SBNation.com User Blog: Milo S

Colorado Rapids v Real Salt Lake - Live Match Updates

Milo S — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:42:03 -0000

Here are the lineups for tonight's match-up between Real Salt Lake (3-0-0, 9pts) and Colorado (3-1-0, 9pts):

Starters: Chris Wingert, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Tony Beltran, Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman (Capt), Javier Morales, Ned Grabavoy, Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola, Nick Rimandio-GK

Bench: Robbie RussellJean Alexandre, Arturo Alvarez, Paulo Araujo, Jr., Chris Schuler, Collen Warner, Kyle Reynish-GK

Coach: Jason Kreis

Colorado Rapids

Starters: Kosuke Kimura, Marvell Wynne, Tyrone Marshall, Drew Moor, Brian Mullan, Jamie Smith, Jeff Larentowicz (Capt), Wells Thompson, Omar Cummings, Caleb Folan, Matt Pickens -GK

Bench: Joseph Nane, Andre Akpan, Quincy Amarikwa, Sanna Nyassi, Scott Palguta, Anthony Wallace, Steward Ceus-GK

Coach: Gary Smith

The first installment of the Rocky Mountain Cup is on offer as two of the teams with the brightest starts this season meet when Real Salt Lake play host to the Colorado Rapids at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real are the only team still with a perfect record after last week's win at New England. The Rapids won their first three games on the trot as well, before falling at FC Dallas last Friday in a rematch of MLS Cup 2010.

Real Salt Lake is the only team remaining in MLS with an unblemished record, returning to league play with a 2-0 victory against the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. RSL is tied at the top of the Western Conference with Colorado with 9 points from 3 matches.

The starting lineup out here for RSL tonight looks pretty much like what we placed out there against Saprissa last week. Will Johnson is not playing tonight due to the Red Card he received in the Revs match.

Let's get onto the match!

At '15 mark...

RSL is doing a pretty good job tonight controlling the middle of the field. Sabo has had to break aways with the ball but both were called back for being offsides. We get our first corner of the night and Javi kicks it in only to have a Rapid defender head it out at '5 mark. There seems to be a lot of empty seats tonight. I know it is the middle of the week and it is hard for people to get out, especially at a 7:00 PM match. Maybe it will fill up as the game goes on.

The Rapids are working on trying to get the ball deep into our box but they seem to not be able to do it with consistency. Beautiful pass from Sabo to Javi only to have the Rapids defenders to man-handle Javi right outside the box. Javi is down right outside the box being checked out at '9 mark. He is up and trying to walk off, what seems to be a left ankle injury. Rapids are working hard to try and control the middle of the field but it is quite difficult with Kyle taking control of the ball. Very nice slide tackle by Olave to take the ball from the Rapids.

Grabavoy steals the ball from the Rapids middie and puts RSL on a counter attack only to be stopped by Beltran being called offsides. Rapids are trying to work both sides of the field but have continued to come up empty.

At '30 mark...

Nice save by Rimando. RSL is on the attack deep into the Rapids box. Another corner kick comes up short. A beautiful pass to Borchers only to have Borchers miss hit it off his head to keep the score at 0. RSL is really working the middle of the field. Rapids on a counter with our backs getting back just in time for Wingert to stop the attempt on goal. Rapids have a corner kick that is knocked out of the box by Beltran. Fabi and Sabo working hard to get one another open for a break away. Rapids on a counter attack and miss kick the ball at '22 mark. RSL seems to be trying to spread the field as much as possible, in hopes to find an opening somewhere in the middle of the field.

Pretty tight played game right now and it seems both teams are not pressing but are playing relaxed. RSL seems to be in a little better groove then the Rapids right now. Eventhough, the Rapids have one more shot on goal then we do. RSL is working the middle of the field with Olave bringing it down only to get called offsides. Fabi steals the ball from the Rapids defender. Beltran takes a shot from about 35m out and Pickens mishandles the ball and it is a RSL corner.

At '45 mark...

It is now raining, sleating, part-snowing and it is getting really tough to type. At least I am under cover, I feel for the RSL faithful who have attended the game tonight.

Corner kick by the Rapids is stopped by an RSL defender. Olave saves a great chance by the Rapids to take a one goal lead. Rimando falls on the ball from half-shot ball from the right side of the goal at '34 mark. Espindola steals the ball and makes a brilliant pass to Sabo, but Sabo loses it in the box. Morales places the ball to the center of the box and Espindola makes an spectacular strike on goal. It just didn't have enough juice on it and Pickens escaped with placing one hand on the ball and stops it from going in. Morales places another great ball to Sabo only for Sabo to mishandle it. A hard tackle by Kimura puts Willliams on the ground at '38 mark.

RSL seems like they are finally placing some pressure on the Rapids defense. We are living with the ball on their side of the field. A couple of calls by the officials have kept RSL from really doing what they do best...ball control and attacking. Looks like RSL is playing for the half to end. The precipitation is really coming down now. It also looks like nearly all of the lower bowl is filled up. There are a few areas that look empty, but not much.

Finally, the officials are calling a free kick. The Rapids have been kicking the crap out of our middies. Javi just misses a shot from 30m out at '44 mark. Beautiful cross by Morales and Espindola heads it in goal only for the official to call it off b/c of offsides. It is half and time to warm up and get ready for the 2nd half.

At half...

RSL played pretty comfortably to begin the game as they usually try to control the middle of the field. Colorado seemed like they came to try and exploit our left and right backs. They know they are not going to get anything in the middle of the box because of two of the best center backs in MLS.

By the end of the '45, it seemed that RSL turned up the heat a little bit and started playing the brand of soccer that we know. They had a couple shot on goal which were stopped but I think that RSL will find the back of the net before this game is over and come out of tonight's match with another 3 points.

I would like to see Jason bring in Paulo to add some vest to the strikers tonight. After all, he has two goals in his last two MLS matches.

On to the 2nd half!

At '60 mark...

Nothing different to report to begin the 2nd half. Jason has not substituted at this time. Sabo is getting very upset at the official and talking back to him. He is about to get booked. RSL receives a corner and Morales kicks it in and Olave misses the header. RSL players are getting a little bossy with the refs. Let's hope it doesn't take them out of their game and they stick to Jason's game plan. Terrible shot by Larentowicz only to give the ball back to RSL.

RSL is not sharp tonight at all. We are working really hard to get into their box. Morales pushed the ball little too far out of reach for Fabi. Rapids' Kimura passes to Cummings only for Cummings to miss hit the ball and Borchers kicked the ball out of our box. Long shot by Folan wide right. Yellow Card was issued to Marshall at '59 mark on knocking Morales off his feet.

At '75 mark...

I hoping Jason brings in Paulo Jr and Collen Warner. Give Sabo and Morales some down time before the big match next week down in Mexico. Rapids' subbing Quincy Amarikwa for Cummings at '64 mark. Sabo mishandles the ball again in the box and you can tell Kreis is aware of how many that has been tonight. Looks like Kreis is calling on Paulo Jr. to warm up. Kimura was down on the pitch but seems to be fine now. At '66 mark, Amarikwa is limping off the field awaiting for the official to bring him back on. Beautiful pass by Fabi to Sabo but official calls Sabo offsides. Nyassi subs for Amarikwa and Paulo Jr. subs for Sabo at '69 mark.

Let's see what Paulo Jr. can do in this match. He has two goals in two MLS matches this season thus far. Great defense by the Rapids these last couple of minutes. A pass by Wingert gets a little too far away from Espindola to reach for a goal. Nice defense now for RSL on their half of the field. Goal kick by Nick at '74 mark places the ball in perfect position for Paulo Jr. But RSL cannot make anything of it.

At '90 mark...

Paulo Jr. was just fouled in the box with no call and a player from the Rapids takes a dive without anyone touching him. It is getting a little heated now. The Rapids are doing their best to get the ball into our box with no such luck. Rimando saves the ball as I type the statement above. RSL is working on trying to get the ball to Paulo Jr. but cannot seem to get it to him. Nice little passing in the box gives us a golden opportunity to get a shot on goal but the Rapids collapse on our players just in time. Javi kicks in a corner only to be punched out by Picke

Wynne was issued a Yellow Card at '82 mark for running over Espindola. Great defense in the Rapids box keeps RSL from get a shot on goal. The attendance tonight was announced as 15,513. Rimando made a spectacular diving stop on a shot from the Rapids at '84 mark. Hopefully, RSL can muster up one goal in the final five minutes.

Seems like the Rapids players are starting to milk by acting injured. They will be happy to get out of here tonight with a draw. Of course, RSL is never happy not earning three points at home. Rapids' Akpan subs for Smith at '86 mark. The Rapids are collapsing as many players as they can in the box right now. Shot on goal from Paulo Jr is stopped by Pickens. Rapids get a corner kick and can't do anything with it. Gotta give kudos to the fans who are still here with the snow that is coming down now. The official gives us three minutes of stoppage time. RSL is really working on getting the ball in the box. Rapids foul Olave at 22m that gives us a free kick.

