the start of a season-long trend Real Salt Lake proved to be nearly invincible at Rio Tinto Stadium which had opened late in the previous season In those first three victories RSL outscored its opponents 12 2 Forward Robbie Findley scored the first hat trick in team history in a 4 1 defeat of the Columbus Crew He tacked on another goal in a 6 0 blowout of the New England Revolution But the early home wins did not translate into momentum for Real After the New England win RSL went over a month without posting a single victory HOME COOKING ROAD WOES Missing the playoffs was a distinct possibility throughout the season The drastic difference between the team’s play on the road where it won only two matches all season and at home made it difficult to create and maintain momentum A road date in mid-June against the mighty LA Galaxy provided the toughest test yet LA’s roster boasted soccer royalty in David Beckham and Landon Donovan But star power didn’t intimidate RSL whose team-oriented approach overwhelmed the Galaxy Forward Yura Movsisyan scored early in the match and defender Nat Borchers added another goal shortly after halftime 6
Yura Movsisyan celebrates his first-half goal in RSL’s big victory over the LA Galaxy The Galaxy never recovered Real Salt Lake earned its biggest road win of the season 2 0 over LA The win was proof that Real Salt Lake could match up with the best in a hostile environment Even though the squad was not known for its star players RSL’s core of Findley Movsisyan 7
and defensive midfielder Kyle Beckerman proved the team could compete with anyone This would be important in the postseason if RSL got there Even after the win against LA though Real Salt Lake’s play remained inconsistent It was one step forward one step back An example of this frustrating pattern occurred between late June and early August Real scored seven goals in two convincing home wins against Toronto FC and FC Dallas But the offense withered on the road RSL scored only one goal in losses at Columbus and Chicago Late in the season Real Salt Lake found itself in a five-way battle for the final two playoff spots Heading into the final match of the regular season against the Colorado Rapids RSL’s playoff hopes were on the line Led by two first-half goals from Findley and a shutout from goalkeeper Nick Rimando RSL did its part blanking the Rapids 3 0 at Rio Tinto Stadium But the team still needed help to qualify Three other results broke RSL’s way and eliminated teams that were ahead in the standings Real Salt Lake finished the season with a losing record of 11 12 7 but snuck into the final playoff spot via tiebreaker 8
In the regular-season finale Nat Borchers left and the RSL defense kept Conor Casey and the Colorado Rapids in check 9
