Ouch! You have got to be kidding me

What the hell? RSL knocked out of the Open Cup by who?, New Mexico United?

Why am I not surprised?

(ksl.com 5-8-24)

New Mexico makes RSL 1-and-done in Open Cup with 4-2 loss

Real Salt Lake was eliminated in the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup Wednesday in New Mexico after making it all the way to the semifinals last year.

USL Championship side New Mexico United took it to the No. 1 team in the MLS Western Conference early on their home turf of Isotope Field with two goals in the opening 20 minutes and a 3-1 halftime lead.

"We completely tuned out," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said of the early goals. "The emotion is like, 'Poor me,' and when you operate from that space, you can never think reasonably."

Fidel Barajas got his first goal in an RSL uniform for the lone score in the first half, and Diego Luna got the second-and-final goal for the Claret and Cobalt in the 49th minute.

Luna's strike just minutes into the second half made it a single-score game, 3-2, but Jacobo Reyes ended all hopes of an RSL comeback with New Mexico's fourth goal in the 85th minute.

RSL made six changes to its starting lineup in its first Open Cup fixture, granting Zavier Gozo, Tommy Silva and Philip Quinton their first starts at the club.

"I think Fidel and Luna in particular did really well," Mastroeni said. "I think Tommy Silva did a good job and Gozo helped create that first goal before he got knocked in the head. So from that part, I think there's some experience gained."

Leading scorer Chicho Arango came off the bench in the 82nd minute to try and find an equalizer, but Reyes shut that door three minutes later as the second-division squad secured a win in its first-ever matchup against RSL.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for RSL following the loss, traveling to the third-place team in the West on Saturday in a classic clash against the LA Galaxy.

https://www.ksl.com/article/51007183/new-mexico-makes-rsl-1-and-done-in-open-cup-with-4-2-loss

I knew it

RSL falls short of US Open Cup final, loses 3-1 in Houston

(ksl.com 8-23-23)

Everyone knew the stakes of Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal in Houston: Win and you get to play Lionel Messi.

For Real Salt Lake, the reward was even bigger: Win and Messi comes to Sandy for a tournament final, with a trophy on the line.

RSL bounced back after it trailed 1-0 at halftime to keep the glimmer of hope alive with a goal from super-sub Anderson Julio in the 64th minute. The script, then, followed the Miami-Cincinnati semifinal earlier in the evening and went to 30 minutes of extra time with an even scoreline after 90 minutes.

RSL likely shouldn't have even made it that far, trailing Houston by a large margin in nearly every statistical category. The Dynamo owned almost 70% of possession in the game and outshot RSL 30-11 on the night, including a 10-2 lead in shots on goal.

Houston's tenacity and RSL's defensive woes shone through in extra time, and the Dynamo scored at the end of each 15-minute period to finish with a 3-1 win and a ticket to Miami for the Open Cup final.

"We knew it was gonna be a tough match," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "I'm really proud of the way the guys fought to get back in the game, but I think on the night we just weren't good enough with the ball. Credit to Houston, they're a very good team at home."

Brayan Vera exacerbated the situation with a straight red card in the 119th minute for striking a Houston player and retaliating against the teammates who came to the opponent's defense. Zac MacMath and Marcelo Silva had to restrain the first-year defender who was thirsty for more.

The two sides follow up Wednesday's 120-minute battle with another match Saturday in Sandy; RSL resumes MLS play at 7:30 p.m. MDT at America First Field.

"You can sit here and feel sorry for yourself, but we have a big game on the weekend and we have to quickly dust ourselves off and attack the right way," Mastroeni said. "So that'll be the focus for us."

RSL sits in third place in the Western Conference with 10 matches remaining in the regular season. So even though the team fell short of trophies in the Leagues Cup and Open Cup tournaments, Mastroeni believes there's still a lot to fight for in the regular season.

"We're in a good position in the league, but we have to have a better performance than we did tonight, I think, in particular with the ball," Mastroeni said. "I can't be more proud of the effort that the guys gave, but I just don't think we've executed well enough."

The loss came with subpar performances from the starting strikers up top — Damir Kreilach and Chicho Arango — and was also the team's first shot at replacing injured Pablo Ruiz in the midfield. Mastroeni said the team felt his "void" Wednesday and will need to "quickly figure out" how to fill it moving forward.

"Whether it's changing shape or changing the personnel," Mastroeni said. "But, obviously, it's hard to replace a player of Pablo's caliber."

https://www.ksl.com/article/50715934/rsl-falls-short-of-us-open-cup-final-loses-3-1-in-houston

RSL doing well in the US Open Cup?

I'm shocked.

Don't worry, there is plenty of time for them to choke. What do you want to bet?

---------------

RSL eliminates Colorado in Open Cup, will host Galaxy in quarterfinals

(ksl.com 5-24-23)

They say it's hard to beat the same team twice in a row, but Real Salt Lake defeated the Colorado Rapids on the road for the second time in five days to advance to the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday.

"Every game has got its own flavor, every game is its own event; no two games will ever look alike," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "Even if you play these guys in three more days, the score won't be the same and the game won't be the same. But what I'm proud of is the way the guys managed this game and held on to the lead."

The victory came by a one-goal margin, once again, following a 3-2 win last weekend. Jefferson Savarino was the difference on Wednesday after joining the team for the first time this tournament, scoring the game-winner in the 30th minute for a 1-0 result.

Anderson Julio was pressuring the Colorado defense high up the field, as head coach Pablo Mastroeni preaches, and it paid off. The Ecuadorian forward intercepted a pass and laid it off to Savarino on a breakaway.

With a couple of defenders in front of him, Savarino may have waited for his teammates to join him in the attack, but not this time. He saw an opening, trusted his foot, and took the shot. He sent a bending banger from outside the box into the far post for the first and only goal of the game.

It was Savarino's first goal for RSL since April 22 and gave the team another golazo for its Open Cup highlight reel after Andres Gomez dropped one from distance in Portland.

Mastroeni rotated in plenty of subs in the second half to keep the legs fresh, and the strategy paid off to hold Colorado scoreless at home. RSL's teenager in goal, Gavin Beavers, came up big once again with three crucial saves to maintain the clean sheet on the road.

"Without the boys in front of me we don't get that shutout," Beavers said. "I feel like the save that I had in the first half off the crossbar propelled us forward. You can't get a shutout just by yourself. You've got to have 10 other guys in front of you, and I feel like we did a great job tonight."

