro Saborio, due to a yellow-card suspension, RSL wasn’t able to put a way any goals in the first half despite its seven shots on goal and a plethora of chances the Salt Lake side created, forcing RSL into the second half tied 0-0 with the Costa Rican club.

“We know (Saborio’s) an important player,” said Kreis. “(Saborio) seems to be the one that always is able to take that initial play in the penalty box to make the difference. When we play without him we don’t typically have someone that’s always in the box, always there to make that finish for us.”

Despite the result, Kreis had nothing but positive things to say about his roster and the match RSL played.

“(I'm) really, really, really proud of the men out there,” said Kreis. “At halftime I told them their performance was spectacular. We did all the things that we needed to do to win these big games except that final touch.”

“I’m pleased,” Kreis continued. “Watching them the first half, I felt like it was the first game of the playoffs last year or some of the playoff games in 2009 — just some of our very best stuff.”

RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando completely agreed with his boss.

“I thought we played great, I really did,” said Rimando. “I thought (a goal) was going to come, but that’s football sometimes. It gets the best of you even when you’re the better team. But congratulations to (Herediano), they played a great defensive game and they came out on top and give credit to them.”

The Claret and Cobalt don’t have much down time before returning to the pitch and other big upcoming matches.

“We need to move forward very quickly because we’ve got a pretty big tournament of our own in front of us,” said Kreis.

A sellout crowd of 20,436 packed Rio Tinto Stadium and stuck out the 90+ minutes of steady rain. Tuesday night’s sellout crowd was the fifth consecutive for RSL and the 10th this season, extending the Salt Lake clubs season record.

“We don’t get enough opportunities to say again how much we appreciate our fans,” said Kreis. “I thought they were awesome tonight and our group really feeds off of the energy that the fans can provide so together we performed – the fans, the team – very well, we were just unlucky.”



Time for a showdown in the Champions League

(by Steve Luhm sltrib.com 10-22-12)

There is an unwritten rule in professional sports: Never put too much emphasis on one game because there’s always another just around the corner. Don’t add pressure to your situation because it could impact how you play.

RSL isn’t following the rules.

Real Salt Lake management, players and coaches freely admit the significance of the match heading into Tuesday night’s CONCACAF Champions League game against C.S. Herediano at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"It is a massive game," general manager Garth Lagerwey said. "Pretending it’s not won’t make it go away. And I think everybody understands that — from the players in the locker room to the fans. They know what it’s all about."

Midfielder Will Johnson agreed.

"Potentially," he said, "it’s one of the top-five biggest games in the history in Real Salt Lake."

Herediano is 3-0 in Group 2 of the Champions League, including a 1-0 victory over Real Salt Lake in July.

RSL is 2-1 and, because of tie-breakers, it must win the showdown with the Costa Rican club by specific margins: 1-0 or by at least two goals.

If Real Salt Lake can’t do it, Herediano advances to the CONCACAF quarterfinal round in February and one of RSL’s major goals this season will go unfulfilled.

"This means everything for us — to get out of our group in CONCACAF," Johnson said. "It’s a tournament that is great for the club. Recognition-wise, you put yourself on the map if you can consistently be one of the top teams in the [Champions] League."

Real Salt Lake became the first team from the United States to reach the finals in 2011.

RSL eventually lost to Monterrey by a two-game aggregate score of 3-2, but it was a landmark effort that put the franchise on soccer’s world-wide map.

According to Lagerwey, the match against Herediano is his team’s most important since the loss to Monterrey.

"After that," he said, "winning this competition became very important to us and, if we get to the knock-out round, we’ll be on the precipice."

Along with capturing a Major League Soccer championship, which RSL did in 2009, winning the Champions League "is the biggest goal of our club," Lagerwey said.

"We’ve been pursuing this for a long time, and it’s incredibly hard," he said. "But I think you find that difficult things are often worth the effort."

Coach Jason Kreis remembers the hollow feeling his club experienced after losing to Monterrey. It’s something he wants to avoid against Herediano.

"For any professional player or coach in a competitive environment like this, it’s a chance to make history," Kreis said. "It’s a chance to be the first U.S. team to win this tournament.