You gotta be kidding me! Morales smacks it off the post and deflects back to Espindola who places the ball into the back of the net in stoppage time to get a one goal lead! RSL 1 and Colorado 0. Game over!

End of Game and Final Thoughts...

What a fantastic way to finish the game for all these wonderful RSL fans who stayed to the bitter (cold) end! I was talking about us having a finish like what just happened and it transpired. The temperature stated that it was 52 degrees tonight, but I don't believe as I sit here typing away and watching the snow fall on Rio Tinto.

Well, the goal in the waning moments keeps us undefeated and untied (if that is a word) for this young season. We are at the top of the MLS standings with 12 points in four matches. I'm signing off from Sandy on this extremely cold, yet exciting match tonight.

RSL 1:0 Colorado

Second Leg for RSL and FCD

Milo S — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:24:07 -0000

I attended the RSL Watch Party at Rio Tinto last Saturday and I must admit that RSL puts out quite a spread and the atmosphere was fantastic. Especially after Fabian scored in the five minute mark of the game. If you ever get the opportunity to attend an official watch party...please do. You won't regret it.

Now on to last week's game and the upcoming match on Saturday evening. I really loved how Coach Kreis got the men to attack on Saturday evening and it worked when Espindola scored very early in the game. A few key mistakes and "let-downs" throughout the match gave FCD an opportunity to tie the match then take the lead.

My hat is off to FCD, they seemed like they wanted it more in the 2nd half. RSL on the other hand looked very sluggish . Maybe all those games over the last third of the season has caught up with them. Cunningham's goal in the final minutes of the first half really helped boost the morale of FCD's side going in at halftime.

more after the jump:

The second half couldn't have been anymore difficult to watch then any game this year. Yellow Cards were being thrown around like candy at a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Morales received his 2nd Yellow Card of the game which drew a red card and 2009 MLS Cup Champion's RSL were playing a man-down. This was just not a devastating blow for the remainder of tha game, but it keeps Javi off of the pitch for this weekend's game at Rio Tinto.

After further review (in slo-mo) of Javi's redcard for a kick to the FCD's players face...Javi's boot didn't come close to the player's face. In fact, the boot came up no further than the upper chest and the FCD player ran into Javi's boot. But, Javi still knew better to place himself in such a position to get booked again.

Losing Javi for this Saturday's matchup is really gonna sting. Javi has been one of the best possession players, if not the best, on RSL this year. We (RSL) will have to make it up with couple other players stepping up into that role.

The bright spot (if there is one, being down 1-goal) is that FCD lost one of their best possession midfielders, Atiba Harris, last Saturday night too. He was shown a straight red card for elbowing RSL’s Will Johnson while the two battled for a header midway through the second half.

Some of the possible issues from both sides are that RSL's Will Johnson still is recovering from that hamstring injury; Alavaro Saborio is banged up and I saw Paulo Jr. at the Watch Party. He Didn't fly with the team to Frisco because he was still nursinng a groin injury.

I have read where FC Dallas has Colombian striker Milton Rodríguez mostly likely out for the game this weekend with a strained groin. Heath Pearce is still recovering and won't play and all of you read the above concerning Harris.

Now on to the game this weekend, I know we have our backs against the wall and everyone concerned being down 1-goal in the aggregate. But all these people forget that we are Real Salt Lake and on top of that, we are playing at home at Fortress Rio. Have people forgotten about our 32-match unbeaten home streak and our wild fans at the home games? I know it will be tough, but we have played in a lot of tight games and difficult games in the past 20 months. I really do think that we will come out on top in the match.

Why do you say, you ask? Well, we have the moxy, the perseverance, THE best coach in MLS, THE best goalie and backline in MLS and THE best home-field advantage in all of major sports history on our side.

If there is any one game that all of Salt Lake Valley and the U.S. need to watch this weekend...it needs to be the game on Saturday night in Rio Tinto Stadium.

See you there!

Cruz Azul v Real Salt Lake - Live Match Updates

Milo S — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 01:20:47 -0000

Here are the lineups for tonight's match-up between Real Salt Lake (3-1-1, 10pts, t-1st Group A) and Cruz Azul (3-1-1, 10 pts, t-1st Group A):

Real Salt Lake

Starters: Will Johnson, Rauwshan McKenzie, Nat Borchers (Capt), Tony Beltran, Luis Gil, Jean Alexandre, Collen Warner, Andy Williams, Paulo Araujo, Jr., Pablo Campos, Kyle Reynish-GK

Bench: Fabian Espindola, Robbie Findley, Ned Grabavoy, Javier Morales, Jamison Olave, Robbie Russell, Tim Melia-GK

Coach: Jason Kreis

Cruz Azul

Starters: Joel Huiqui, Julio Cesar Dominguez, Alejandro Castro, Javier Quino, Horacio Cervantes, Gerardo Torrado (Capt), Christian Gimenez, Cesar Villaluz, Adrian Cortes, javier Orozco, Yosgart Gutierrez-GK

Bench: Fausto Pinto, Alejandro Vela, Nestor Araujo, Rogelio Chavez, Diego De La Cruz, Luis Alanis, Jose de Jesus Corona-GK

Coach: Enrique Meza

The Defending MLS Cup Champions kick off tonight by hosting CONCACAF Group A co-leader Cruz Azul at Rio Tinto Stadium, with both teams already having clinched spots for February's quarterfinal stage...Cruz Azul is coming off a dominating 3-0 win over Santos in Mexican Primera Division action on Saturday, while RSL defeated FC Dallas 2-0 that same evening. RSL wins the group with a win tonight, to include home field advantage (2nd leg of Quarterfinals at home) - while Cruz Azul wins the group with a win or draw.

If you don't remember the teams met back on August 25 in a rain-soaked affair, one that saw four (4) ties and four (4) lead changes in Mexico City, with the home Cruz Azul side eventually stormed back to take a 3-1 lead, but Los Cementeros scored four (4) goals. With RSL's Will Johnson briefly knotting the game at 4-4. Then Cruz Azul scored in dramatic fashion in the final minutes to pull out the victory.

The starting lineup out here for RSL tonight looks like a brand new team. We have three regulars starting tonight in Nat Borchers, Andy Williams and Will Johnson playing on the backline out of his normal position as a midfielder. I'm really looking forward to watching Paulo Jr play tonight. Every time he has been on the pitch, it seems like something special has happened. Like Denz stated to me in the Pressbox a few minutes ago, it looks like some of the youngsters are getting their chance tonight to show Coach Kreis that they want to be protected when draft time arises.

Let's get onto the match!

At '15 mark...

The place is really rocking tonight. Seems electric in here. Also, seems like a larger crowd then Saturday night's game against FC Dallas. Nice stop by Gil to not give up the center pass to the middle of the box. Cruz Azul just had a great opportunity to get deeper into the box, but came up a little short and offsides. There seems to be an enormous contingent of Azul fans in the stands tonight. RSL's Campos had a breakaway called back by the lead official for some reason. Cruz Azul keeps penetrating but cannot seem to break RSL's backline. The backline for RSL is playing strong tonight and they are getting pressed heavily by the aggression of Cruz Azul. Great play by Will Johnson keeps Azul from gaining an opportunity in the box. Both sides are playing very well in the first 15 minutes. I do believe Azul is more of the aggressor though. RSL is having a hard penetrating Azul's backline.

At '30 mark...

Azul's long shot on goal went wide. Campos fouled an Azul player and Azul is receiving a set piece at 30 meters out that Reynish stops with no trouble. Not much action so far in this portion of the match. Just a lot of back and forth play. Warner receives a Yellow Card at '22 mark. Seems like the Azul player tried to jump over Warner and fell on his back. Didn't seem like a foul at all to me but as hard as the Azul player hit the pitch, you knew Warner was going to get carded. A shot by Aquino goes wide right at '26 mark. Shot by Castro falls into the hands of Reynish. Azul is really passing the ball well in the middle of the field. A corner kick by Azul bangs into the side of the net. Nice save by Alexandre at the last second to keep the ball away from Reynish. Another corner kick by Azul goes nowhere.

more after the jump:

At '45 mark...

Nice move by Campos to get fouled in the box at '31 mark and receives a penalty kick. But an even nicer play by Azul's goalie to save the ball from going in and being down by one point. With Azul's counter-attack, an RSL defender brought down an Azul striker just outside of the box. Azul gets a set piece that leads to nothing. Alexandre receives a Yellow Card at '35 mark. Andy gets a set piece just inside of midfield and Azul breaks on the counter-attack only for the ball to be stopped by RSL. RSL is on the counterattack and a pretty move by Paulo Jr. gives Warner a shot on goal...only to go high. Corner kick for RSL that goes nowhere. Campos gets great right foot on the ball but misses the shot wide at '41 mark. Fantastic shot by Azul that Reynish cannot reach that barely goes wide right. We got lucky on that one. Wonderful take away by Williams and pass to Warner which he in turns sends the ball beautifully to Paulo, Jr. which Paulo Jr. works his magic again for an amazing one on one with Azul's GK to make it 1-0 RSL at '43 mark! Beautiful dribbling and spin move by Warner to get an opportunity to score in the box, but it seemed like Warner ran out of gas at the most inopportune time. Get shot by Williams that just went a little high. That is half in Sandy with RSL leading 1-0!