RSL will host the LA Galaxy at America First Field in the quarterfinals of the Open Cup on June 7 at 8. p.m. MDT. The team has three MLS matches before then, however, traveling to Minnesota on Saturday and then facing the Galaxy at home on May 31, followed by Austin FC on the road on June 3.

https://www.ksl.com/article/50652600/rsl-eliminates-colorado-in-open-cup-will-host-galaxy-in-quarterfinals

RSL and the US Open Cup

(by 15 to 32 bigsoccer.com 5-18-17)

Road game against a USL team? What could possibly go wrong...

2005: Eliminated at Minnesota
2006: Beat Virginia Beach at home, eliminated at cRapids
2007: DNQ
2008: DNQ
2009: DNQ
2010: DNQ
2011: Beat Wilmington at home, eliminated at FCD
2012: Loss at home to Minnesota
2013: Played every game at home and loss in final
2014: Loss at Atlanta
2015: Won 3 home games before losing to SKC in the semis
2016: Beat Wilmington at home (pks), eliminated vs Sounders (pks)

We've never won a road game in USOC

RSL and the US Open Cup

"We are about this close to caring."

RSL's 2012 US Open Cup

Date - May 29th, 2012
Round -
Opponent - Minnesota Stars FC
Stadium - Rio Tinto Stadium
Score - Minnesota 3 - RSL 1

Minnesota Stars stun RSL 3-1 in the U.S. Open Cup

(by Kira Terry ksl.com 5-30-12)

Despite high fan support, Real Salt Lake fell and was eliminated from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Tuesday night as the Minnesota Stars notched a 3-1 win against RSL inside Rio Tinto Stadium.

“From Minute 1 to Minute 90 it looked like their team wanted it more than we did and we’ve been preaching the same message to our team for many, many years now, which is if they aren’t going to be fully committed to the game they will not get results. And tonight they came in about 75 percent and thought that was going to be good enough and it clearly was not,” said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

A whopping 17,212 fans came out to support RSL, but they didn’t see the same spirited play they saw just three days earlier when RSL took a stoppage-time win from MLS opponent FC Dallas.

“They just wanted to win more than we did, which is embarrassing,” said Kreis. “And I think we owe a debt of gratitude and apology to first and foremost our ownership and to the management for pulling strings and working extremely hard to get the match here. And we owe an apology to our fans because that was a terrific crowd tonight for an Open Cup match and we let them down miserably.”

RSL knew Minnesota would come hungry, but Kreis didn’t expect the effort level he saw in his roster. “At the end of it all I think the score is fair because the effort just wasn’t good enough,” said Kreis.

Minnesota head coach Manny Lagos on the other hand was nothing but proud of his squad and what it did inside Rio Tinto Stadium Tuesday night. He said the psychological side of a lower-level team playing a higher-level team did not sway his group.

“There is a psychological side to a lower-level team playing a higher-level team —there’s no doubt about it,” said Lagos. “I can’t be more proud of the guys because we came into an environment that is very difficult to play where (RSL) usually dictates the tempo and I thought our guys did a good job of embracing the moment but not overthinking or analyzing it and really trying to enjoy it and push the game. And that’s a nice feeling because this is a tough place to play so it was nice to see the guys really put themselves out there.”

With four RSL regulars missing due to international duty and another called up earlier Tuesday, the RSL Starting 11 looked quite different Tuesday night with many young players.

However, they didn’t mesh well.

“There’s a complete different mix of players here that need to prove every day that they can help this team win so we have to see it from top guys all the way down to the guys that are depth,” said RSL midfielder Ned Grabavoy.

RSL will remain on MLS break for another two-and-a-half weeks until returning to action at the Home Depot Center June 16 against Chivas USA. RSL will then return to Rio Tinto to host the L.A. Galaxy on June 20.

RSL's 2011 US Open Cup

Date - June 28th, 2011
Round - 3rd
Opponent - Wilmington Hammerheads
Stadium - Rio Tinto Stadium
Score - RSL 2 - Wilmington Hammerheads 0



Real Salt Lake takes first step toward Open Cup with win over Wilmington

(by James Edwards desnews.com 6-29-11)

One down, three to go.

That's the mantra for Real Salt Lake following Tuesday night's routine 2-0 victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"It wasn't a perfect game, it's not a game any of us walk out of here and are ecstatic about it, but we got the job done," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

Four victories is all RSL needs to win the competition, and it's one step closer after overwhelming the inferior lower-division foe from the USL Pro league.

Lifting the Cup would be a nice consolation prize for RSL after coming up short in the CONCACAF Champions League two months ago. The title would also clinch RSL a berth in the 2012-2013 version of the Champions League, an underrated perk to winner.

"We are a club that wants to win trophies, it doesn't matter which kind. So now we're three games away from a trophy and a championship, and three games away from being back into CONCACAF, so we'll put a tremendous amount of focus on that," said Kreis.

Despite Tuesday's win, getting there won't be easy.

As RSL was going through the motions against Wilmington, FC Dallas was squeaking out a 3-2 victory over Orlando City. Dallas will host Real Salt Lake in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on July 12, just three days after the teams meet in a league game at Rio Tinto Stadium.

RSL's all-time record in Dallas, including last year's playoffs, is 0-9-1. That one draw, however, did come this year so there's a glimmer of hope for the visitors.

"We got to win there sometime, this would be a good time to get our first win down there," said RSL midfielder Will Johnson.

RSL got the competition started off on the right foot Tuesday, scoring twice in the first half and then putting it in cruise control the rest of the way in front of 7,620 fans.

It took RSL a bit longer than expected to break the spirits of the last-place team in the USL Pro American Division, but it eventually did.

Tony Beltran opened the scoring in the 40th minute with his first professional goal in any competition. After receiving a Jean Alexandre ball in space at the right edge of the penalty area, Beltran took a few touches and then hammered the ball just inside the near post.

"It's great, I've been wanting to score for a long time and I feel like I've been getting closer and closer and getting more and more confident every game," said Beltran. "Glad I was able to contribute personally, but I'm even more happy we got the win."

After doing a decent job defending with numbers up until that point, the goal was a dagger for the visiting Hammerheads. Four minutes later they found themselves down 2-0 as Alexandre doubled the advantage on an easy finish near the penalty area.

