Real Salt Lake

Before the 2011 Major League Soccer season began for Real Salt Lake, hopes and expectations of the team dominating the league, winning the Supporters Shield, and easily qualifying for the playoffs were very high.

With a team that was putting together a strong showing in the CONCACAF Champions League, success in MLS seemed inevitable, and Real Salt Lake was expected to be among the league leaders. 

Heading into the last 11 games of the Major League Soccer season, Real Salt Lake is not in the position that they expected to be in at this point of the year.

While they would still qualify for the new MLS playoff format, they are not one of the top three teams in the Western Conference as they hoped to be. They currently sit in the second of four wild card spots and would face the Houston Dynamo in a one-game playoff to determine who moves on.

In order to avoid the first round games, Real Salt Lake must catch up and pass the third place Seattle Sounders FC, who lead them by six points. The two teams meet in Seattle on September 10.

If they do not make it in as one of the top three in the Conference, they will have to rely on a return to the inspired play that led them through the 2009 MLS Playoffs that saw them win the Cup after becoming the Eastern Conference Champions.

One advantage that they have going forward is the many experienced players that they have on the team who have been in similar situations before. This group of players not only overcame huge odds in CONCACAF play, but were not expected to win the MLS Cup in 2009.

It would be an understatement to say that this season has been a challenge for the team. After losing at home in the CONCACAF Champions League Final, suffering injuries to key starters, and dealing with national team call-ups, the team is struggling to be in the position they had planned to be in.

Just a week after a dominating home performance and a 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake endured one of the most frustrating road games this season that saw them have multiple great scoring chances turned away.

They were clearly the better team on the field, but could not find a way to put one of their 16 shots into the back of the net.

Real Salt Lake's 1-0 loss to Toronto FC over the weekend not only brought frustration and confusion to the team and its fans, it added to the idea that this team is not going to be able to fully recover and reach its preseason goals.

For much of the season, Real Salt Lake had played fewer matches than other teams in the league and the lower point total made sense. As they have caught up in games played, they have not done the same in total points.

As if the frustrating loss was not enough, the team also suffered another major loss in an injury to defender Chris Wingert, who broke his wrist just before halftime. He joins fellow starters Jamison Olave, Ned Grabavoy, and Javier Morales on the sidelines unable to play.

The most recent loss left the team with a 10-6-6 record with 36 total points. They are in fifth place in the Western Conference and trail the leading Los Angeles Galaxy by 12 points.

Even though the they must do well over the next 11 games, the road ahead for Real Salt Lake only gets more difficult. Of the 11 matches that they have left, only four are at home.

Upcoming road games include trips to some of the toughest places to play in the league. They will face the Dynamo, Red Bulls, Sounders, Galaxy, and D.C. United away from home. Real Salt Lake has not won on the road since early in the season.

If Real Salt Lake wants to get to the playoffs, they must find a way to win beat good teams on the road and return to the form that many thought they would have at the outset of the season. 

With three of their best players on the sideline in street clothes Saturday night, Real Salt Lake came out flat and played to a frustrating and embarrassing 2-0 loss to the Columbus Crew.

Missing the match for RSL were the injured Javier Morales, suspended Alvaro Saborio and last year's Major League Soccer Defender of the Year Jamison Olave who was injured in the recent MLS All-Star Game.

The Columbus Crew wasted no time in getting the lead in a stadium they had not previously won in.

In the fifth minute, midfielder Eddie Gaven found himself wide open running toward the back post where he received a cross from teammate Robbie Rogers and easily knocked the ball past a diving Nick Rimando.

Just a few minutes later, a stunned Real Salt Lake team gave up the second goal of the game on a snap down header from Tommy Heinemann. The assist on his goal came once again from Rogers who sent in another great cross.

The Crew, who seemed content to hang back and protect the lead were able to frustrate the Real Salt Lake offense and come away with the shutout victory.

RSL did have multiple good opportunities, but had difficulty finishing. Saborio's replacement in the starting lineup Jean Alexandre, Fabian Espindola and Kyle Beckerman each had chances that were denied by a tough Crew defense.

