RSL's quest to win MLS Cup comes up agonizingly short in Kansas City

 

 



 (by James Edwards deseretnews.com 12-7-13)

 

Shootouts provide drama unlike anything else in sports.

 

Five years ago penalty kicks provided Real Salt Lake with the absolute highest of highs and delivered the franchise’s only title. Saturday afternoon, however, RSL experienced the absolute agony of penalties.

In a wildly entertaining MLS Cup level at 1-1 after regulation and overtime — a game that saw RSL hit the post three times — Sporting Kansas City prevailed 7-6 in a marathon shootout that went to the 10th round of penalties at Sporting Park.

The final dagger for Real Salt Lake came when Lovel Palmer banged the team’s 10th penalty off the crossbar, securing Kansas City’s first MLS Cup since 2000 in front of a passionate sellout crowd of 21,650.

“In 2009 we were the happy guys and tonight not,” said RSL midfielder Javier Morales.
As difficult as swallowing another runner-up finish was, coach Jason Kreis said the 20-kick shootout in no way defines his team this season.

“For me there was no way for this group to lose. We were in a no-lose situation in this match. Just by getting to this final was a remarkable statement about what this group of players has been able to do,” said Kreis, whose team also lost the U.S. Open Cup final a couple of months ago. “Very easy to look at that in a negative way, but I don’t think we should because frankly I thought we played outstanding tonight. It wasn’t like we came here to defend or bunker in or break them on a counter.”

In a match that featured fantastic momentum swings throughout 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, the shootout was no different.

Kansas City had an opportunity to win in the fifth round, but didn’t. Real Salt Lake had a chance to win in the eighth round, but didn’t.

The 10th round of kicks eventually determined the cup winner as Aurelien Collin buried his kick for Sporting Kansas City and Palmer caromed his off the bar.

“The amount of close plays, goals called back, you just look back on it, I don’t think I’ve ever played in a game where there was that many momentum changes and close plays,” said RSL midfielder Ned Grabavoy.

Alvaro Saborio — RSL’s regulation goal scorer — and Grabavoy quickly put RSL in a big hole in the shootout when Saborio went high and Grabavoy was saved with Kansas City taking a quick 2-0 lead.

A Nick Rimando save and makes by Kyle Beckerman and Joao Plata helped RSL close the deficit to 3-2, which seemed to merely set the stage for Graham Zusi to steal the spotlight with a championship-winning PK. However, he pushed his shot well over the crossbar. Morales calmly converted his penalty to send it into extra kicks.

After two rounds of makes, Kansas City’s Lawrence Olum put his penalty in the eighth round wide, which set the stage for Sebastian Velasquez to be the Robbie Russell-esque hero of 2013. However, his shot was saved by Kansas City 'keeper Jimmy Nielsen.

“For me those penalty kick situations are like flipping a coin,” said Kreis.

Well before it got to penalties though, there were opportunities for Real Salt Lake to seize its second championship in franchise history. After all, it hit three posts over the course of the game — something that’s plagued the franchise in big matches through the years.

The first post came in the 29th minute when Chris Wingert’s dangerous service forced Nielsen to punch the ball. He ended up punching it straight up and slightly behind him. Findley tried tapping it home out of midair, but hit the inside of the post instead.

On a frozen field that made conditions very difficult to deal with, both teams struggled to settle into any rhythm.

“Both teams couldn’t settle things down at all. We were panic stations when we got the ball, giving it away too cheaply. Both teams played very direct in the first half,” said Kreis.

Early in the second half Real Salt Lake settled into the game, and not surprisingly its goal game shortly thereafter.

RSL broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute when Saborio chested down a cheeky chip from Beckerman and blasted it past Nielsen for the 1-0 lead.

The goal sent RSL’s 1,500 fans in the corner of Sporting Park into pandemonium as their club was 38 minutes from lifting MLS Cup.

Over the next 21 minutes RSL twice came agonizingly close to doubling that advantage, but was denied by the post each time. Beckerman’s shot in the 62nd minute caromed off the post and over the end line, and then in the 73rd minute Morales chipped a shot over Nielsen that hit the left post and then trickled across the goalmouth and out over the end line again.

“To be honest I think this group is a little bit used to that. We’ve had a lot of games where the ball comes off the woodwork,” said Kreis, who quickly added: “Kansas City had a couple clear-cut chances they didn’t put on the frame. I could whine about hitting the posts. (Kansas City coach Peter Vermes) could whine (that) his players should’ve put them on frame.”

Just three minutes after Morales was denied, Collin injected life into a dormant Kansas City side by heading home a Zusi corner kick to level the proceedings at 1-1.

The last 10 minutes of regulation were shaky for both sides, but particularly for RSL with Kansas City trying to build on the late momentum.

The fatigue of playing on a frozen field started to catch up with both teams in overtime, which quickly set the stage for penalties.