"Those early goals really helped us kill off the game a little bit," said Johnson.

To Wilmington's credit it kept fighting in the second half and didn't concede again.

RSL still had plenty of chances in the second half, including a pair of shots off the woodwork. Johnson was denied by the post in the 76th minute and then Andy Williams was denied by the crossbar in the 81st minute. RSL outshot Wilmington 18-6 and 7-3 with shots on goal.

RSL will now have five days off before jumping back into league play when it hosts New England at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.



--------------------

Date - July 13th
Round - 4th
Opponent - FC Dallas
Stadium - Pizza Hut Park, Frisco TX
Score - FC Dallas 2 - RSL 1




Real Salt Lake bows out of Open Cup with 2-0 loss

(by Steve Hunt desnews.com 7-13-11)

Just three days after beating FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium, Real Salt Lake looked like a completely different club in a 2-0 loss to FCD in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match at Pizza Hut Park.

Dallas got goals from Jair Benitez in the 18th minute and another from Jackson Goncalves in the 54th to advance.

That first goal definitely set an ominous tone for RSL.

"Giving up the first goal against a good team like Dallas is always tough," Salt Lake defender Nate Borchers said. "After that, we were just under it and I don't think we responded as well as we wanted to."

Salt Lake finished with just six total shots, but none of those were on goal.

Tonight's performance clearly didn't sit well with RSL head coach Jason Kreis, who saw a marked difference in how his side performed tonight compared to how they fared on Saturday night in Sandy.

"I think just the energy level [was the biggest difference]," Kreis said. "We've seen it lots and lots of times here in Dallas where we can't just seem to get the energy level right."

That energy he speaks of was only present to start the second half, when Salt Lake was able to muster several quality chances. One of those opportunities came in the 47th minute when Tony Beltran found some room inside the Dallas area but saw his shot deflected by George John.

And once Dallas added a second goal nine minutes into the final frame, any momentum they had evaporated.

"If we don't have the right energy and the right mentality for games, we oftentimes don't get results," Kreis said. "When we do have the right mentality and energy level for games, we oftentimes do get results."

Despite finishing the first half with only one shot, RSL trailed by only a goal at the break. One reason the game was only 1-0 was because midfielder Ned Grabavoy denied a header by John at the right post one minute before halftime.

But the nail in the coffin for Salt Lake in tonight's defeat was a lack of possession. Other than the early stages of the second half, they didn't control the flow of the game at all.

"I think a big factor for us tonight was our possession game," Borchers said. "I don't think we were as good as we normally are with our possession."

At opening kick, the thermometer read 97 degrees, nine degrees hotter than it was in Saturday's contest at Rio Tinto, and the hotter weather was definitely a factor.

"It was a tough game. It was hot," Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "They played great and scored two great goals."

RSL had one final chance in the 74th minute when Collen Warner took a shot from 20 yards but his attempt instead struck the crossbar and it remained a two-goal affair.

However, they will have to put this result behind them quickly and refocus their efforts toward league play, which resumes in four days.

"Open Cup's done now and we have to wash our hands and get over that," Borchers said.

And even though Salt Lake is now eliminated from the Open Cup, Beckerman couldn't resist taking a shot at the Dallas crowd, something that goes back to his days in Colorado.

"It's a shame. It seemed like a high school match tonight, with how many in the crowd? 3000? Ha, good one," he said. "It wasn't the greatest atmosphere, which is a shame."

Kreis' team returns to MLS action on Saturday night in Vancouver against the Whitecaps.

"We have a big test in front of us with Vancouver," Borchers said. "It's a tough place to play. We have to make sure we bring our 'A game' on Saturday."

RSL's 2010 US Open Cup

Date -
Round - MLS play in game #1
Opponent - San Jose Earthquakes
Stadium -
Score - RSL 5 - San Jose Earthquakes 4



Team advances in Cup with shootout win

(by Michael Black desnews.com 4-15-10)

Real Salt Lake is making a reputation as a clutch team. After blowing a two-goal lead in regulation, it took RSL penalty kicks to beat the San Jose Earthquakes 5-4 in a shootout for a play-in game to qualify for the Lamar Hunt United States Open Cup.

Real went a perfect 5-for-5 in the shootout as Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley, Robbie Russell and Andy Williams all converted their attempts, and San Jose's hero earlier, Arturo Alvarez — who scored in the 88th minute to force extra time — missed as the first shooter for the Quakes

"I was thinking as the game was winding down, 'I haven't had a lot of luck in Open Cup matches,' " said coach Jason Kreis in a radio interview. "Hopefully, this win will reverse some of that luck."

The game went back forth with several momentum swings. Just like in the two teams' MLS opener 18 days ago, Real got on the board early. In the seventh minute, Robbie Findley scored on a one-on-one chance, beating keeper Jon Busch.

Nelson Gonzalez added to the lead in the 60th minute. The Argentinean midfielder scored on a free kick from 22 yards with a left-foot blast that bent around the wall for the 2-0 lead.

Chris Leitch scored in the 69th minute for San Jose, and Alvarez evened it with just two minutes of regulation remaining.

San Jose went up in the 103rd minute as Justin Morrow scored on an Alvarez assist. But Real equalized when Nat Borchers scored on a header in the 117th minute.

Kyle Reynish started in goal for Nick Rimando as Real used an interesting mix of veterans and youngsters in its lineup. The midfield had rookie Collen Warner and second-year pro Jean Alexandre starting in the middle, before Williams and Beckerman entered. Rauwshan McKenzie got the start at the back. Unfortunately, a nightmare scenario occurred when starter Chris Wingert was replaced early by Robbie Russell with a strained hamstring.

Real moves on in the Open Cup to face either D.C. United or F.C. Dallas next month. The team must regroup for its fourth MLS game of the season at the Home Depot Center on Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

--------------------

Date - June 2nd, 2010
Round - MLS play in game #2
Opponent - DC United
Stadium - RFK Stadium
Score - DC United 2 - RSL 1



Real Salt Lake misses berth in U.S. Open Cup

(by James Edwards desnews.com 6-3-10)

On the road, in the heat and with four missing regulars, Wednesday night's U.S. Open Cup qualifier against D.C. United was always going to be a tough task for Real Salt Lake.

RSL fought through the adversity admirably, but in the end actually made a tough situation worse.