*Correction: Paulo Jr's., goal was assisted by Collen Warner and Rauwshan McKenzie.

At Half...

Cruz Azul came out in the beginning as hard and fast as I have seen anyone come here to Rio Tinto to play. RSL's backline held up throughout Azul's continuous pressure in the first 25 minutes of the game. A great move by Campos in the box and the only thing the Azul defender could do was pull him down. I really thought that we were going to go up by one (1) point on the Penalty Kick, but a beautiful save by Gutierrez and Azul kept it tied. But, what I have been waiting for the entire first half happens...Paulo Jr. goes electric on Azul and makes a fantastic shot in the box against Gutierrez and scores at '43 mark to make the score 1-0 at half.

I am quite impressed with RSL's youngsters tonight. They are playing very well and I think Campos is playing very good. He is making opportunities out there on the pitch. With RSL up by one point and doing well to command the pitch, I'm wondering what Coach Kreis will do at the beginning of the second half. I see Grabavoy warming up on the pitch right now. Maybe Kreis is gonna be substituting to get Ned in for some playing time.

At '60 mark...

Just as I expected Grabavoy came in for Gil. A head-to-head collision between Borchers and Gimenez leaves Borchers on the sidelines for a minute. Cruz Azul comes back out on the attack again in the beginning of the 2nd half like they started in the first half. Campos places a ball high and above the goal at '49 mark. Nice ball movement for RSL outside of the box. Nice passing between Campos and Paulo, Jr. that results in an offside on RSL. A great shot by Alexandre just barely goes wide left. Beautiful one on one between Campos and Gutierrez with Campos narrowly missing a golden opportunity to score by flicking the ball wide right. Corner kick by Azul that goes nowhere. At '56 mark, Cruz Azul substitutes Cortes for Pinto. A wonderful save in the box by Reynish keeps the ball from going in the back of the net. RSL seems like they are taking over the game and beating Azul on every ball. Azul wastes an opportunity to equalize the score by centering the ball out of the box. The attendance was just announced over the PA system, the total attendance for tonight's match is 20, 463. Azul just barely misses scoring a goal by a diving Reynish. Williams takes a shot on goal that is stopped by Gutierrez at '60 mark.

At '75 mark...

Azul has a cornerkick that just goes wide left off of an Azul header. Azul receives a set piece that leads to nothing. Nice center by Villaluz that Aquino just barely mnisses over the crossbar. At '63 minute Azul substitutes Aquino for Vela. Right after the substitution, Huiqui receives a Yellow Card for arguing with the official. At '66 minute, Findley comes in for Campos. Just as Findley comes he makes a center pass to Paulo Jr, which brings the score to 2-0 at '67 mark. And the doors fall off of Azul with Williams sending a beautiful pass to Warner for the third goal of the night. Azul fights back and makes a beautiful shot in the top right side of the goal at '71 mark to bring the score back to 3-1. That is only the 16th goal given up at home in a little more than 18 months and 32 games. We need Kreis to get someone in there to calm down our players because it seems like they are just lackadasically running around out there. We need to maintain our composure and keep fighting to the end; eventhough, we are up by two goals.

At '90 mark...

Azul substitutes Chavez for Julio Cesar Dominguez at '76 mark. Next Kreis makes a brilliant move and substitutes Morales for Paulo Jr. We need Paulo for this weekend's match in Colorado since Espindola will miss the game due to being Yellow Carded. And it gives Morales to calm down the troops and start controlling the ball in the later part of the game. Great shot on goal by Azul but misses barely. Corner kick by Azul that goes no where. The crowd tonight is the largest to ever watch an RSL match at Rio Tinto Stadium. Azul has been on the attack in the later portion of the game. It seems like panic time for Azul because they want to win this game. Beautiful save by Reynish from a wonderful shot by Orozco. We do get lucky sometimes here in Sandy, Utah. Azul is pressing hard in the final minutes. They realize that this might be there last opportunity. Nice job of RSL playing keep away with Azul. A corner kick for RSL leads to nothing. I cannot believe that we basically have shut down Cruz Azul. At '90+ mark, Gimenez receives a Yellow Card for arguing with the official. CRuz Azul seems to be getting upset and are now playing out of control. Well, that is game...Cruz Azul comes in here expecting a win and goes home empty and in 2nd place in Group A. Fantastic game by RSL to upend Cruz Azul 3-1.

Final Thoughts...

Well, what can I say...we played a very good game tonight. Especially with playing most our 2nd-side players. There were times that I thought Cruz Azul had an opportunity to capitalize on a goal or two but our backline held strong and didn't crumble. Paulo, Jr. played "lights out" tonight with scoring his 2nd goal of the match. And let's not forget about Robbie Findley coming in and within seconds centering the ball to Paulo for his 2nd goal. Kreis coached a helluva a game too. Very smart substituting after Azul placed a ball into the back of the net closing the score to only two goals. He brought in Javi to try and calm down RSL's young squad and control the field. Mostly, I believe he needed to get Paulo some rest because he will play a vital role against Colorado this Saturday night. If you don't remember Espindola will not be able to contribute in the game due to his second card in the Dallas game.

All in all, RSL's play was strong, the weather was great and the crowd was electric. So, this is what the atmosphere feels like when you have the largest crowd in the history of Rio Tinto Stadium. I wish we could do this with every game.

It is hard to digest that we now have a 32-game unbeaten home streak since May 2009. Oh, and by the way, we have only given up 16 goals in that stretch! Wow...just plain wow!

Will the Streak Stay Intact?

Milo S — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:20:41 -0000

Fellow Soapboxers who check this site out regularly have already read Denz's importance of this upcoming match tonight at Rio Tinto in Sandy. So, I will not duplicate his column below.

However, I will give my two-cents on the upcoming match tonight.

We have a great opportunity to win Group A in the CCL before traveling to Colorado for a huge match on Saturday night.

But even another opportunity we have is to extend our home unbeaten streak that is presently standing at 31 games.

The make-up of that streak consists of the following:

17-0-8 in Major League Soccer's regular season

1-0-0 in MLS playoffs

2-0-0 in the CCL

2-0-1 in international friendlies

RSL's aggregate score line over this stretch is a unbelievable 62-15. Also, "the streak" began back in May of 2009.

I will let you digest those numbers above for a second or two...

If you have a hard time counting, then let me add those numbers up for you.

15 goals allowed in 31 games in 19 months!!!!!

I haven't researched any other futbol teams out there and their unbeaten home streaks, but this is impressive!

Do we have enough left in the tank to extend this streak to 32 games? We are playing (in my opinion) one of the best teams in all the CCL. Actually, there have only been two teams that have beaten us in the second half of this year. The first one was FC Dallas and we showed them who we were this past Saturday night by up ending them 2-0 here at Rio Tinto.

Our next victim will be Cruz Azul tonight. You should remember that game. It was an unbelievable shootout in the final 15 minutes of that rain drenched pitch in Mexico City two months ago.

We have some key players likely not to compete, so we will see how deep a squad everyone says we have in Sandy, Utah tonight.

Like Denz stated in the article below, there are over 18,000 tickets sold for this game. Pretty fantastic considering how Utahns spend their Tuesday nights of the week.

I would love to see a sellout, so all you Soapboxers...please promote this game tonight and bask in the glory of our streak being extended to 32 games!

FC Dallas v. Real Salt Lake - Live Match Updates

Milo S — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 00:35:48 -0000

Here are the lineups for tonight's match-up between Real Salt Lake (14-4-10, 52 pts) and FC Dallas (12-2-14, 50 pts):

Real Salt Lake

Starters: Robbie Russell, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Tony Beltran, Ned Grabavoy, Kyle Beckerman (Capt), Javier Morales, Will Johnson, Alvaro Saborio, Fabian Espindola, Nick Rimando-GK

Bench: Jean Alexandre, Paulo Araujo, Jr., Robbie Findley, Rauwshan Mckenzie, Collen Warner, Andy Williams, Kyle Reynish-GK

Coach: Jason Kreis

FC Dallas

Starters: Heath Pearce, George John, Ugo Ihemelu, Jair Benitez, Jackson Goncalves, Dax McCarty, David Ferreira, Daniel Hernandez (Capt), Marvin Chavez, Milton Rodriguez, Dario Sala-GK

Bench: Atiba Harris, Eric Alexander, Jeff Cunningham, Zach Loyd, Ruben Luna, Brek Shea, Chris Sharpe-GK

Coach: Schellas Hyndman

One of the biggest games of the 2010 season is being held at Rio Tinto Stadium as Real Salt Lake takes on FC Dallas. RSL is riding an MLS-record 24-game home unbeaten streak and haven't lost in their last 12 games. But FC Dallas haven't lost in 19 games - matching the MLS all-time record set by the Columbus Crew in 2004-05. It will also be a key match for Western Conference playoff positioning, with both teams still having a chance of winning the Supporter's Shield.