Real Salt Lake: RSL looking to impose will on Kansas City in MLS Cup

(by Brad Rock deseretnews.com 12-6-13)

 A month ago when Real Salt Lake opened the playoffs at Los Angeles, it approached the match with a very conservative, defensive posture and was incredibly lucky to only lose 1-0. On a different night, the Galaxy could've scored three or four goals and won the series in the first leg.

In RSL's three playoffs games since, the club has wisely reverted back to its aggressive, attack-first mentality, and the results have followed suit with three straight victories and a 7-2 goal differential.

Heading into Saturday’s MLS Cup at Sporting Park, affectionately referred to as Blue Hell, Real Salt Lake knows from experience it can’t afford to sit back.

“For me it seems like the players are more relaxed and enjoying the moment and playing more free, which is when we’re at our best,” said RSL midfielder Ned Grabavoy.

When Real Salt Lake is on top of its game, it’s pinging the ball around the midfield and the opponent is doing a lot of chasing.

That’s how Kansas City likes to play at home too, and Saturday’s championship is all about which side can impose its will on the other — not to mention push aside the misery mother nature has in store with forecasted temperatures in the teens.

“One thing that will be important for them playing here is to try and possess the ball a little bit because typically we outpossess our opponents at home, and they’re known to be a possession team,” said Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber. “If they’re able to possess the ball a little bit, that will help them and obviously our goal is not let them do that.”

Fellow Kansas City midfielder Paulo Nagamura said making life difficult for RSL midfielder Javier Morales is the key to slowing down Real Salt Lake.

“They’re a very creative team, especially with Morales. He’s a guy that we always have to keep an eye on him and don’t let him create much. He’s the most dangerous guy on that team. If you give him an inch or so he’ll make you pay,” said Nagamura.

Kansas City beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 in the only regular-season meeting between the teams at Rio Tinto Stadium back in June, and the visitors had success by frustrating Morales.

RSL was missing four regulars — Alvaro Saborio, Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman and Tony Beltran — because of international duty, but Jason Kreis’ team could be at full strength for Saturday’s 2 p.m. MST kickoff on ESPN.

Saborio and Chris Wingert were the only two RSL regulars who missed Game 2 of the Western Conference final against Portland, but they’ve trained all week and are available.

“I’m good to go, absolutely. I don’t know if I’m in the lineup or the 18, but I’ll be looking to help the team in any capacity I can,” said Wingert.

The return of leading-scorer Saborio to the attack could be a boost as well, especially if he’s paired with Robbie Findley. Even though players like Joao Plata and Olmes Garcia might bring a bit more flare to the match, RSL has only lost one match this season (3-1-5) when Findley and Saborio are in the starting lineup together.

Saborio and Findley can only be successful if the nine guys behind them do their job, and Wingert said he’s looking forward to the challenge of trying to do that on the biggest of MLS stages.

“We’re going to try and do our best to impose our will on them. Obviously we like to possess the ball and try and take it to the other team and press them a little bit — even though of course they’re going to have the crowd behind them and they’re going to be trying to put us back into our end,” said Wingert. “If we’re capable of doing that like the team did last week … we’ll be in good shape.”

Both franchises have hoisted MLS hardware before, most recently with Real Salt Lake in 2009. Kansas City's last title came in 2000, a drought home-field advantage could play a big role in ending Saturday.

In our opinion: RSL's title hopes bode well for soccer's future in Utah

(deseretnews.com 12-2-13)

The skeptics who once doubted major league soccer could thrive in Utah are now drowned out by the roars of fans ready to celebrate another championship by Real Salt Lake.

Of course, the squad will have to make it past a team from Kansas City to claim its second Major League Soccer Cup in five years. But win or lose, the RSL franchise already has done its fans proud and proven that a sport beloved around the world can generate in Utah the same kind of loyalty bordering on fanaticism as it does in places like Liverpool, Madrid or Rio de Janiero.

To get to the season finale on Dec. 7, Real’s squad of savvy veterans and emerging new talent vanquished the top-seeded Portland Timbers in a two-match display of focus, confidence and strategic mastery. The Portland fans were no doubt disappointed by the outcome, but continued throughout the final match to chant their team’s fight song in a show of enthusiasm even the loudest NFL arenas don’t often exceed.

The same exuberance over the years has been displayed by sold-out RSL crowds chanting fight songs and anthems, which include a song from a few years ago that begins with the lyrics, “We are fighting as the mighty Real; we came together if you’re wondering how….”

Yes, there are those who might well be wondering how this came together – a franchise that started with shaky expectations but has since given the world’s most popular sport a firm foothold in the Rocky Mountains.

Utah is, in many ways, a natural place to promote soccer, which is known in many other nations as football. Not only is there a large and growing Hispanic population here that appreciates the sport, the area also is home to many people who served church missions in areas where the sport dominates. They come home with a newfound appreciation for the game. In addition, youth soccer leagues thrive along the Wasatch Front, building a ready made base of young and excited fans.