With an approach primarily geared toward stealing a late victory at RFK Stadium, RSL failed to finish a winner in regulation and ended up falling to D.C. United 2-1 after 30 extra minutes.

D.C. United substitute Andy Najar provided the winning goal with a fantastic individual effort in the 107th minute as he dribbled between Will Johnson and Tony Beltran and buried a low drive shot past keeper Kyle Reynish.

The victory officially qualified D.C. United for the 40-team Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, while RSL will once again be watching the rest of the tournament from home.

"I walk away from that very proud of what our players put into it, very proud of the effort they gave; there was never any die in our team," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

These teams meet again on Saturday in a league match, a quick turnaround that definitely factored into Kreis' lineup decisions.

With RSL's numerous injuries and a very busy schedule later this summer, Kreis admits bowing out of the U.S. Open Cup isn't necessarily a bad thing in the long run. It's not what he wanted, though, by any means.

"Who knows, in the next round of games we could have everybody fresh and lots of players that need and want games. I'm never going to say it's a good situation (to lose)," said Kreis.

With only 17 healthy players to choose from, and the chance for a sixth straight league victory on Saturday, Kreis put a mix of regulars and reserves into his starting 11. Following 60 scoreless minutes with a handful decent chances by both teams, Kreis made three aggressive, attacking-oriented changes.

By inserting Javier Morales, Fabian Espindola and May's MLS Player of the Month Alvaro Saborio into the match, Kreis wanted to go after the victory.

"It's not fair to say that was the plan, but being the situation it was in the 60th minute, OK, we go forward with what we did," said Kreis.

In the end, it was D.C. United that struck first in the 73rd minute from the penalty spot.

RSL rookie midfielder Collen Warner was whistled for a handball in the box, spoiling a fantastic one-on-one save by Reynish on Jordan Graye. The rebound, however, fell to Chris Pontius whose bicycle-kick attempt deflected off Warner's hand.

Luciano Emilio calmly buried the penalty for the 1-0 lead.

It didn't take Real Salt Lake long to find the equalizer though. In the 80th minute, Espindola's cross glanced off the arm of Barry Rice and the ref immediately pointed to the spot. Will Johnson took the penalty and kicked up the middle past Troy Perkins, who dove right, to level the score at 1-1.

In the final 10 minutes of regulation, Real Salt Lake had numerous half-chances to bury a winner, but it couldn't capitalize on the quality possession in the offensive third and was forced to play 30 more minutes in the heat.

In overtime, RSL outshot D.C. 8-3, but again couldn't find a winner.

United, which improved to 4-0-2 all-time against RSL at RFK Stadium, finally broke through in the 107th minute on a clear defensive breakdown. Both Johnson or Beltran could've easily closed down Najar in the penalty area, but a moment of indecision by both allowed him to slip between them for the easy goal.

RSL's best chance for an equalizer came from overtime substitute Luis Gil who had a shot cleared off the line in the 118th minute.

RSL's 2009 US Open Cup

Date - April 28th, 2009
Round - MLS play in game #1
Opponent - Seattle Sounders FC
Stadium - Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila WA
Score - Seattle Sounders 4 - RSL 1



-Real Salt Lake suffers emotionless setback in U.S. Open Cup

(by Joshua Mayers desnews.com 4-29-09)

Three days after a record-setting victory at home, it was back to familiar road woes for Real Salt Lake.

Allowing two goals in a two-minute span in the first half, Real Salt Lake fell behind early and could never recover in a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders FC in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in game Tuesday night in front of 3,890 fans at the Starfire Sports Complex.

Seattle will play one last qualifier against the Colorado Rapids to get into the knockout-round tournament. Salt Lake is eliminated from the competition before qualifying for the third straight year.

"We're going to have to, as a staff, consider whether we ought to think about changing our mentality on the road," Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis said in an MLSnet.com story before the game.

The words rang true after Tuesday's match again for Kreis, who played about half of his starters from a franchise-best 6-0 win against the New England Revolution on Saturday.

Real Salt Lake is now 0-4 in U.S. Open Cup road games and winless in three road games this season. One month ago to the day, Salt Lake lost to the Sounders FC 2-0 in a Major League Soccer game at Qwest Field.

"Obviously, we are extremely disappointed with the result and the match," Kreis said. "Tonight's performance is a big letdown after Saturday's win back home.

"It's important for everyone to remember that it is still a young season, we have several games left to accomplish our goals. Tonight we played a lot of guys that hadn't had extensive minutes in their previous opportunities, and to be honest, tonight they didn't make the most of this opportunity.

"So now we have to wipe this one from our mind as soon as possible — it's over, and it is what it is," Kreis said. "We have another game Saturday in Colorado. It's a big rivalry, and it'll be a fantastic opportunity to get back on track."

Trailing 2-0 in the first half, 22-year-old midfielder Will Johnson pulled a goal back for Salt Lake in the 32nd minute when he finished a fantastic run down the left flank with a 15-yard shot past Sounders FC goalkeeper Chris Eylander to the near post.

After halftime, Johnson had a chance to tie the game in the 47th minute, but his close-range shot was saved by Eylander, last year's U.S. Open Cup player of the tournament

Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid called it a "big save" that changed momentum in the game.

Seattle took a 1-0 lead early in the game when awarded a penalty kick in the 24th minute after Real Salt Lake defender Tony Beltran fouled Sounders FC forward Roger Levesque in front of the goal. Sebastien Le Toux converted the spot kick past the diving Chris Seitz in goal.

Two minutes later Seattle doubled its lead when Le Toux passed to a streaking Sanna Nyassi who quickly fired a shot into the lower left corner.

In the second half, the Sounders FC went up 3-1 in the 52nd minute on a goal by Stephen King. Seattle added a fourth two minutes later on another goal by Le Toux.

Le Toux finished with two goals and two assists. Levesque had three assists..

Seitz, making his first start of the year, made four saves.

Playing on an artificial turf surface was again a disadvantage for Real Salt Lake, which dropped to 0-8-3 in all competitions not played on grass.

Real Salt Lake was outshot 16-11 and only amounted three shots on goal.

With offensive weapons Clint Mathis and Javier Morales — the reigning MLS Player of the Week — out of the lineup and Yura Movsisyan playing limited minutes, Real Salt Lake struggled to create many scoring chances.

Kreis also rested most of his regulars on defense.