Real Salt Lake extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games, playing to a scoreless draw with the New York Red Bulls last Saturday evening at Red Bulls Arena. Real are in second place in the Western Conference, with 52 points from 28 games, four points behind 1st place LA Galaxy.

Coach Kreis is going with his usual 4-4-2 lineup. Some changes than usual are Beltran playing Chris Wingert's position; Ned Grabavoy playing in Andy Williams position and Fabian coming on strong in the final month of the season...he is starting over Robbie Findley tonight.

Let's get onto the match...

At '15 mark...

RSL comes out strong (as usual) to put pressure on Dallas' backline. The ball has been on Dallas' side of the pitch for most of the first 15 minutes. Dallas is starting to control the middle of the field and the ball. A Dallas corner kick at '8 mark saved by Rimando. Dallas gets a set piece at '12 mark which Rimando cannot handle and nearly goes in, but Sabario saves the day and boots the ball out of the box. Dallas is really pressing hard in the first '15. Don't know if they can keep this intensity up for the entire match.

At '30 mark...

RSL has had two (2) missed opportunities in corner kicks to capitalize. RSL needs to start playing with a little more zest. Dallas is doing a pretty good job of controlling the middle of the pitch. Dallas should have had a Yellow Card pulled on one of their midfielders knocking javi down but it was not called. Nice heads up play by Sala the goalkeeper for Dallas. After an RSL corner kick, Dallas counter attacks and loses the ball at midfield. Will Johnson blasts a shot from near center pitch that just misses going in. Another long strike by Will that the goalie saves. Beautiful pass by Javi to Saborio that Sabo barely misses.

At '45 mark...

The ball is just moving back and forth to both teams in the last 15 minutes before the half. Something has to give here soon. Nice save by RSL's backline to extinguish Dallas opportunity to score. Some shotty passing by RSL has slowed down many opportunities to penetrate Dallas' goal box. Very little action in this part of the game. Looking like both teams want to go in at halftime with not making any mistakes.

At Half...

Coach Kreis needs to get on our guys and get them to pass more efficiently within the middle of the pitch. We have wasted too many opportunities with shotty passing. I have liked our intensity so far in the game. This is the first time that i have seen Dallas in person this year and they are really, really good. I can see why they have a 19-game unbeaten streak. I wonder who Coach Kreis is going to sub at the beginning of the 2nd half. Maybe bring in Robbie Findley, but Fabi hasn't really hasn't run himself ragged thus far.

At '60 mark...

At '46 mark, Dallas substitutes Jeff Cunningham for Milton Rodriguez. Dallas just barely misses a strike on goal from 20m out. RSL gets a corner kick at '51 mark and cannot capitalize on it. now Dallas is getting an opportunity with a corner kick to take a lead in the game. Dallas cannot capitalize either. Counterattack by Dallas and an even more beautiful save by Rimando. Great passing by Fabi to Sabo and back to Fabi to nearly score on Dallas at '56 mark. A beautiful header by Grabavoy at '59 mark from Morales puts RSL up 1-0!!!!!

At '75 mark...

Rio Tinto is rockin' after the header by Grabavoy. Looks like RSL is playing with a whole lot more zest and spirit now being up 1-0. Let's see if they can keep the intensity up for the final two-thirds of the 2nd half. Olave knocks over a Dallas player and Dallas receives a set piece on the left side of the box . Beckerman heads the ball away and RSL nearly counterattacks and puts the ball into the back of Dallas' net. RSL is really pressing the ball deep into Dallas' box right now. It won't be long til RSL may get another goal in this match. At '71 mark, Dallas substitutes again bringing in Atiba Harris for Dax McCarty. Also, RSL substitutes Andy Williams for Ned Grabavoy. I must say that Beltran has been playing a very solid game on the backline tonight. Fabian receives a Yellow Card at '74 mark. He will miss the last regular season game at Colorado next Saturday.

At '90 mark...

RSL is really pressuring Dallas hard now to try and get that second goal. Robbie Findley comes in for Fabian Espindola at '78 mark. The game is getting quite physical now. Dallas doesn't want to leave here with their first loss in 20 games. Yellow Card is given out to Heath Pearce at '88 mark. Beautiful pass by Beckerman to Findley finding a wide open Morales in front of the goal at '90 mark. RSL gets an insurance goal and are now up 2-0 and Rio Tinto is seriously rocking now!!!! RSL plays tough and gives Dallas their first loss in 20 games with a score 2-0!

Final Thoughts...

Well, we picked up our 15th win of the season. We looked very good in the 2nd half. We pressured Dallas' backline the entire half and finally broke through for a two goals. I was really worried at half and was hoping for RSL to pick up three points in this game. It was being played at home and well, you know how we play at home. Dallas came in tonight wanting to control the middle of the pitch and they did a fine job of it playing a 4-5-1. But, RSL was just too much to handle in the remaining minutes of the game for Dallas to equalize the score.

Like stated above, RSL's win gives Dallas their first loss in the last 20 games. Very impressive considering the recent play of Dallas. This also gives Real Salt Lake a 25-game unbeaten home streak and maintaining our unbeaten streak at 13 games now. We are now only one (1) point behind the Galaxy for 1st place in the Supporter's Shield race. Let's hope that Colorado can upset LA at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles tonight.

Next week's match is the final match of the regular season at Colorado. We need another three points to add to the finest season in RSL history. See you later.

Real Salt Lake vs. Toronto FC in CONCACAF Champions League action- Live Match Updates

Milo S — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 01:55:41 -0000

Here are the starting line-ups for the Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC match.

Real Salt Lake

Starters:
Nick Rimando, Robbie Russell, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson, Nelson Gonzalez, Robbie Findley and Alvaro Saborio

Bench:
Kyle Reynish, Jean Alexandre, Tony Beltran, Pablo Campos, Ned Grabavoy, Paulo Araujo, Jr., Chris Schuler

Jason Kreis - Coach

Toronto FC

Starters:

Stefan Frei, Nick Garcia, Adrian Cann, Ty Harden, Dan Gargan, Martin Saric, Julian de Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario, Jacob Peterson, Maicon Santos, O'Brian White

Bench:

Jon Conway, Chad Barrett, Mista, Raivis Hscanovics, Joseph Nane, Maksim Usanov, Nicholas Lindsay

Nick Dasovic - Coach

Defending MLS Cup Champion Real Salt Lake returns home to Rio Tinto Stadium to sume CONCACAF Champions League action tonight...RSL has dropped just one of its last 19 MLS games, going 11-1-7 and outscoring opponents 30-8 since May 1, the lone loss coming at Dallas on July 17.

Tonight's return to CONCACAF Champions League play marks the 9th match in RSL's 14-game 56-day odyssey between August 7 and October 2, and the kickoff of a brutal 6-game, 18-day run within that larger stretch...During this run, RSL is 2-0-4 so far in MLS play (will be 8 games total), and 1-1-0 (3pts) in CCL competition.

CONCACAF Champions League continues:

Real Salt Lake (MLS Cup Champion) enters Matchday #3 tied with the other Group A teams with identical 1-1-0 marks, with home teams holding serve.

It is good to see that we have most of our starters out here tonight for the CCL match. We (RSL) will severely miss Morales for this match. If you didn't already know Morales is hampered by a right quad strain and Fabian Espindola is hampered by a left hamstring strain.

Let's get on with the match...

At '15 mark...

RSL's Gonzalez goes down hard in the first minute of the game and had to be helped off the field. He finally returned after two (2) minutes and we are back to full strength. Toronto goes on a counter-attack off of Pat Borchers bad pass and scores at '8 mark...TFC 1, RSL 0.

more after the jump

At '30 mark...

Kyle Beckerman equalizes with a header off of a corner kick at '21 mark. The game is tied at 1. It seems that goal from the captain has re-energized the team, we have been playing with a lot of juice over the last couple of minutes. RSL has had bodies laying all over the field tonight. We really look beat up and it seems that Russell is taking the largest beating of them all. At '28 mark, Tony Beltran is substituting for Robbie Russell. Andy Williams had a great shot on goal but didn't convert. RSL still playing tough in this portion of the game.

At '45 mark...

Robbie Findley had a break away and centered it just right for Alvaro Saborio...but Sabo couldn't get there in time for what could have been RSL's second goal of the night at '33 mark. Jamison Olave scores off a header from Andy Williams set piece at '40 mark. RSL is leading for the first time tonight...2-1!!!! Great effort by Robbie Findley on the 1 on 1...he nearly scored. TFC's Martin Saric receives a Yellow Card at '44 mark. RSL ends up with a corner kick at '45 mark that goes nowhere. The game is RSL 2...TFC 1 at the half.

At the half...

Well, we are leading after a tough first half. It has looked like RSL has been a little sluggish this first half but they are managing to turn it up when they have to. After our first goal, it looked like RSL seemed a little energized and started playing "Kreis-ball"! It could have easily been 3-1 at the half but we couldn't capitalize on a fabulous effort from Findley centering to Sabo.