Following the match, head coach Jason Kreis talked about the quick start and the match by saying,

"I think we were frantic and certainly a bit frustrated. I'm pleased with the effort and with the fight, and I don't think anybody out there quit. They put everything they could to try to get back into it. We just came up a bit short in the quality department tonight."

The team did work hard during the game and did not give up. The emotional play of forward Fabian Espindola was a bright spot for RSL. He seemed to be in the middle of every play, and worked tirelessly only to come up short.

Real Salt Lake now sits in fifth place with 33 points in the Western Conference. They will travel to meet Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday night.

While Saborio will return, they will still be without Jamison Olave who is expected to miss two to four weeks with his injury.

Due to a suspension for diving on a scoring opportunity last week, Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio will miss the team's match the weekend matchup against the Columbus Crew.

Although the referee's ruling on the field was a foul that turned into a penalty kick and a goal, replays showed that it was clearly a dive.

After review, the Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee fined Saborio $1,000 and suspended him for a match.

While Real Salt Lake fans will miss Saborio and his goal scoring ability, maybe this suspension is exactly what he needs to get things back on track. But that will depend largely on the outcome of the game that he misses.

If Real Salt Lake wins, Saborio will get a much needed break without affecting his team greatly. If they do not get a result, his difficult season will continue.

Hopefully for Saborio and the team they can get a win and put this incident behind them.

Saborio, the teams' designated player, has had a bit of a rough season thus far.

After winning the MLS Newcomer of the Year Award last season, Saborio struggled to score goals in MLS play until recently. His frustration was visible at the first of the season when he was consistently called for off-sides and the team struggled to mount an attack.

Saborio left the team to participate in the Gold Cup with Costa Rica, where he scored in the group stage but missed a heartbreaking penalty kick in the quarterfinals. The loss sent his national team home and out of the tournament.

When he returned to Real Salt Lake, it seems that he started to get his form back and began to score goals. His frustration still surfaced, however, and has boiled over during the last several weeks.

In a home match several weeks ago, Saborio angrily left the field after being taken out of the game in the closing minutes. His move started a small controversy and he was left home as the team travelled to a U.S. Open Cup match a few days later.

While this most recent situation with the dive and missing a match may only add to his frustration, sitting out will give Saborio a week to relax and get refocused on playing soccer. This could be a good thing for the team going forward.

Real Salt Lake, who finally seems to have overcome the hangover of losing to Monterrey in the CONCACAF finals in April, will need Saborio as they move into the second half of the season.

The team is currently in fifth place in the Western Conference, but are still very much in the hunt for the playoffs, and to win the Supporter's Shield.

They have more points than every team in the Eastern Conference, and trail the first place Los Angeles Galaxy by nine points. Real Salt Lake has played four fewer matches than the Galaxy. 

Not that the team has the choice, but having Saborio miss a match may not be a bad thing. If he can take some time to prepare for the rest of the season, work on his frustrations, and come back stronger, perhaps this latest setback will turn out well.

Real Salt Lake will need to start with a win tonight to make sure that happens.

Chris Johstoneaux is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @JazzRSLExamimer.

The Major League Soccer All-Star Game outing for Real Salt Lake defender Jamison Olave ended in the 32nd minute when he was injured while sliding in to defend a ball at midfield.

After executing a good sliding tackle to stop a ball on the ground intended for Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Olave jumped up to play the ball and seemed to have felt the pain at that time as he fell back to the turf.

Initial reports on the ESPN2 broadcast indicated that he suffered a mild left knee sprain.

In what might be a bit of good news, Olave walked off of the field on his own, and remained on the bench rather than going to the locker room. He will be evaluated by team doctors when he returns to Utah.

Although it is an honor to be selected to participate in the All-Star game, the risk of injury for players is a fear that players, coaches, and fans have as they play.

For Real Salt Lake, if the injury to last year's MLS Defender of the Year causes him to miss any time with the club, it will be another in a line of injuries they have dealt with this season.

Early in the season, midfielder Javier Morales went down with a broken ankle after a cheap tackle from Marcos Mondaini of Chivas USA. His return this season is questionable.

Forward Paulo Jr. has also missed significant time due to injury.