Real Salt Lake hasn't qualified for the U.S. Open Cup since 2006, when it lost in the fourth round to the Colorado Rapids. In 2005, Salt Lake lost in the third round to the Minnesota Thunder of the United Soccer Leagues.

After its previous two road losses this season, Real Salt Lake has bounced back each time with a home victory. After losing 2-0 to Seattle in March, the team recovered with a 4-1 win at Rio Tinto Stadium against Columbus. Then after a 2-0 loss at New York against the Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake beat New England 6-0.

RSL's 2008 US Open Cup

Date - April 30th, 2008
Round - MLS play in game #1
Opponent - San Jose Earthquakes
Stadium - Rice Eccles Stadium
Score - RSL 4 - San Jose Earthquakes 0



-Team puts superior depth on display

(by James Edwards desnews.com 5-1-08)

Improved depth was one of the biggest reasons why expectations were so high for Real Salt Lake heading into the 2008 season.

Over the course of such a long season, along with the inevitable injuries and suspensions, the coaching staff believed more depth would translate into more wins.

In Wednesday night's U.S. Open Cup qualifier at Rice-Eccles Stadium, that depth was on full display, and expansion San Jose — a team with virtually no depth — never had a chance.

RSL scored three goals in the opening half, including two in the same minute, as it cruised to the 4-0 victory over the Earthquakes.

"We were very please with the way our team's mentality was, it would've been easy to come out a little bit flat ... but our guys were fantastic, they started out bright and did all the things that we asked of them in the first 20 minutes," said Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis.

With the victory Salt Lake advances to the next phase of U.S. Open Cup qualifying on May 27 at the Columbus Crew. A victory in Ohio would send RSL to Chicago for the last phase of qualifying, with that winner officially qualifying for the 48-team tournament.

For a franchise that waited until overtime to win Open Cup matches in each of the past two seasons, Wednesday's match was seriously lacking in drama.

In the 21st minute, Kyle Beckerman put RSL in front 1-0 as he tapped in a loose ball in the box. Teammate Matias Mantilla initially won the header on a corner kick, and the ball trickled to Beckerman, who tapped it in just in front of San Jose keeper Preston Burpo.

A dozen minutes later, Beckerman doubled his team's advantage with a low driven shot struck about 30 yards from goal. Amazingly, in the same 33rd minute, RSL scored again as San Jose coughed the ball up on the kickoff and Matias Cordoba set up Yura Movsisyan to increase the advantage to 3-0.

"Teams are always suspect to make mistakes immediately after you score or get scored on, and they made a pretty bad mistake there and Matias Cordoba was there to punish them for it," said Kreis. "I thought it was a very bright play on his part and an extremely intelligent pass he played to Yura there."

With San Jose coach Frank Yallop deciding to rest most of his regulars for this weekend's match against FC Dallas, Wednesday's outcome was rather predictable. Only Ryan Cochrane and Ramiro Corrales had seen much playing time for the expansion Earthquakes this year, and any hopes for an upset were further dashed early on when defenders Cochrane and Jay Ayres both had to leave the match after a midfield collision.

"I think we were benefactors of that for sure, one of them is Ryan Cochrane and he's really the organizer of the center of the defense for them," said Kreis.

While San Jose rested key players, seven of RSL's starting 11 had started at least one regular-season MLS match this year. The only four who hadn't were Tony Beltran, Matias Cordoba, Chris Seitz and Kenny Cutler.

RSL's Andy Williams wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute on an assist from second-half substitute Tino Nunez.

Kreis' decision to start some of his regulars, not to mention inserting players like Javier Morales and Dema Kovalenko into the match in the second half, was a clear indicator he was taking the match seriously.

"Like we said from the beginning of the season, we don't lose at home so we're going to stick by that and work hard so we get those results, so to us it was just like another regular season game," said Real striker Robbie Findley.

The big question is did RSL leave any of the offensive output in the tank? The high-scoring L.A. Galaxy, featuring David Beckham, make their only visit of the season to Salt Lake City this Saturday in what figures to a much-hyped match.








--------------------

Date - May 27th, 2008
Round - MLS play in game #2
Opponent - Columbus Crew
Stadium - Crew Stadium
Score - Columbus Crew 2 - RSL 0



-RSL's trophy outlook dims with 2-0 loss

(by Darryl Mellema desnews.com 6-2-08)

Real Salt Lake's 2008 trophy potential got halved on Tuesday thanks to a 2-0 defeat by the Columbus Crew in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match.

"It's tough," RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "We're in a bit of a road slump and trying to find a way to get out. We can't find answers right now. The fight was there though."

The match turned irretrievably against the visitors in a four-minute span of the second half. RSL trailed at that point from a Steve Lenhart 26th-minute goal.

First Dema Kovalenko was sent off for needlessly tossing the ball at Columbus' Emmanuel Ekpo in the 50th minute. Ekpo had just fouled RSL's Ian Joy, and a heated exchange between players of both teams ensued.

"We need (Kovalenko) out there," Beckerman said. "He's really important for the team."

Contact between the ball and Ekpo's face was minimal, but the Columbus midfielder went down like he was hit by a baseball bat. Referee Jeff Gontarek did not hesitate to send off Kovalenko for throwing the ball at an opponent.

"You just can't do that," Kreis said. "We didn't really have any arguments for that."

Columbus took immediate advantage of the extra space in the 54th minute. Robbie Rogers curled a shot from the top left corner of the penalty area in at Nick Rimando's right post.

"Obviously the ejection's not good for us," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "And then they score a goal on top of that. We were back on our heels pretty badly at that point."

RSL reshuffled its deck. Tony Beltran replaced Dustin Kirby six minutes after Rodgers' goal. Fabian Espindola came on for Tino Nunez with 20 minutes to play in the match.

RSL began to get some offense moving with its changed lineup, though the two-goal deficit proved impossible to retrieve. Javier Morales entered the match for Matias Cordoba with 17 minutes to play as the game became truly end-to-end. RSL's Rimando was kept very busy throughout the match.

"I think we made it tough on ourselves," Rimando said. "Especially in the second half when we got a red card. We knew we were going to be down a man, and we knew we had to press to get a goal. We had to win or we were out of the tournament so that's why we pressed."

Ironically, RSL played its best attacking soccer in the 10-versus-11 situations, getting its best chances on Andy Gruenebaum in the final half-hour of play.