Are we going to see the new addition to RSL, Paulo Araujo Jr, in the 2nd half? This would be a great opportunity for Coach Kreis to get this new, young talented forward into a match. I will feel more comfortable if we can add an insurance goal onto the scoreboard against a tough TFC side tonight.

At '60 mark...

There was a substitution at the half for TFC. Newly acquired Lindsay came in for Saric. Also, just announced that Robbie Russell left in the first half due to a head injury. There is nothing more to report at this time, other than a head injury. At '49 mark, Kyle Beckerman was awarded a Yellow Card for arguing with the officials. Great save by Rimando off of a De Rosario shot on goal at '51 mark. Both team's have really come out with a lot of energy in the 2nd half. Findley had another great opportunity on a 1 on 1 and didn't capitalize again. A beautiful save by TFC's goalie against a wicked shot by Sabo at '56 mark. Robbie Findley had another fine chance with 1 on 1 with the goalie this time and couldn't capitalize.

At '75 mark...

TFC substituted Peterson for Mista. At '66 mark, Mista received a Red Card and was ejected. RSL is playing a man-up and should pick up the pace and put another goal on the board. We need the differential. At '64 mark, Grabavoy comes in for Gonzalez. At '69 mark, Johnson was brought down (fouled) in the box and RSL is received a penalty kick. Saborio scores on the PK at '70 mark. It seems the wheels are falling off of TFC's cart right now. That makes five (5) goals in three CCL games for Saborio. At '72 mark, TFC makes a substitution, Barrett for White. At '74 mark, Araujo is making his debut for RSL substituting for Sabo.

At '90 mark...

The new kid on the block, Araujo, had a great opportunity to score on goal and just came up short. What a fantastic play by Robbie Findley to center the ball perfectly for Paulo Araujo, Jr.'s first goal in the Cobalt and Gold Uniform at '80 mark. That makes the score 4-1. The announced just stated that the attendance tonight is 11,579! Not bad for a Wednesday night CCL match. Another save by TFC's goalie against a hard shot by Araujo, Jr. A great bend-around shot by Will Johnson that just barely missed at '89 mark. And that does it in Sandy, Utah tonight...RSL 4, TFC 1.

Final thoughts...

While sit here and watch the RSL reserves perform some wind sprints after the game, I realize that RSL turned it on when they needed to in the 2nd half. We played like a team possessed and it showed on the scoreboard. Although, it does help when you are playing a man-up for the last 24 minutes of the match. I have to congratulate Alavaro Saborio with his PK goal in the second half. If I am not mistaken, that makes five (5) goals in three (3) CCL games this year. And I must say that our newly acquired Brazilian forward, Paulo Araujo, Jr. is the real deal. He scored his first goal of the season in his debut. If I am not mistaken (again), I am thinking that Sabo did the same thing earlier this season. I cannot remember which game it was, but I'm sure Denz can help me out on this one!

Coach Kreis never ceases to amaze me with his "step on the throat" attitude. He keeps that aggressive approach throughout the game whether we are leading or losing.

Maybe someone can help me with the what our unbeaten home streak is now, to include, international friendlies, CCL matches, etc. I know we are holding steady at 22 in MLS play. Somewhere I thought that I heard we are at 29 after this match. Not too shabby!

Let's get ready for a big MLS match on Saturday afternoon as RSL hosts the Chicago Fire.

RSL against the Red Bulls!

Milo S — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:15:42 -0000

Here are the starting line-ups for the Real Salt Lake and New York Red Bulls match.

Real Salt Lake

Starters:
Nick Rimando, Robbie Russell, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Ned Grabavoy, Robbie Findley, Fabian Espindola

Bench:
Kyle Reynish, Jean Alexandre, Tony Beltran, Pablo Campos, Rauwshan McKenzie, Nelson Gonzalez, Collen Warner

Jason Kreis - Coach

New York Red Bulls

Starters:
Greg Sutton, Danleigh Borman, Tim Ream, Carlos Mendes, Chris Albright, Tony Tchani, Macoumba Kandji, Joel Lindpere, Seth Stammler, Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry

Bench:
Mike Petke, Andrew Boyens, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Austin da Luz, Conor Chinn, Salou Ibrahim, Daniel Cepero

Hans Backe - Coach

Real Salt Lake has a chance to make history when they play host to the New York Red Bulls at Rio Tinto Stadium in a rematch of the 2008 Western Conference Championship. RSL can equal the MLS record for the longest home undefeated streak (22), unbeaten in six (6) games after a scoreless draw at Toronto FC last weekend. The Red Bulls have won on back-to-back weekends, defeating San Jose 2-0 at home last weekend.

There are some International absences in this game tonight on both sides. Will Johnson was called up to the Canadian National Team in its friendly against Peru today. Alvaro Saborio was called up to his Costa Rican National Team in its friendly against Jamaica on Sunday. The New York Red Bulls (NYRB) have a handful of players out for todays matchup. The most widely famous one is Designated Player (DP) Rafael Marquez, who was called up to his Mexican National Team in its friendly against Ecuador tonight. Dane Richards was called up to his Jamaican National Team to play against Saborio's Costa Rican team on Sunday. Roy Miller is playing along side Sabo on Costa Rican's National Side against Jamaica. Bouna Coundoul was called up to the Senegal National Team to play a friendly against the DR Congo today. Juan Agudelo was called up to the US U-20 National Team.

I just realized that my first RSL game ever was against the NYRB in the 2008 Western Conference Championship which RSL lost 1-0. So, in the last two years, Real Salt Lake has gotten to the MLS Semi-finals, just one match from the 2008 MLS Cup Finals and last year as everyone knows, they won the 2009 MLS Cup. Not a bad two year span there. Let's see where RSL ends up at the end of this year.

On to the game...

At '15 mark..

At '4 mark, Espindola gets a breakaway from Beckerman and shoots the ball into the goal. This is Espindola's sixth (6) goal of the seeson and assits from Beckerman (3) and Morales (7). Henry hits a shot from 23m out that Rimando muffs but recovers and saves. RSL has taken the lead and they have slowed the pace of the game to some degree and are controlling the tempo of the game.

At '30 mark...

At '18 mark, NYRB Tchani gets a Yellow Card. Morales and Espindola play at such a high motor that I have a hard time believing that they will be able to finish this game. Espindola is all over the field right now. The Argentine, Espindola, heads the ball into the NYRB goalie at '24 mark. RSL's midfielders are controlling the ball so well that the NYRB have only had the ball four times on our side of the pitch. Argentine Morales barely misses to the right of the goal from a set piece 30m out.

At '45 mark...

Extremely close call off of a Red Bull corner kick that had Robbie Russell saving a goal. Seems like the Red Bulls are getting a little annoyed from the fantastic ball control of RSL. REd Bull, Kandji, just knocked down to RSL players within a span of a minute. RSL is back to their old self...attack, attack, attack! NYRB goalie just happened to be in the perfect spot (more luck than anything) on a Findley header at '37 mark. That should have made the score 2-0. Espindola had a breakaway again and NYRB Borman held him and received a Yellow Card. New York's second Yellow Card of the night. A bad collision in goal between NYRB's GK Sutton and RSL's Olave at '40 mark. Olave receives a Yellow Card because of it. That Yellow Card suspends him for next Thursday's match in Seattle against the Sounders. Williams takes a shot on goal from 28m out and the goalie smothers it. RSL 1-0!

At Half:

I have really enjoyed the pace of the game tonight and I have come to love Coach Kreis' mentality...Attack, Attack, Attack. That is what RSL has been doing all night. Both Argentine's, Morales and Espindola have been playing so hard tonight in this first half, let's see how they stand up in the second. Beckerman has been his old self tonight controlling the pace of the game and being the commander on the field. Findley seems to have stepped up his game in the first half.

New York seems a little tense because of the pace of the game from RSL. The two great strikers, Angel and Henry, have been non-existent in the game thus far. Let's see what Coach Backe does with his team at half to make up for the non-ball-controlling first half.

Now back to the game.

At '60 mark...

There were no subsitutions at halftime. I assume both coaches are happy with the play of all their players in the first half. Nice stop by Olave in the box at '48 mark. Campos substitutes for a spent Espindola at '48 mark. I was wondering how much longer Fabian was going to be able to play in this game. He give 190% all the time. RSL's backline is playing absolutely fantastic tonight. At '56 mark there were three (3) beautiful saves; one by Olave, Rimando and Beckerman. NYRB should have equalized RSL on that volley of strikes. New York has stepped up their pace and are looking very good.

At '75 mark...

Beautiful save by Rimando off a Red Bull counter-attack at '63 mark. RSL has really slowed the pace of the game down by controlling the ball in the center of the field. Let's see if RSL turns up the intensity in the last quarter of the game. Findley misses a great chance to put RSL by two goals at the '73 mark. Sometimes I think that Mr. Findley just needs to "drill" the ball towards the goal. Seems like he is thinking a little too much. At '74 mark, NYRB's Albright gets a Yellow Card. RSL is substituting Findley for Gonzalez at '75 mark. Great shot that just squeaked over the crossbar on a set piece by Morales.