If Olave is unable to play, fellow defender Chris Schuler will no doubt take his place in the central defense. Shuler has played very well in the opportunities he has had this season, but the team will miss Olave's size, speed, and presence along the back line.

The rest of the game was uneventful for fans of Major League Soccer as the All-Stars endured another embarrassing match at the hands of Manchester United. The result was a 4-0 loss for MLS, and the first time the team has failed to score in an All-Star game.

The brightest moment of the night was a surprise entrance into the match of American soccer legend and 19 year veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller in the 83rd minute. Keller was named to the All-Star team First XI players but was not expected to be available due to playing a CONCACAF match in Panama the previous night.

Real Salt Lake and the rest of Major League Soccer now returns to regular season play. Hopefully Olave will not miss any matches due to this injury.

Chris Johstoneaux is a Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.

In what is growing to be one of the biggest rivalries in Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas met in Utah and the result was a 2-0 victory for the home team. 

The two teams wasted no time in showing that neither team likes each other very much. After a first half that featured some hard fouls and chippy play, they went into halftime scoreless.

In the end, this match came down to three big moments, and the biggest was a miscue by FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

In the 47th minute, Real Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams lined up for a free kick from about 30 yards out. The kick cleared the wall and Hartman seemed to be in front of the ball for the routine save. As the ball spun in, Hartman misjudged it and it glanced off his hands and rolled into the goal.

It was Williams' second goal of the season.

The second big moment was almost the equalizer by FC Dallas. In the 81st minute, Brek Shea took the ball into the box and was close enough for keeper Nick Rimando to dive at his feet off his line. Shea calmly passed the ball to his open teammate, Jackson Goncalves, who seemed surprised at the pass. He was in position for a simple tap in, but he was off balance and could not get a strong foot on the ball.

As the ball slowly rolled towards the open goal, Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert came from all the way across the goal to kick it away and preserve the lead. It appeared Goncalves may have been in an offside position, but Wingert's brilliant save made it so it did not matter.

The third moment of this match came just before the final whistle.

After watching FC Dallas build an attack for the last several minutes in an attempt to tie the game, it seemed it had one last good scoring opportunity.

In the 94th minute, Real Salt Lake forward Fabian Espindola had other ideas. As Dallas was trying to clear the ball out of its own end, Espindola received a ball that was intercepted by his teammate and he took it to goal. As he moved toward the near post, he stopped and started, causing two defenders to fly past him. He easily beat Hartman at the near post to go up 2-0 and end the match.

These two teams meet again Tuesday in Texas as they match up in U.S. Open Cup play.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.

The New England Revolution cannot win at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah.

Entering the Independence Day match against Real Salt Lake, they had been outscored 11-0 in that stadium.

At the start of Monday night's match, it looked as if they would be able to finally come away with a victory. However, after the Revolution went up two goals in the first 16 minutes and led 3-2 late in the match, Real Salt Lake battled back to end the night with a 3-3 draw, leaving the winless streak in Utah intact.

In fairness, the game was full of controversy, including calls by referees that awarded penalty kicks to each team on horrible calls.

Despite giving penalty cards out like invitations to a black tie affair, the worst call of the night came in the third minute when referee Yader Reyes pulled a straight red card and sent off Real Salt Lake defender and team captain Nat Borchers for the night after a challenge in the box.

Replays showed that Borchers played the ball that went over the end line off of the Revolution player. The play should have resulted in a simple goal kick.

To say that Reyes missed the call would be an understatement. He was trailing by more than half the field and surely did not have a good view of the play as it unfolded. The referee's assistant on that end of the field offered no help, and the Revolution kicked home the penalty shot.

They struck again a few minutes later to go up 2-0 and looked as if they would run away with the match.

After a 24th-minute goal by Will Johnson, Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio converted a penalty kick of his own that was a result of a bad call against the Revolution. A hand ball in the box was called on a routine cross from the end line.

Shortly thereafter, the Revolution again scored after Shalrie Joseph got on the end of a set piece and bounced in a goal off the post to give New England the lead.

While the first five goals came off of set pieces, the equalizing goal was the best of the night. After getting the game back to even strength following a second yellow card by Revolution defender Ryan Cochrane, Real Salt Lake used timely passing and a great ball through to find Fabian Espindola one-on-one with the goalkeeper. 