"After the ejection, we started to play a little more soccer," Kreis said. "We have to say 'hey' we played pretty well after our player got ejected. That shows a pretty good response."

Despite its renewed attacking vigor, RSL failed to force a breakthrough and the Crew advanced to meet Chicago in the next round.

RSL, meanwhile, returns to MLS action and hosts San Jose on Saturday in a key Western Conference matchup. MLS Cup is the only remaining trophy RSL can claim this season.

"We feel that's a must-win for us on Saturday," Beckerman said. "I'm sure San Jose feels the same. It's going to be a battle and hopefully we can keep doing well at home and get three points."

Tuesday's match was the first in an RSL uniform for forward Tino Nunez and defender David Horst.

Nunez lasted until halftime, when he was replaced by Andy Williams. The U.S. Open Cup allows five substitutions rather than the three allowed in MLS play.

Horst played the entire 90 minutes.

"I think there was good and bad — typical of what you're going to find in young players," Kreis said. "There were some good moments and there were some mistakes for both of them."

RSL's 2007 US Open Cup

Real prevails in OT over Kansas City

(by James Edwards desnews.com 4-19-07)

It took an extra half hour, but Real Salt Lake bagged its first win of the season — even though it tried blowing it again.

After surrendering an 88th minute equalizer to Kansas City in Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup qualification match, RSL dug deep and prevailed 2-1 in overtime thanks to an electrifying goal by Andy Williams.

It doesn't concern RSL's players and coaches one bit that the win won't count in the league standings.

"It's a confidence booster. You take the wins any way you can," said Real coach John Ellinger. "It's a habit, just like we've found in the past. Losing's a habit; winning's a habit. It's good to find a way to win against a good team."

With the victory, RSL advances to the next round of Open Cup qualification, which means a visit the Colorado Rapids on May 23.

Williams, who entered the game as a 68th-minute substitute, made it all possible.

In the 109th minute, 11 minutes before the single-elimination game would've been decided by shootout, Williams and Cunningham hooked up on a beautiful give-and-go that Williams ultimately finished off with a 15-yard blast.

"Andy and I have this thing," Cunningham said. "It's like a playground, Jamaican-style football. I know where he's going to go, and I know before he gets the ball ... what he's thinking and vice versa."

Williams is no stranger to overtime heroics in a Real uniform. In last year's third-round Open Cup match with Virginia Beach, Williams also scored an overtime goal as Real prevailed, 2-1.

"Andy did exactly what we expected he would do," said Ellinger. "We needed him to hold the ball a little more and he was doing that, and he created some opportunities for us to get additional chances."

In a game at Rice-Eccles Stadium with an announced attendance of 8,147, Cunningham opened the scoring in the 12th minute by burying a penalty kick that was awarded when Wizards' keeper Kevin Hartman clipped Freddy Adu in the box.

By all accounts, Kansas City should've equalized 13 minutes later, but Daniel Torres snuffed it out with one of the best individual defensive moments in franchise history. When Kansas City striker Eddie Johnson touched the ball around Real keeper Chris Seitz just inside the penalty area, it seemed inevitable that he would bury the shot in the vacated net.

Instead, Torres came charging in and knocked Johnson off the ball before he could collect himself and get a shot off.

"That defensive play may have been the play of the year so far, just the fact he had the wherewithal to chase back and just cut him off and win the ball without fouling him," said Ellinger.

Down 1-0 at the half, Kansas City upped its pressure on the ball, which paid off in various ways, most notably a goal by Sasha Victorine in the 88th minute to tie the game at 1-1. Just as impressive, however, was outshooting its opponent 10-1 as RSL struggled to maintain possession after Eddie Pope and Mehdi Ballouchy were replaced in the second half to keep them fresh for this Saturday's league game at Chivas USA.

Two minutes into regulation stoppage time, Kansas City nearly won it when Victorine forced Seitz to make a diving save to his left on a corner kick.

Even though RSL ultimately prevailed in overtime, the fact it allowed another late goal is a bit of a concern. The players, however, believe rallying for an overtime win seemingly cancels out that disappointment.

"It was a workmanlike performance, but that's what we need to create our luck; that's how you get it by working hard," said Real midfielder Kenny Cutler.



--------------------



Open Cup: Colorado edges Real

(by James Edwards desnews.com 5-24-07)

In the big picture, Jason Kreis admits that Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids isn't all that devastating.

Sure Real Salt Lake would've preferred to walk away from Dick's Sporting Goods Park victorious, but the bottom line is it was only a U.S. Open Cup qualifying match, and history has proven that Open Cup success only clutters a team's schedule down the road.

"Open Cup's an interesting beast because a lot of times it makes your schedule even tougher, and the end of the day, when you look at it quite realistically, sometimes it's better to get out in this round than the last round," said RSL's head coach.

With that said, considering everything Real has endured this year, it would probably take a win over a youth team if it boosted team moral and confidence. Real Salt Lake is winless in seven league matches thus far, and Wednesday's Open Cup loss to rival Colorado only adds to the misery.

"I'm honesty very sick of losing," said defender Daniel Torres. "I know my whole team is sick of losing."

Considering the way the match unfolded, Wednesday's outcome was just as disheartening as Sunday's loss at Dallas in which it surrendered an 82nd minute goal to fall 2-1. In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, and less than 60 seconds before the game would've needed overtime to decide a winner, Real coughed up possession far too easily in the midfield, and Colorado's Jacob Peterson capitalized by banging a fantastic goal in off the far post.

"We've done so much hard work to get to that point and then we lose a simple ball in possession, a quick counter attack the game's over," said Kreis.

Fresh off Sunday's game in Dallas, and with another league match on tap in Chicago this Sunday, Kreis used a mix or regulars and reserves to fill his starting 11. Under ideal conditions, he would've rested key starters like Colorado did, but his lack of depth right now just didn't make that feasible.

In the first phase of Open Cup qualifying, RSL beat Kansas City 2-1 on an overtime goal by Andy Williams at Rice Eccles Stadium. With a win Wednesday RSL would've become the eighth and final MLS team to officially qualify for the 40-team Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but instead Colorado gets the nod.

The Rapids opened the scoring just three minutes into the second half as Peterson pounced on weak punched clearance attempt by Chris Seitz and buried his first of two goals. Seitz, who started Real's other Open Cup win, wasn't able to get much on his clearance attempt thanks to an aggressive challenge by Colorado striker Conor Casey.