At '90 mark...

At '76 mark, NYRB's Kandji is replaced by Ubiparipovic. RSL has had some great opportunities in the last three minutes with three great shots on goal. It could easily be 3-0 RSL. The announcers just stated that we have in attendance 19,113. RSL is turning up the intensity in the last part of the game, like they always do. Wingert takes a hard fall at '88 mark but gets back up. And RSL pulls out another win...1-0!!!

End of Game Notes:

Well, we pulled out another victory tonight and tied the MLS unbeaten streak at 22 games. We played some fantastic ball control in this game and it showed by completely shutting down two of the best strikers in MLS, Juan Pablo Angel and Thierry Henry. Our backline played great tonight. There were a few lapses here and there but we managed to shutout New York 1-0!

Those three points brings us to only 1 point out of first place in the Western Conference and the MLS over-all. After 23 games on the season, RSL stands at 12-4-7 and 43 points. We are now 9-0-3 at home for the year. The next game is September 9th at Qwest Field in Seattle against the Sounders.

Biggest RSL game of the year!!!

Milo S — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:02:37 -0000

Okay, here we go Soapboxers. It seems every game we play from here on out is considered the biggest game of the year. This game can defintiely be considered the biggest game of the year...thus far!

Real Salt Lake is hosting the streaking New York Red Bulls at Rio Tinto Stadium at 7:00 pm MST on Saturday. This will be such a huge game for both clubs.

RSL will be attempting to tie the MLS home unbeaten record at 22, which is held by the Columbus Crew. They have not lost at Rio Tinto since the early days of May 2009! Think about that for a minute. In over a little more than a year, Real Salt Lake has taken their opponents to the woodshed and never looked back. I will admit there have been a few "squeaker" games bunched in there. But, all in all, RSL has been doing what they were supposed to do when this stadium was built in Sandy, Utah. That is...Defend Their Home Field!!!!

I don't ever like talking about streaks because if anyone knows me, I am a very superstitious individual. Even when I was playing sports in high school and college, I had a certain routine everyday in practice and game day. Such as, the order I put my gear on; left sock, left shoe, right sock, right shoe, and so on.

But, I am going out on a limb and staring Mr. Superstition right in the face and saying that we (RSL) are too good to lose this game at home on Saturday evening and this is our destiny to fall into a first place tie with the L.A. Galaxy in the Western Conference Standings (43 pts) and be right on the edge of taking this season's lead for the Supporter's Shield.

However, NY has been playing great as of late. They have won three (3) of their last four (4) games and Designated Player (DP) Thierry Henry bagged his first goal of what I believe will be many more to come in the game against the 'Quakes last weekend.

Both teams will be playing without some crucial 'ballers this weekend. NYRB's will be playing without their fine midfielders DP Rafa Marquez and Dane Richards, goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul, and defender Roy Miller; while RSL will be playing without midfielder Will Johnson and Striker Alvaro Sabario. All six (6) have been called up to their respective national teams for the next set of FIFA International friendlies set to take place between Sept. 3-7.

It should be an exciting game this weekend. And if you know me, there is no reward for giving my predicition of the match but I'm going to give it to you anyway. RSL is excited that they are finally back home after a long 2-week road trip that took them all over the upper half of the Western Hemisphere. They will come out strong and tough against a formidable Red Bull side but that will not stop MLS's top goal scoring juggernaut in placing three (3) goals on the scoreboard and another 20,000+ Burger King breakfast sandwiches in the bellies of RSL's faithful.

Real Salt Lake 3, New York Red Bulls 1

What do the Soapboxers think...let me hear your thoughts????

Real Salt Lake does more with less!

Milo S — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:38:00 -0000

Here are Major League Soccer's team payrolls for this season, in chart that Jeremiah at Sounder at Heart put together.

Total Median <$100K


New York	15.7m	97k	13
Los Angeles	11m	99k	12
Chicago	5.7m	100k	13
Toronto	5.2m	93k	12
Kansas City	2.9m	110k	15
Dallas	2.9m	80k	14
Columbus	2.9m	112k	12
DC	2.9m	81k	11
Seattle	2.9m	73k	9
New England	2.9m	71k	9
Philadelphia	2.7m	119k	13
Colorado	2.7m	80k	10
Salt Lake	2.6m	90k	12
San Jose	2.5m	95k	11
Houston	2.5m	96k	11
Chivas USA	2.5m	68k	7

When you take a look at the current payrolls for Major League Soccer's 16 teams you will see a huge difference in pay from #1 to #16. In most major league sports, the team who spends the most is usually the team who wins the most. In the MLS, that is not always the case.

Look for instance at the New York Red Bulls. They are tops among everyone else in payroll but they sit at #2 in the Eastern Conference and #5 overall with 31 points in 20 games. But, do you think that they have been playing better since the Henry/Marquez jump? The Red Bulls record was 8-6-2 before signing their two other Designated Players (DPs) and they have gone 1-1-2 in MLS play since then.

Now let's take a quick look at Real Salt Lake! The Executives in RSL's office have done significantly more with less. They are the second lowest payroll in the league and they are currently #2 in the Western Conference and MLS overall with 39 points in 21 games.

Just think about this for a minute...

RSL is leading the league in almost every category to include least amount of dollars spent on players. That is a unbelievable figure!

Let me hear everyone's thoughts on payrolls in the MLS!

I'm off my soapbox for now!

First step to Champions League Title

Milo S — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:26:30 -0000

Here are the starting line-ups for the CONCACAF Champions League Group A Stage game between Real Salt Lake and Arabe Unido.

Real Salt Lake (MLS Cup 2009 Champions)

Starters:
Nick Riimando, Robbie Russell, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Will Johnson, Robbie Findley, Alvaro Saborio

Bench:
Kyle Reynish, Jean Alexandre, Tony Beltran, Pablo Campos, Fabian Espindola, Nelson Gonzalez, Ned Grabavoy

Jason Kreis - Coach

Arabe Unido (2009/10 Panamanian Champions)

Starters:
Jose Calderon, Nahil Carroll, Rolan De La Cruz, Eric Davis, Armando Cooper, Luis Jaramillo, Andres Santamaria, Fidel Caesar, Mario Sergio Angulo, Jose Justavino, Victor Mendieta

Bench:
Jose Marin, Reynaldo Anderson, Pual Roderick, Manuel Mosquera, Ismael Menal, Publio Rodriguez, Oscar Londono

Richard Parra - Coach

Defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake faces Panamanian titlist Arabe Unido tonight in the first of six Group A games in the 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League slate, the fourth of RSL's 14-game, 56-day odyssey between August 7 and October 2. During this run, RSL is 1-0-2 so far in MLS play.

RSL has dropped just one of its last 16 MLS games going 10-1-5 and outscoring opponents 29-8 since May 1, the lone loss coming at Dallas on July 17.

While RSL has posted a 7-4-3 mark against visiting International teams, outscoring them 19-16, this is the first time in the team's 6-year history that more than pride (money, hardware, tec.) is on the line.

On to the game...

At '15 mark...

RSL's Johnson had two (2) great shots on goal at the '11 mark. A lot of aggressive action by RSL in the first 15 minutes. But on a counter attack Arabe Unido's Cooper scores on a deflection off of defender Borchers at the '16 mark, which places the Panamanian Champions up 1-0.

more after the jump:

At '30 mark...

The game is starting to get very aggressive and it seems like RSL is starting to press too much since going down 0-1. They need to just clam down and relax, there is still a lot of time left in the game. A 50-50 play for the ball and a Arabe Unido player was given a Red Card; in which the official thought that Beckerman was what seemed to be high cleated on a slide tackle.

At '45 mark...

Arabe Unido will play a man down for the remainder fo the match due to what the official thought was a high cleat from a Panamanian player on a slide tackle into RSL's Captain, Beckerman. Arabe Unido substitutes at '32 mark, Defender Anderson for Midfielder Jaramillo. It seems Coach Parra is going to play a containment defense on RSL now due to the man down and having a 1-0 lead. At '39 mark, Chris Wingert had a great shot go high over the crossbar off a set piece from 30 meters. RSL's Saborio bangs a header off the right post at '43 mark. At '45 mark, Saborio scores an equalizer with a header into the bottom left side of goal. That brings the score to 1-1.

At half...

What can I say, RSL finally starting playing like RSL knows how to play in the last five minutes before half. Up a man b/c of the Red Card by Carroll at the '27 mark. RSL needed to be as aggressive as ever trying to get an equalizer before half. They finally found the back of the net with Saborio scoring the equalizer with an assist from Defender Chris Wingert at the '45 mark.

Now let's see who Coach Kreis brings in as subs in the second half to allow our starters to have some fresh legs for their next CONCACAF match against the formidable foe from Mexico, Cruz Azul.