"We came so close last time that I think we all still have that taste in our mouths — wanting to get back there. And we know we have to have a result Tuesday in order to take the next step."

"For any professional player or coach in a competitive environment like this, it’s a chance to make history," Kreis said. "It’s a chance to be the first U.S. team to win this tournament.

"We came so close last time that I think we all still have that taste in our mouths — wanting to get back there. And we know we have to have a result Tuesday in order to take the next step."

There also is a business aspect to the match.

RSL must advance to receive a salary-budget bonus from Major League Soccer. Without it, RSL might be forced to disband its core group of players and start rebuilding.

The league provides the bonus to support teams advancing in Champions League since many need the financial help to retain the players who helped them qualify for the knock-out rounds.

Without the bonus, Lagerwey told The Tribune last month that RSL likely will make some changes.

"I like to say if the team is successful and advances in Champions League, we have a big incentive to keep them together," Lagerwey said. "And conversely, by succeeding in Champions League, we get more money, which allows us to keep the team together."

The bottom line?

"Everybody knows we have to win," forward Fabian Espindola said.

Champions League - current situation

-Remaining Matches-

October 23rd - Herediano @ RSL


-Current Standings-

Only the winner of the group advances to the next round.

RSL has to beat Herediano to win the group and advance.

Last-gasp penalty kick lifts RSL to vital CONCACAF victory

(by James Edwards deseretnews.com 9-18-12)

For 90 minutes, Tauro FC keeper Vladimir Villareal turned away everything Real Salt Lake fired at him. All of that was wiped away with one clumsy challenge in stoppage time on Tuesday night.

Alvaro Saborio converted a 92nd-minute penalty kick after Villareal tripped him up in the box as RSL escaped with a 1-0 victory on a hot, humid night in Panama in CONCACAF Champions League group play.

"All in all, our quality wasn't good enough tonight, so I think we have to find ourselves very fortunate for Saborio at the end of the game that gets a penalty kick call," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

Villareal got both hands on Saborio's penalty, but it still found the back of the net as Saborio improved to 12-for-12 all-time in PKs in an RSL uniform.

A tie would've been disastrous to RSL's chances of winning the three-team group and advancing to next February's CCL quarterfinals. Thanks to Saborio's dramatic penalty kick, though, the group's top spot will be up for grabs when RSL hosts Costa Rican club Herediano on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

A two-goal victory over Herediano would be enough to push Real Salt Lake onto the next round.

The win was RSL's first away from Rio Tinto Stadium since a 3-0 win at Chivas USA back on June 16.

"It feels good to go on the road and get a result," said RSL keeper Nick Rimando.

After a 2-0 victory at home against Tauro FC last month, Real Salt Lake was confident it could get a similar result in Panama — especially after traveling to Central America on Saturday to acclimate to the humid conditions.

Despite playing without suspended midfielder Kyle Beckerman, RSL enjoyed the better of the play throughout the match. Its quality in the final third, which has been a major problem the past two months, was again a struggle.

Despite a 57-43 edge in possession and 16 total shots, RSL failed to capitalize on the opportunities, as it took a penalty kick in stoppage time to keep its CCL hopes alive.

"For me, all night we're not finding the right numbers to get involved in the attacks, and that typically means we're not going to have very many successful ones," said Kreis.

"We got to figure out a way to get more numbers involved in our attack if we want to be effective in the attacking half of the field."

Coach Kreis' team came out with a patient attack on Tuesday, not wanting to get beat on the counter attack. After some clutch saves by Tauro's keeper kept the game scoreless, Real Salt Lake had no choice but to throw caution to the wind in the final 10 minutes.

In the 80th minute, Kreis took off defender Tony Beltran in favor of midfielder Sebastian Velasquez to push more bodies into the attack. Saborio was denied a great chance from the top of the box in the 82nd minute, and then Chris Wingert pushed a close-range header on a corner kick just wide in the 88th minute.

Tauro FC had two separate 5-on-2 counter-attack opportunities in the final five minutes, but it was denied both times by great desperate defending by Jamison Olave, who was making his first start in a month.