It took RSL just over 15 minutes to equalize on a great individual effort by Chris Klein who curled a right-footed shot from the top of the box just inside the far post. Klein originally tracked the ball down near the left corner and cut it back toward the box where Mehdi Ballouchy made a simple touch on the ball to free up a little more space for Klein's shot.

Over the course of the second half, RSL replaced starters Freddy Adu, Eddie Pope, Klein and Chris Brown. Kreis hopes it helps with their fitness this Sunday at Chicago, but Torres said it shouldn't be that big a deal.

"It doesn't matter if we have to play every other day, we're supposed to be fit and ready, that's what we do, we're soccer players," he said.

RSL's 2006 US Open Cup

Date - July 11th, 2006
Round - 3rd
Opponent - Virginia Beach Mariners
Stadium - Rice Eccles Stadium
Score - RSL 2 - Virginia Beach Mariners 1



-Long scoreless streak ends for Real, kind of

(by Michael Black desnews.com 7-12-06)

Real Salt Lake may have struggled to a 2-1 overtime victory over the Virginia Beach Mariners, but besides simply getting the result, Salt Lake was able to finally put the ball in the goal.

Jeff Cunningham's penalty-kick goal in the 28th minute broke a 272-minute scoreless streak for RSL. After being shut out in its previous two games, the team had failed to find the back of the net since the 25th minute of its game at Chicago. However, the goal does not count toward the MLS stats, and the team is still moving toward its own dubious record of scoreless minutes of 557 in league play.

Besides breaking out of a team scoreless streak, Andy Williams' tally in the 93rd minute from 25 yards was last season's MVP's first goal of the season. Although he had several near-misses, including a shot that bounced off the crossbar Saturday at the Galaxy, Williams had played 649 minutes of soccer this season without scoring before the breakthrough.

"A great goal by Andy . . . We knew we just needed one, and Andy took care of that," said Ellinger of Williams goal in overtime.

LIGHTNING STRIKES: For the second time this year, Real faced a delay for lightning. In the 61st minute, the referees deemed it too dangerous to continue. Once the decision was made, a mandatory 30-minute delay was enforced, and it was 36 minutes before play resumed. Last month the team experienced a 58-minute delay in Chicago and came out flat, giving up two goals. This time Real reacted differently.

"We really just addressed the focus issue," Ellinger said of what the team did in the locker room during the break.

LET'S PLAY MORE: RSL has twice played in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, and twice it has gone to overtime. Major League Soccer does not play overtime during the regular season, so the two appearances in the cup are the only two overtime games in franchise history. Real evened its overtime record at 1-1 with the 2-1 win. Last season the team succumbed to Minnesota, giving up two goals in the extra stanza to lose 4-6.



-Williams keeps RSL from embarrassment

(by James Edwards desnews.com 7-12-06)

These days, nothing comes easy for Real Salt Lake on the pitch or in the political world.

Nonetheless, on a day in which RSL's stadium hopes took a major blow, Andy Williams made sure the team didn't suffer through an embarrassing loss as well.

The MLS veteran, who's seen a significant drop in playing time the past two months, scored on a magnificent 25-yard strike early in overtime to help RSL hold off the Virginia Beach Mariners, 2-1, in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.

"That's what I said to them before the overtime started," said RSL coach John Ellinger. "Turn this moment right now into a catalyst for the rest of the season, and hopefully it does."

With the victory, Real advances to the fourth round, where it will host the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 2. It was a result that should've been much easier against the United Soccer League's First Division club, but MLS teams often find life difficult against lower division teams in the single elimination tournament.

In the third round of last year's U.S. Open Cup, RSL dropped a 6-4 overtime game at the Minnesota Thunder — another USL First Division club. A Jason Kreis hat trick was wasted in that game as Minnesota scored an equalizer in the 89th minute, and then scored two more goals in the 30-minute overtime.

"Last year we lost in overtime, and it was kind of like the rest of the season it hung over our heads every time there was an Open Cup date," said Ellinger.

This time around, RSL learned its lesson about overtime, and lightning delays.

Tuesday's game was halted for 36 minutes in the second half because of a lightning delay. Two weeks ago, when lightning delayed its game at Chicago, Real came out and squandered its 1-0 lead by surrendering two goals the final 10 minutes and lost 2-1.

During the delay, Ellinger reminded his players to stay focused and learn from the mistakes made in Chicago.

Real dominated following the storm, but once again, it continued to struggle with its finishing. In the 89th minute, second-half substitute Mehdi Ballouchy banged an empty-net shot off the left post following a fantastic dribbling run and then cross by fellow substitute Ryan Johnson.

"There's something about the six-yard box and our finishing, other than that I thought we defended well and minimized our mistakes in the second half and kept our focus," said Ellinger.

It didn't take Williams long to avenge Ballouchy's miss.

In the third minute of the 30-minute overtime, Ballouchy laid a free kick off to Williams near the top of the box, and he unleashed a powerful shot that diving Virginia Beach keeper Matt Nelson had no chance of saving.

With a league match at New England this Friday, Ellinger started only four of his regular starting 11. Seven of the 11, however, have started at least one game this year. Regardless of who was on the field for Salt Lake, Virginia Beach didn't seem the least bit intimidated against the upper division MLS club.

After dodging several Mariners' scoring opportunities in the opening 20 minutes, RSL settled down and eventually took the lead in the 27th minute on a Jeff Cunningham penalty kick. Jamie Watson earned the penalty when he was tackled in the box by the Mariners' Alan Woods, less than a minute after Watson had a breakaway shot saved by keeper Matthew Nelson.

The goal snapped a 272-minute scoreless streak for RSL, which sits in last place in the MLS Western Conference with a 3-9-4 record.

It was a short-lived lead. In the 37th minute RSL defender Kevin Novak misplayed a long ball by Woods, enabling Virginia Beach midfielder Tim O'Neill to slip in behind him and bury a shot past Jay Nolly just inside the right post.

"If they get a goal, they believe they can play and they try and make a statement," said Ellinger. "They played well, my hats off to them. They battled all the way to the end."