Now let's see who Coach Kreis brings in as subs in the second half to allow our starters to have some fresh legs for their next CONCACAF match against the formidable foe from Mexico City, Cruz Azul.

At '60 mark..

Coach Kreis brings in Espindola for Findley to start the 2nd half. Seems like the Panamanian team is running out of gas at this high altitude. That was one of the focal points of Arabe Unido coming to Salt Lake City since they play at sea level. RSL is trying to get some fresh legs out there. At '58 mark, Gonzalez comes in for Johnson. The AU goalie goes down on a hard play in the box at '59 mark.

At '75 mark...

Yellow Card was given to Williams at '64 mark. Yellow Cards are flying in this game. The Canuck officials will not let this game get out of control. AU's GK, Calderon gets a Yellow Card for continuing to run his mouth at the official for (what he thought was) a flagrant foul by Saborio as he and AU's GK met each other in the air on a potential lead goal. Grabavoy comes in for Russell at '74 mark.

At '90 mark...

As Captain of this team, Beckerman needs to take over and command this team to spread out and run the man down Panamanians to death. RSL needs to quit bunching up in the middle of the field and spread it out. Espindola gives up the angle on a shot on goal, he should have shot the ball two steps earlier and he would probably have scored at '82 mark. The Panamanians are pulling out all the stops in the final minutes of this game. Beckerman scores but the officials call him offsides and the goal is nullified. The Panamanians have had four (4) ballers carried off on stretchers to then get u pand run back on the field like nothing happened to them. There has been so much carnage (sarcasm) in the 2nd half that the officials gave this game eight (8) minutes of stoppage time. In stoppage time, an AU defender knocks an RSL player down and Saborio scores on a penalty kick in stoppage to take a 2-1 lead. Santamaria gets his 2nd Yellow Card in a two (2) minute span to make it a Red Card and give RSL a two-man advantage. RSL needs to try and get an additional goal in the remaining minutes to get the goal advantage if needed. Wingert picks up a Yellow Card.

Ending thoughts...

Wow! Just plain wow! I have never in my life seen so many players be carried off the field on a stretcher to then jump up and say they were okay and want to come back in the game. What I have understood the stretcher was for is for a near death experience on the pitch, not to just be carried off and then come back in the game.

It seems with all the Panamanians being carried off on stretchers and Yellow Cards thrown, the officials lost total control of the game. I am happy that RSL came out of this game with three (3) points, I am still not satisfied by their play throughout this game. RSL has such an aggressive goal scoring mentality, you would think that they would have come out more aggressive. Especially, with AU playing a man down nearly 70 minutes of the game.

I am happy with Saborio scoring our two (2) goals in this game, while still displaying why I think he is one of the best strikers in the MLS. We got very lucky that AU defender knocked down our RSL player in the box, so Sabo could have an opportunity to give us the goal we needed to win the match on his converted Penalty Kick.

I do think Kyle Beckerman needed to calm down the team and get them to spread out more and not bunch so much in the middle of the field. RSL had such an advantage because of the altitude and extra man that we should have ran them to death in that 2nd half and that would have opened up a few more lanes to try and score more goals.

To the best of my knowledge (without going back and researching), this is the first win for RSL this year where we came from behind to defeat our opponent. We came back and tied up the game against Seattle at home earlier in the year.

This win gives us a 21-game unbeaten home streak dating back to May 2009. This is the 2nd longest streak in MLS history and we are only one game from tying Columbus' mark of 22 straight.

We need to come back next Wednesday and be ready to face our second foe in the CONCACAF Group A, when we face a very, very tough Mexican squad, Cruz Azul.

I'm officially off my soapbox for the night.

What is CONCACAF Champions League?

Milo S — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 01:14:31 -0000

I'm sure there are some of you out there who keep asking...what is CONCACAF Champions League?

Well, I'm going to go through a quick down and dirty on what it is...

In simple terms, the Champions League is for professional clubs what the World Cup is for countries. Top cubs from every country meet in regional tournaments, such as the CONCACAF and EUFA (European) Champions Leagues, to decide a regional titlist, with those winners meeting at the FIFA Club World Cup (Japan is next year's destination, for which RSL is eligible) to see which club is the best in the world.

Yes, the entire world.

For our region, Real Salt Lake plays in the CONCACAF Champions League. A total of 24 teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean duke it out in the three stages-Preliminary Round (late July/early August, 2010), the Group Stage (mid-August to late October, 2010), and the Championship Round (late February to early April, 2011)-to see who moves on to Japan in 2011. Due to winning MLS Cup 2009, RSL skips straight to the 16-team Group Stage.

There you have it in a nutshell. RSL is playing host in the Group A Stage round against the 2009/10 Panamanian Champions, Arabe Unido, at Rio Tinto tonight. Come out and support our team.

Halftime at Community America Park

Milo S — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 01:22:48 -0000

The game started off rough for Real Sakt Lake. Kansas City Wizards had many missed opportunities in the first 25 minutes of the game and seriously dominated Real. It didn't look like RSL was going to show up for this match, especially when Kei Kamara headed the ball into the back of the net at the '21 mark. But, RSL came alive after that score and started playing with the intensity that we see from them regularly. Robbie Findley turned it up and started pressing towards the goal and scored with a header at the '33 mark.

Real Salt Lake needs to keep the intensity and put Kansas City away early in the 2nd half. If you don't remember a couple weeks ago RSL put five (5) goals on KC at Rio Tinto.

On to the 2nd half...

Will Coach Bradley start Buddle?

Milo S — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:33:35 -0000

Hello Soapboxers! I've been away for the past week on business but now that I am back I want to get everyone's insight on the upcoming USMNT match against Brazil on Tuesday evening.

My real question to you all is the story headline itself. Will Coach Bradley start Buddle? Heck, the real question should be...will he even play him?

I wrote an article earlier this year pertaining to this very aspect on my personal blog site.

Onto my thoughts...before the beginning of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Edson Buddle placed two balls in goal in the final warm-up game against the Australian National Team in South Africa. During World Cup play, Buddle saw very little action against England, I believe no action against Slovenia and didn't even step on the pitch in probably the most important game in USMNT history; which was against North Africa's Algeria.

Need I mention, that he is the MLS league-leader in goals scored (12) , game winning goals (5), shots (67) and shots on goal (30) for the season. Also, his partner, Landon Donovan, on the Galaxy is the league-leader in assists (11). They have been playing together all season and they no each other better than their wives know them.

It should be an easy decision for Coach Bradley this Tuesday night. Play the hottest American forward in the world against one of the best teams in the world. If Bradley doesn't start Buddle, let's at least hope he plays him.

What do the Soapboxers think?

Gametime at Rio Tinto

Milo S — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:35:37 -0000

Here are the starting lineups for the game between Real Salt Lake and D.C. United tonight:

D.C. United (3-11-3, 12 pts)

23 Troy Perkins GK, 18 Devon McTavish DEF, 2 Julius James DEF, 8 Carey Talley DEF - Captain, 4 Mark Bunch DEF, 14 Andy Najar MID, 27 Branko Boskovic MID, 19 Clyde Simms MID, 25 Santino Quaranta MID, 9 Danny Allsopp FWD, 21 Pablo Hernandez FWD

Bench: 28 Bill Hamid, 7 Adam Cristman, 20 Stephen King, 99 Jaime Moreno, 6 Kurt Morsink, 13 Chris Pontius, 15 Barry Rice

Curt Onalfo-Coach

Real Salt Lake (9-4-4, 31 pts)

18 Nick Rimando GK, 3 Robbie Russell DEF, 6 Nat Borchers DEF, 4 Jamison Olave DEF, 17 Chris Wingert DEF, 20 Ned Grabavoy MID, 5 Kyle Beckerman MID - Captain, 11 Javier Morales MID, 8 Will Johnson MID, 10 Robbie Findley FWD, 15 Alvaro Saborio FWD

Bench: 1 Tim Melia, 12 Jean Alexandre, 2 Tony Beltran, 19 Pablo Campos, 7 Fabian Espindola, 22 Nelson Gonzalez, 77 Andy Williams

Jason Kreis - Coach

D.C. United makes the trek to face Real Salt Lake in Utah tonight, a place where they haven't won in four years. Real still sits in second place in the Western Conference, pegged back into a 1-1 draw by Chivas USA last weekend. United are winless in five (5) games in league play, their last MLS competition a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy at home. It's the second meeting of the season between the teams, having played to a scoreles draw on June 5 in Washington, D.C.

Looks like Coach Kreis is going with a ball controlling lineup tonight in his regular 4-4-2 set. This is the second game back for RSL's Captain, Kyle Beckerman, who "wrecked" his ankle over two (2) months ago. He played 60 minutes last weekend against Chivas USA and performed admirable.

RSL is looking for nothing less than 3 points tonight against an underperforming squad in the United. Look for Kreis to push the ball up the pitch with complete ball-control by his Midfielders, hoping to find Findley or Saborio breaking free and scoring goals.

On to the game...