We were not happy with the way RSL and state lawmakers pushed a public financing deal on taxpayers to help with construction of Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy. Such public support seems to be built into the pro forma of many major league franchises in virtually all sports these days, which is particularly unfortunate at a time of tight budgets and economic hardship. Despite their connection to civic pride, sports ought to be able to survive on their own, as any other business. There is no denying, however, that soccer has a loyal following in Utah and that RSL’s success feeds that enthusiasm.

Of course, in the world of professional sports, nothing is certain (which is another reason taxpayer involvement ought to be avoided). Financial concerns perennially challenge small-market franchises like RSL, which recently underwent an ownership change and is now in the midst of a change involving a major corporate sponsorship. All of that aside, RSL has proven its viability as a source of local pride and civic identity.

That bodes well for the future of the sport in Utah — just as the team’s gritty, never-give-up attitude on the field bodes well for its chances in December to further secure a place of prominence in what’s known as the world’s “beautiful game.”

Real Salt Lake grabs Western Conference title, books trip to MLS Cup

(by Kira Terry ksl.com 11-24-13)

Real Salt Lake was crowned the Major League Soccer Western Conference Champion Sunday night and punched its ticket to the 2013 MLS Cup final with a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers in the Rose City.

The Salt Lake club entered the second leg of the Western Conference final up 4-2 on the aggregate score from the first leg of the series Nov. 10 with the Timbers.

RSL forward Robbie Findley increased the Salt Lake club's aggregate spread to 5-2 in the 29th minute when he put a ball past Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. Just moments before, RSL midfielder Luis Gil took a strike at Ricketts and it was blocked, but Findley got a foot on it putting it past Ricketts and into the back of the net.

The Timbers had two first-half goals from defender Pa-Modou Kah called back by the official due to a foul called on forward Rodney Wallace and then an offside’s call to Kah.

 With the 1-0 win, the Claret and Cobalt broke the Timbers' 16-game unbeaten home streak in MLS competition at JELD-WEN Field dating back to April 6. The Timbers went 14-1-5 in the MLS regular season at its fortress.  Portland finished the match with the majority of the possession at 54.9 percent to 45.1 percent for the Salt Lake club, but the Timbers failed to convert any of its 18 attempts on goal. The Claret and Cobalt’s single goal on the night was enough to take the series and grab the Western Conference title, the trophy and a trip to the MLS Cup.

RSL went 1-0-2 at JELD-WEN Field this season and increased to 4-0-2 in all competitions against the Timbers this season. RSL is now 7-1-3 all-time against the Timbers.  The Salt Lake club played without two regulars — forward Alvaro Saborio and defender Chris Wingert — due to injuries. Defender Lovel Palmer and rookie forward Devon Sandoval got the starting nods from RSL head coach Jason Kreis. Palmer went 59 minutes before being relieved by defender Abdoulie Mansally, and Sandoval left the match in the 85th minute when he was subbed out for forward Olmes Garcia.

RSL will travel to face Sporting Kansas City in the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7. Sporting Kansas City advanced as the Eastern Conference victor Saturday night with a 2-1 over the Houston Dynamo.

Real Salt Lake was crowned the Major League Soccer Western Conference Champion Sunday night and punched its ticket to the 2013 MLS Cup final with a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers in the Rose City. The Salt Lake club entered the second leg of the Western Conference final up 4-2 on the aggregate score from the first leg of the series Nov. 10 with the Timbers. RSL forward Robbie Findley increased the Salt Lake club's aggregate spread to 5-2 in the 29th minute when he put a ball past Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. Just moments before, RSL midfielder Luis Gil took a strike at Ricketts and it was blocked, but Findley got a foot on it putting it past Ricketts and into the back of the net. The Timbers had two first-half goals from defender Pa-Modou Kah called back by the official due to a foul called on forward Rodney Wallace and then an offside’s call to Kah. With the 1-0 win, the Claret and Cobalt broke the Timbers' 16-game unbeaten home streak in MLS competition at JELD-WEN Field dating back to April 6. The Timbers went 14-1-5 in the MLS regular season at its fortress. Portland finished the match with the majority of the possession at 54.9 percent to 45.1 percent for the Salt Lake club, but the Timbers failed to convert any of its 18 attempts on goal. The Claret and Cobalt’s single goal on the night was enough to take the series and grab the Western Conference title, the trophy and a trip to the MLS Cup. RSL went 1-0-2 at JELD-WEN Field this season and increased to 4-0-2 in all competitions against the Timbers this season. RSL is now 7-1-3 all-time against the Timbers. The Salt Lake club played without two regulars — forward Alvaro Saborio and defender Chris Wingert — due to injuries. Defender Lovel Palmer and rookie forward Devon Sandoval got the starting nods from RSL head coach Jason Kreis. Palmer went 59 minutes before being relieved by defender Abdoulie Mansally, and Sandoval left the match in the 85th minute when he was subbed out for forward Olmes Garcia. RSL will travel to face Sporting Kansas City in the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7. Sporting Kansas City advanced as the Eastern Conference victor Saturday night with a 2-1 over the Houston Dynamo.

Read more at http://www.ksl.com/?nid=857&sid=27776798#8vXC1OPYvKMLKJKk.99