Espindola slotted the ball around the keeper and inside the post to earn a draw and a point for his team.

Both teams left the stadium with a point towards the overall standings while also feeling like it should have been three.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.

Real Salt Lake will continue its tradition of doing things its own way when it retires the jersey number of head coach Jason Kreis following an Independence Day match against the New England Revolution.

Unlike other sports in the United States, in soccer it is not common to retire jersey numbers for specific players.

While many soccer purists do not agree with the move based largely on worldwide traditions, Real Salt Lake General Manager Garth Lagerwey argues soccer in the United States is different from other places in the world. 

Following the announcement several months ago, Lagerwey responded to critics in an article found on the league website:

"We live in America. We play in an American soccer league... We have playoffs. We don’t have relegation. We retire numbers. I can’t imagine anything less controversial. America is a great place. I like living in the United States. I don’t need to live in Europe. I’m not envious of the Europeans.”

Much of the controversy comes because many believe that soccer numbers are more of a symbol rather than belonging to specific players. This stems from tradition that numbers were given out based on position rather than players choosing them.

The number nine has long been associated with an attacking player who scores goals and is one of the more prestigious numbers to wear.

Following a great high school career and playing at Duke University, Kreis began his professional career with the Raleigh Flyers and the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers. In 1995 he signed a contract with the Dallas Burn of the newly formed Major League Soccer.

Jason Kreis went on to have a great career in Dallas where he was a five-time All-Star, the first American-born league MVP and became one of the most feared goals scorers in the league.

Kreis was the first player to score the first franchise goal for two teams in the league when he scored the inaugural goal for both the Dallas Burn, and then later for Real Salt Lake after being selected as the franchise's first player.

In 2005, while playing for Real Salt Lake, he became the first player in MLS history to score 100 goals, and ended his career with 108 total goals scored.

At that time he was the all-time leader in goals scored, but now sits fifth on that list.

In the early part of the 2007 season, Kreis made the transition to coach and left the field for the sideline.

As a head coach, his success has continued and he led the team to the playoffs in 2008 and to the MLS Cup Championship in 2009.

He also has led his team further into the CONCACAF Champions League tournament than any other team in MLS history. Unfortunately, they lost at home in the final in April 2009.

While the always humble Kreis is honored to receive this award, he stated that he feels it is "a little much," and added, "I just don’t know whether I really deserve something like that.”

Even though a jersey retirement is a bit out of the norm, for the influence Kreis has had on the league and on the young Real Salt Lake franchise, it is a fitting honor that is well deserved.

Following an absence playing for his national team in the Gold Cup, Alvaro Saborio returned to action for Real Salt Lake and gave them all that they needed to post a 3-1 victory against visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night.

Heading into the match, Real Salt Lake was concerned with which players would be able to start at the forward position. Due to injuries, they had only two real strikers available, Saborio and rookie Artur Aghasyan.

Battling an injury of his own, Saborio was questionable for the match as well.

Even before the match began, Real Salt Lake made a tactical decision that proved to make a big difference. Switching directions on the goal that they normally defend in the first half, Real Salt Lake started the game putting Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the only place where the summer sun beat into the stadium.

Frei struggled to see the ball and players who came from the side caused him to look into the sun.

It was in the first half that Real Salt Lake scored the first two of its three goals.

In the 39th minute, defender Nat Borchers worked his way between the defense and nodded in a header that came from a set piece in the corner. It was his first goal of the season, and a good reward for his consistently strong play along the back line.

Only three minutes later, Saborio added a second goal that came on a fortunate deflection of a ball crossed in from the side and off of the leg of a defender. Saborio was in the right spot and easily knocked the ball past Frei who was still battling the sun.

The second half started the same as the first, with Real Salt Lake maintaining possession. In the 60th minute, Saborio took a long ball over the top and moved past the defender who had tried to play the ball but missed. He easily slotted it home to the bottom right post, past Frei.

Both of Saborio's goals were assisted by Robbie Russell from the outside.

Toronto FC continued to battle, and denied the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper of gaining another clean sheet in this match.