Unfortunately for RSL, PK hero Saborio will be suspended for the Herediano match next month after picking up a 65th yellow card on Tuesday — his second in CCL group play. Saborio will also be out this Saturday as RSL returns home to face Portland in Major League Soccer play as the striker picked up a shoulder injury on the foul that led to the penalty kick. He will be out 2-4 weeks.

Real Salt Lake faces CONCACAF must-win situation in Panama

(by James Edwards deseretnews.com 9-18-12)

Four thousand miles away in Panama, Real Salt Lake is preparing for what Ned Grabavoy said is the team's biggest match of the season.

Success in the CONCACAF Champions League is one of RSL's highest priorities each season, but escaping Panama with a victory over equally desperate Tauro FC this evening at 6 p.m. is an absolute must if RSL has any realistic hope of advancing out of group play.

At the midway point of group play, Real Salt Lake (1-1-0) sits three points behind Costa Rican club Herediano (2-0-0), and three points clear of Tauro (0-2-0). Only the group winner advances.

Unless RSL secures the full three points in Panama, Herediano can clinch first place in the group on Sept. 25 with a victory over Tauro FC — rendering its match with RSL at Rio Tinto Stadium in late October meaningless.

RSL is well rested after coming off a 12-day layoff, and coach Jason Kreis is confident the way his team is playing lately.

"I feel like we've been performing well for several weeks. I feel like we've gotten past our summer doldrums. I feel like the group is feeling pretty confident, positive about what they're doing," Kreis said.

"I also feel like our team performs at its best when they have their backs against the wall, and we clearly have our backs against the wall for this one."

Tauro's hopes are more bleak after opening CCL play with two losses, but a victory over Real Salt Lake keeps its slim hopes alive.

"It's my feeling they are going to approach this game the way I would, which is they have to win. They're not dead yet. They have to beat us and then beat Herediano and then hope for some things to go right between Herediano and us. I would expect that means an ultra-, ultra-aggressive Tauro team come Tuesday night," Kreis said.

In the previous meeting between these two teams at Rio Tinto Stadium, Tauro FC largely sat back and tried to counter-attack. Nothing came of it as Real Salt Lake prevailed 2-0. A similar approach is unlikely at Estadio Rommel Fernandez.

Kyle Beckerman is suspended for the match after picking up a red card late in the Tauro victory last month. He's missed four league games this season and Real Salt Lake is 2-2-0 without him, including its most recent 1-0 loss at Houston.

Game-time temperature will be in the upper 80s to lower 90s, with up to 80 percent humidity. RSL hasn't fared well historically in humid climates, but Kreis hopes that by traveling to Panama on Saturday and getting in a Sunday and Monday training session, his players will be better prepared to handle the conditions.

Familiarity could help RSL as well. Back in September 2010, it ground out a 3-2 victory in Panama over Arabe Unido in the same stadium it will play in tonight.

If Kreis' team can duplicate that success, the CCL Group 2 finale at Rio Tinto Stadium on Oct. 25 between Real Salt Lake and Herediano will determine who advances to the Champions League quarterfinals next February.

Champions League - current situation

-Remaining Matches-

September 18th - RSL @ Tauro

October 23rd - Herediano @ RSL


-Current Standings-

10-man Real Salt Lake earns huge Champions League victory over Tauro FC

(by Kira Terry ksl.com 8-22-12)

Real Salt Lake ended its four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Champions League opponent Tauro FC Tuesday night, extending the club's CONCACAF hopes and giving the team badly needed momentum.

With the victory, the Salt Lake side looks to take that momentum and confidence gained Tuesday night into Major League Soccer play on Friday as it travels to face the Philadelphia Union.

“I think we try to take the confidence that we scored the goals and we were on top of things,” said RSL head coach Jason Kreis. “It was a night where finally things went right for us so I think when you do that often times the flood gates open — if we can continue with that confidence and say ‘OK, we’re playing well and we scored goals and we won and we had a shut out,’ and take all those positive things and roll them into the game on Friday.”

RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando agreed with his boss and said the club knows exactly what to do with the momentum gained Tuesday.

“If we go into Philly and knock the ball, keep the ball, you could see that we have a lot more energy out there because we kept the ball, we moved off the ball. So if we do that (Friday) I think the boys will be good,” said Rimando.