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Date - August 2nd
Round - 4th
Opponent - Colorado Rapids
Stadium - Rice Eccles Stadium
Score - Colorado Rapids 1 - RSL 0



-Another 1-0 home loss for RSL

(by Dan Rasmussen desnews.com 8-3-06)

On the heels of a huge come-from-behind win over league-leading D.C. United last Saturday, Real Salt Lake hoped to use its fourth-round U.S. Open Cup game against Colorado to build momentum before this weekend's MLS All-Star break.

Didn't happen.

After playing reasonably well during the first half, Real failed to sustain that effort after halftime. Former RSL midfielder Clint Mathis assisted on the game-winning goal in the 61st minute and Colorado hung on for a 1-0 win Wednesday night, knocking Salt Lake out of the U.S. Open Cup.

"Before the game (the state of the team) was OK," said coach John Ellinger. "I don't know what it is now. Obviously, we were frustrated again. The mood with everybody felt we were going to make a go at this competition. I just didn't feel it happened."

The killer blow came in the 61st minute, thanks to solid work by Mathis. After receiving the ball down the right side, he advanced it toward the endline, drawing RSL defenders Willis Forko and Nik Besagno toward him. From there, Mathis perfectly back-heeled the ball into the path of a wide-open Jacob Peterson, who banged the ball into the net.

Mathis made his second appearance in Salt Lake City since being traded from the team last fall.

"It's funny, the guys are always giving me stick here and there" said Mathis, who was subbed out in the 84th minute, "but it's part of the game and it's no worries."

RSL created a handful of chances over the final five minutes, including a first-time effort by sub Joey Worthen that was tipped wide, but it wasn't enough.

Real Salt Lake outshot Colorado 17-8, including a 10-3 advantage in the first half. However, Ellinger didn't feel his squad played that well or that it created enough quality scoring chances.

"In the first half, I thought we got behind them," he said. "But again, where did it go from there? We got in behind them and then did we cross it and get somebody on the end of the cross? Did we lay the ball off for a good, quality chance? I don't think we did that."

Winger Chris Klein played fairly well during the opening 45 minutes to help Salt Lake get behind the defense.

"Very good first half. Definitely thought we had the better of the chances," said Klein. "For whatever reason, we didn't have the same intensity in the second half."

Ellinger tried to get his team to play more through the middle and into wide positions in the second half, but it didn't pay off.

Now the focus will shift back to Real's playoff chase. After the All-Star break, Salt Lake, which is tied for fifth-place, will face Colorado.

"Some ways, sometimes, it could be good to get out of this tournament because you can focus on what we need to focus on right now," said captain Jason Kreis. "We are splitting our thoughts in other places, and it could take away from what we need out of this season."

RSL's 2005 US Open Cup

Date - July 13th, 2005
Round - 3rd
Opponent - Minnesota Thunder
Stadium - Griffin Stadium in St. Paul Minnesota
Score - Minnesota Thunder 6 - RSL 4



-RSL hits rock bottom in loss

(by Al Schoch desnews.com 7-14-05)

It can't get much worse.

Real Salt Lake's overworked and overmatched defense couldn't hold three one-goal leads, surrendered the tying score in the final minute of regulation, then was blitzed for two overtime goals in a 6-4 loss to the United Soccer League's Minnesota Thunder in a US Open Cup third-round match here.

"Ten years in the league, it's as low as I've ever been," said Jason Kreis, who scored three of Real's four goals, including the one that produced a late 4-3 lead. "Confidence is something that's very cyclical, either you have it or you don't. Right now we don't, and it's spreading like a rampant fire."

Matt Schmidt and Aaron Paye each scored in overtime after Paye's chip shot over goalkeeper Jay Nolly's outstretched hand forced the extra session.

That Schmidt and Paye were in position to score was not surprising. The Thunder had so many scoring chances, it was a miracle they didn't blow out their MLS opponent.

Paye sent the game into overtime in the final minute of regulation, wrestling the ball away from Brian Dunseth and beating Nolly with a high, arching shot.

"When you get in the 80th minute, and you're a Major League Soccer team, you should know how to kill off a game," said Kreis. "We just gave it to them."

The Thunder beat an MLS team for the second straight year in US Open Cup play. Last year, they edged the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 on the same artificial surface as Wednesday night's triumph.

Real was playing in its first-ever US Open Cup game, and remains winless on the road in their inaugural season.

"We showed them we that we've got character, that we can play this game," said Paye.

"We knew we had them back on their heels, they were a little fatigued. We have a bunch of fast guys and kept pressing them. A lot of us should be playing in the MLS," he said.

Real's defense was without injured Rusty Pierce and Paul Broome, while Eddie Pope (US) and Andy Williams (Jamaica) are with their national teams in the US Open Cup. On offense, Real sputtered most of the night, rarely completed two consecutive passes in a possession, and only Kreis' brilliance kept them in the game.

"There's no such thing as a nice game for one player," Kreis said.

The game at Griffin Stadium, a high school facility near St. Paul's downtown, saw RLS break one trend. The first goal by Kreis on a penalty shot came in the ninth minute, the first time all year Real has scored in the first 15 minutes of a match.

But things quickly soured for Real when Minnesota scored twice in a minute to take its first lead.

Melvin Tarley worked his way around Real defender Brian Dunseth, and when Nolley came out, he slid the ball under him into the net for a 1-1 tie. Before anyone knew it, the Thunder went ahead when Johnny Menyonger headed a pass from Jeff Matteo under the crossbar.

It could have been much worse for Salt Lake. Menyonger was by himself just to the left of Nolly, but his head shot trickled harmlessly past the goalpost. Matteo had another golden opportunity when Nolly slipped, but fired his shot wide right.

Minnesota was clearly dominating play when Real took advantage of a defensive lapse to tie the score at 2-2. Jamie Watson picked off a clearing attempt by Brundt, and fired the ball into the lower lefthand corner past Thunder goalkeeper Joe Warren.

"We tended to sit back," said RSL assistant coach Peter Mellor. "That's what cost us the goals, along with defensive individual mistakes. We can't afford to make individual mistakes."

After Kreis scored his second goal for a 3-2 RSL lead, Tarley countered with his second of the night. Kreis gave Salt Lake it final lead with a turnaround shot from point-blank range in the 70th minute before lightning struck for the Thunder.

What next for a team that's given up ten goals in less than a week?

"Good question," said Kreis. "It's going to take a man's effort, it's going to take everybody to decide that they want to be a man."