In the 66th minute, Toronto forward Maicon Santos took the ball just past midfield, took several touches and fired a strike from just outside the box. It landed just inside the near post and past Rimando to make the score 3-1.

Maicon's goal was not enough, however, as Toronto FC went home with a road loss and no points.

Real Salt Lake picked up three points that the desperately needed to keep pace with the leaders in the Western Conference.

They will next play out of league in an Open Cup match on Tuesday, and will host the New England Revolution on Independence Day at home.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter @JazzRSLExaminer.

Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire played to a 0-0 draw Wednesday in a mid-week Major League Soccer matchup.

While they will take the point on the road, for Real Salt Lake, the story of this match was not the final score but a injury that took forward Fabian Espindola out of the game.

Early in the match, Espindola went down and was not able to continue. This added to the problems for head coach Jason Kreis, who was already short on strikers.

Jean Alexandre, who had filled in while usual forwards Arturo Alvarez and Alvaro Saborio were away from the team playing in the Gold Cup, was suspended for this match due to a reckless tackle last Saturday against D.C. United.

Following the injury, young rookie Luis Gil entered the match and played well up top. He was matched with fellow rookie Artur Aghasyan, who started at forward.

Gil continued playing well and had a couple of good scoring opportunities.

For Chicago, the man of the match was goalkeeper Sean Johnson who turned back the best scoring chance of the night on a crossed ball to the feet of Real Salt Lake mid-fielder Collen Warner.

Surprised by the pass that made it through the defense in the box, Warner turned to strike the ball and sent a high shot on frame. Johnson left his feet and stretched out to push the ball out of bounds.

The two teams played back and forth, and each had a good chance late in the second half, but each defense held and no goals were scored.

For Real Salt Lake, this was the third draw in a row. They next play on Saturday against Toronto FC at home in Utah.

Normally, I am not one to complain about a referee's decision. I am not one to get upset, yell, scream and swear from the sidelines, or blame the referee for the outcome of a game. 

As a coach, I teach my young players to respect the call and play on, no matter how bad it is.

Every once in a while, however, a game comes along where all of my coaching philosophy goes out the window, and the referee gets the blame.

On Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah, Major League Soccer referee Terry Vaughn did what no referee should do and greatly influenced the outcome of a match between D.C. United and Real Salt Lake.

Thanks to two horrible calls that penalty kicks were awarded on, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.

Following nearly a half where the two teams battled for possession and both had a few scoring chances, Vaughn awarded the first penalty kick to Real Salt Lake.

In the 38th minute, Real Salt Lake was on the attack and was moving into the box from the side near the endline. As midfielder Kyle Beckerman faked a cross to move around the defender, United player Clyde Simms went for the fake and slid to block the ball.

As he landed, he planted his hand on the ground, and Beckerman played the ball into his hand. Vaughn quickly ran to the point of the play and pointed to the penalty spot to award the kick for a hand ball in the box.

 Real Salt Lake striker Fabian Espindola took a quick stutter step and beat the goalkeeper who dove to the wrong side to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.

The second half went back and forth with both teams narrowly missing on good scoring opportunities.

It was not until the 83rd minute that the make-up call was made and the referee tied the score.

Late in the match, D.C. United got the counterattacking chance that they were looking for on a good ball sent ahead to Charlie Davies for a breakaway. The speedy Davies quickly dribbled the ball from midfield into the box and caught the defenders off guard.

Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert slid in for the tackle, and the ball was knocked away from Davies. While he did make minimal contact, it was no where near enough for a penalty call. Due to some good theatrics from Charlie Davies, the referee, who was out of position on the play immediately pointed to the penalty spot.

Real Salt Lake, who wanted a yellow card for Davies for diving, appealed to the line judge for help but got no assistance.

On the ensuing kick, Davies slotted the ball home just between the post and the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Nick Rimando for his seventh goal of the season.

A few minutes later, two teams, coaches and over 16,000 fans left the game with a 1-1 draw and wondering what had just happened.

Chris Johstoneaux is a contributor to Bleacher Report who usually covers the NBA and Major League Soccer. If you liked this article, please take a moment to leave me a comment and follow me on Twitter at @JazzRSLExaminer.