Both goals Tuesday night came within 10 minutes of each other just into the second half — in the 48th and 58th minutes. Costa Rican striker Alvaro Saborio and captain Kyle Beckerman each tallied a goal, respectively, to give the Claret and Cobalt to victory.

The Claret and Cobalt will return to Champions League play September 18 when it travels to Panama to face Tauro FC again. However, the club will travel without Beckerman due to a red card shown in the 72nd minute on a hard foul.

It's a foul that Kries believes kept RSL from scoring more goals against Tauro FC — something that is significant in Champions League play.

“I think you saw a team in Tauro that was really tiring and I think that if it hadn’t been for the ejection, I think perhaps we could have scored more goals,” said Kreis.

And it's a foul that Kreis also says could cost RSL in Panama.

“I think we’re in a good spot, but I wouldn’t go any further than that,” he said. “I think we did ourselves right tonight by getting a result and a 2-0 result as well that could be important, but it’s going to hurt to not have our captain available for the next match.”

RSL falls to Herediano 1-0

(deseretnews.com 8-1-12)

Real Salt Lake was in action Tuesday night in Central America, making its highly anticipated return to the CONCACAF Champions League.


It was the first time that the Claret and Cobalt fielded their first choice team, having logged just 59 minutes together in 2012.

It wasn't a picture perfect start for RSL, who conceded the only goal of the game in the 13th minute when Elias Aguilar slighted a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Nick Rimando to put Herediano up 1-0.

Yendrick Ruiz played a beautiful back heel to Aguilar near the top of the box, where Aguilar was able to beat RSL captain Kyle Beckerman for the game's only goal.

Fabian Espindola nearly equalized in the 30th minute, beating Herediano keeper Leonel Moreira with a shot that rolled just inches from the left post.

"I thought it was a little bit of a lackluster beginning for us," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "We couldn't get a hold of the ball and couldn't get any really tempo on the game. Lacked a little bit of energy, and sometimes these things happen when you have to travel so far for a game."

Despite trailing at the half, RSL were able to get off five shots and were also the aggressors in the final 15 minutes before halftime.

That momentum carried over into the second half, but was short lived after the RSL backline was demolished when Nat Borchers was shown a red card for a late challenge in the 58th minute.

"I took a bad touch, went in hard on the tackle, and maybe in another place or another time that's a yellow card if anything," said Borchers. "I think it's really harsh to get sent off for that."

Just two minutes later, defender Jamison Olave had to be helped off the field with an apparent leg injury. He was replaced by Kwame Watson-Siriboe.

When asked about Olave's injury, Kreis was still uncertain about exactly what went wrong with the Colombian defender.

"We're not quite sure yet. It's way too early to tell," the RSL coach said. "He was icing the back of his knee, so I don't know if that's where his hamstring is connecting back there, or if it's actually a knee problem, so we will definitely be mindful about that in the next 24 hours."

Kreis was content to let his team hobble out of Costa Rica with a one-goal loss, which seemed to be confirmed when Espindola was replaced by Abdoulie Mansally in the 67th minute.

"Actually I'm okay with this," said Kreis. "To suffer a really harsh decision with the red card, and have to play a man down for the remaining 30 plus minutes, you have to feel OK with walking out of there down a goal basically in what's going to turn into a home-and-away series, if we can manage to take care of our business against Tauro — which we will hope to."

Although Herediano mustered just one shot in the second half, their one-man advantage was visible with the simple possession they were able to maintain. Waiting to make that clean pass, while controlling possession and the flow of the game was ultimately the end of the night for RSL.

With the new changes to the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, all the focus has been on winning the group to advance.

Tuesday night was just a setback that the Claret and Cobalt — the 2011 runner-up — and the visitors played 55 minutes with the same intensity that shook the soccer world during their last run at the title.

RSL finished with nine shots and will be looking to come out with no less than a point when it hosts Tauro FC on Aug. 21 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

NOTEBOOK: It seemed only fitting for captain Beckerman to be issued a yellow card, given his history of accumulating them in Champions League. RSL striker Alvaro Saborio was also shown yellow, and saw no love from his home country.

5 MLS teams in Champions League

(espn.go.com 6-5-12)

MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy and four other league teams will play in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League.

The group stage draw was held Tuesday, with each of the MLS teams in different groups. The stage begins July 31.

The Galaxy are in with Isidro Metapan of El Salvador, and a Caribbean qualifier yet to be determined. Toronto FC goes against Champions League runner-up Santos of Mexico and CD Aguila (El Salvador).

Real Salt Lake takes on Herediano (Costa Rica) and Tauro (Panama).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


The Houston Dynamo are in with Olimpia (Honduras) and FAS (El Salvador). The Seattle Sounders get Marathon (Honduras) and a Caribbean qualifier.


Defending champion Monterrey of Mexico is in Group 7 with Chorrillo (Panama) and Municipal (Guatemala).

Garth Lagerwey sees pros, cons in team's CONCACAF pairing

(by James Edwards deseretnews.com 6-5-12)

Real Salt Lake has been paired with Costa Rica champion Herediano and Panama's Tauro FC for group play of the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League.

The random draw was held at the CONCACAF offices in New York City on Tuesday morning.

RSL will play both teams twice, home and away. The specific dates will be released within a few weeks, but CCL play begins July 31 and continues through Oct. 26. The quarterfinals begin on March 15, 2013.

According to Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey, there are pros and cons to the draw.

He views the pros as the location of the road matches. In Champions League group play two years ago RSL played road games in Panama and Costa Rica, and Lagerwey believes that familiarity will help this time around. He believes the cons are the quality of the opposition.

"In terms of the competition level, those teams are both quite good, so in that sense it will be quite difficult," said Lagerwey.

The format of the 2012-2013 CONCACAF Champions League has been tweaked slightly, even though 24 teams from the region still qualify as in years past.

Instead of initially having 16 teams paired up in a mini home-and-away knockout round, which then led to four groups of four teams, this year all 24 teams qualify for group play and will be divided into eight groups of three.

This means two less group games for those participating, but also means the only way to advance to the quarterfinals is to win your group.

"Your margin for error is greatly reduced, you really have to try and win all four games," said Lagerwey. "You're going to have to be very, very good to advance."

Two years ago, Real Salt Lake was paired in a group with Cruz Azul (Mexico), Arabe Unido (Panama) and Toronto FC (MLS), and it became the first MLS team to ever win its group. It ended up advancing to the Champions League final only to lose 3-2 on aggregate to Monterrey (Mexico)

After failing to qualify for the 2011-2012 Champions League, Lagerwey said the whole organization is excited for another chance to try and win the North American club championship.

"It's one of the primary reasons we kept our team together to try and make one more run to try and win the tournament," said Lagerwey.

Fourteen games into the 2012 MLS season, Real Salt Lake owns the best record in the league at 9-3-2. It's in the midst of a two-week break from league play because of World Cup qualifying, and doesn't return to action until June 16.

LA's victory over NY guarantees CCL berth for RSL

(realsaltlake.com 11-4-11)

After a year's absence, Real Salt Lake will return to the CONCACAF Champions League next summer thanks to the LA Galaxy's 2-1 win (3-1 aggregate) over the New York Red Bulls on Thursday night.

With LA already earning a spot in the 2012-13 edition of the tournament thanks to their 2011 Supporters' Shield, that opened a side door to qualification for RSL.

If the Claret-and-Cobalt win in Sunday's Western Conference Championship, they advance to the CCL as an MLS Cup finalist. But even if they lose, they are guaranteed a berth thanks to a duplicate spot going to the next-highest finisher in regular-season league play that has not already clinched a spot.

Seattle would have claimed that berth by virtue of their second-place finish in the Shield race, but are already qualified thanks to their third straight US Open Cup title. That means the slot drops to RSL, the regular season's third-place finisher.

Sunday's Western final will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., at 9 pm ET (ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com, TSN2).

This marks the second time in three seasons that RSL have earned one of the four spots allotted to US clubs in the Champions League. In the 2010-11 version, they advanced courtesy of their 2009 MLS Cup title, and made it all the way to the CCL finals before being upended by Monterrey.