At '15 mark..

The game started with some shotty passing in the middle of the field for RSL and DC United trying to control the ball as much as possible. The only shot at the moment came by defender Chris Wingert from 20m out, which was easily stopped by GK Troy Perkins. At '14 mark, RSL's Saborio scores his 8th goal of the season with an assist from Grabavoy, putting RSL ahead by 0-1!

More after the jump:

At '30 mark...

RSL is controlling the ball great and placing a lot of pressure on United's backline. At '17 mark, United's Boskovic recieves a Yellow Card for arguing with referee on a call. RSL's Findley has had two great opportunities to convert break aways but has come up empty both times. United's Simms has had a shot on goal and that was wide right. RSL's two (2) corner kick by Morales fell short with one being headed over the goal by Olave. Still 1-0 RSL!

At '45 mark...

Both teams are getting a little rowdy amongst each other with the pushing and shoving during this time period. you can clearly see D.C. United annoyance of not being able to control the tempo of the game liek they had wanted. At '31 mark, United's Boskovic placed a shot over the goal. RSL immediately countered back up the field ending in Morales' centering of the ball to a sliding Findley who couldn't place his foot on the ball for an attempting shot on goal. A huge missed opportunity for RSL to convert a goal with United's GK being out of position in the box at '39 mark. At '42 mark, United's King has replaced the injured Simms in the midfield position. Great ball control by RSL in this time period which is making it tough for D.C. United to gain an opportunity to score the equalizer before the half ends.

Halftime Analysis:

RSL is playing a lot more aggressive compared to last week's game against Chivas USA. They are being very effective in controlling the ball and more importantly the tempo against D.C. United. They have had numerous opportunities to increase their lead this half, but have not converted any of the shots. As stated above it was a brilliant goal scored by RSL's Saborio at '14 mark. Grabavoy earned his 1st assist of the season on Saborio's 8th goal of the season.

Saborio and Toronto FC's De Rosario are tied for third place with eight (8) goals each for the Budweiser Golden Boot Award this year.

Look for Coach Kreis to have his team continue to control the ball in the midfield and wait for an opportunity to push the ball up the field for a score. Robbie Findley needs to do a better job in handling the ball in the open field to get an opportunity to score in the 2nd half.

On to the 2nd half...

At '60 mark...

A beautiful shot on goal by midfielder Johnson from 25m out that was just a little too high over the goal at '49 mark. The only action for D.C. United in this time period was a corner kick that was cleared by RSL's Chris Wingert. Also, Wingert recieved a Yellow Card at '58 mark.

At '75 mark...

D.C. United has clamped down on their defense now and are playing good counter-attacking ball. They have had two great opportunities to equalize the score but have not produced. Defender Borchers made a spectacular stop on the ball in the box against a United player. At the '66 mark, GK Rimando made a great save agsinst an attacking United team. United's Najar recieved a Yellow Carde at the '67 mark. Boskovic missed a great opportunity at the '70 mark to equalize the score nearly missing in the upper-left corner of the goal. RSL's Andy Williams comes in for Javier Morales at the '71 mark. Robbie Findley misses on a header off a set piece by Williams. Another counter-attack by D.C. United which was stopped by RSL's Jamison Olave.

At '90 mark...

Two blown opportunities for RSL to increase their lead by errant passes. D.C. substituted McTavish for Moreno at the '78 mark. At the '79 mark, Robbie Findley scores going from left to off the right post and into the back of the net for his 4th goal of the season. Andy Williams assisted on the goal for his 4th assist of the season. RSL is leading D.C. United 2-0. RSL's Jean Alexandre replaces forward Saborio at the '82 mark. With time winding down, RSL is doing a fine job of controlling the ball keeping it away from D.C. United's footballers. Findley has had two (2) open field missed shots on goal within this time period that could have increased RSL's lead even more. At the '88 mark, RSL substitutes Ned Gravavoy for Nelson Gonzalez. In Stoppage Time with less than 30 seconds left, RSL's Gonzalez scores from 15m out to give RSL a 3-0 victory.

Final Analysis...

Real Salt Lake picked up their 10th win of the season tonight and looked very good controlling the ball and penetrating the United's backline when they needed to get points on the board. D.C. couldn't control the ball enough to make it a closer match. However, D.C. did attempt in the 2nd half to counter-attack and came close to scoring on two (2) occasions but RSL's backline stifled them in the box. RSL came out aggressive and looked like the team we have seen over their winning streak earlier in the season.

RSL picked up another three (3) points on league leading LA Galaxy tonight with a very hard fought 3-0 match against D.C. United. They still stand in 2nd place in the Western Conference standings, now only six (6) points behind the Galaxy. LA plays Chicago at the Home Depot Center tomorrow afternoon.

RSL (10-4-4, 34 pts) needs to maintain the intensity they showed tonight for their next upcoming match at Kansas City on Saturday, August 7.

Manchester United manhandles the All-Stars!!!

Milo S — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:33:58 -0000

Okay Soapboxers...I watched the MLS All-star game last night and knowing Denz he watched the Sounders game.

So, I will give you my "two cents" on the game. Just look at the title of this post! Yes, that is it! Man U beat down the MLS All-stars. I have to give the All-stars some credit where credit is due. They did turn up the intenstiy after going down 0-2 at the '12 mark The only problem I saw with the MLS squad was that they really weren't in sync with each other...granted this was the first time that they had played together.

I know one thing, Man U is the real deal! They are such a great and efficient attacking team. What is scary is that they didn't play four of their top players because of the World Cup layover.

We all knew that the All-Stars would have there hands full with this Man U team, but it really did look like Man U was too much for them.

If you weren't sitting down at the start of this game then you would have missed the first score for Man U. Italian-born Frederico Macheda scored off of a lazy pass from New England's Alston to our very own Olave within the first 25 seconds of the match!

And at the '12 mark, 18-year-old Macheda scored again with a header off a corner kick, which made the score 0-2. The MLS All-Stars had a great opportunity near the end of the first half when Juan Pablo Angel's blast was saved by Van der Sar. And at half, Manchester United was up 0-2.

The second half started off well for the All-Stars with Houston's very own Brian Ching scoring on a header off a set piece at the '64 mark. It wouldn't last long with Man U countering and scoring two more goals within nine (9) minutes. The third goal hit the back of the net by Darron Gibson who perfectly placed the ball in the upper left corner of the goal and Tom Cleverley's unbelievable ball handling score for the fourth goal of the match. Cleverley's goal was so fantastic that words cannot describe it.

More after the jump

And at the '84 mark, Mexican National Team member, Javier Hernandez scored his first career goal with Manchester United in his very first match wearing the Red Devils jersey. Toronto FC's De Rosario scored at the '90 mark which was the last goal scored in the 2010 MLS All-star game making the score 2-5...Manchester United. This is the 2nd year in a row that the MLS All-stars have lost the All-star game. The previous four (4) games the MLS All-stars have beaten European League teams.

I was so impressed with Manchester United's team and I couldn't believe how extremely young they are. This U.S. tour for their team gave their young players an opportunity to show their skill set and it gives Man U a wonderful future product in the E.P.L.

Just look at the ages of the Man U players who scored in this game. Macheda, age 18; Gibson, age 22; Cleverley, age 20 and Chicharito, age 22.

Who is the best GK in MLS for the 1st half of the season?

Milo S — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:47:39 -0000

Now fellow Soapboxers, I've been "chompin' at the bit" to write something concerning the goal keepers in Major League Soccer. I understand that the MLS is rated something like the 88th best futbol league in the world, but I just don't see it! Our league is very competitive and on top of that...I think we have some of the finest goal keepers in the world today. I know how people think that all the top goal keepers are in the other futbol leagues throughout the world, but that is not the case here.

We have a couple of GKs who I think are ready to take it to the next "proverbial" level! I will give you Soapboxers some insight on the three or four GKs that I think are above and beyond the rest in MLS. I would love to hear your insight and opinions concerning these particular GKs and if you have a different GK you love...let us know!

These GKs have been placed in alphabetical order so as not to release to you in the beginning who I think is the best GK in MLS:

Kevin Hartman, FC Dallas: Hartman has played in 11 games this season and all 990 minutes in net. He has saved 32 of 39 shots on goal and given up only 7 goals; which constitutes a 0.64 goals against average (GAA). He has five (5) shutouts on the season and his record this year is 6-1-4. I have to admit I have only seen the RSL game when he played in net.

William Hesmer, Columbus Crew: Hesmer has played in 16 games this season and all 1440 minutes in net. He has saved 51 of 64 shots on goal and given up 13 goals; which constitutes a 0.81 GAA. He has seven (7) shutouts for the season and his record this year is 9-3-4. I have to admit that I have only seen maybe two of his 16 games this year.

Donovan Ricketts, L.A. Galaxy: Ricketts has played in 17 games this season and all 1530 minutes in net. He has saved 48 of 58 shots on goal and only given up an amazing 10 goals; which constitutes a league leading 0.59 GAA. He also has a league leading nine (9) shutouts for the season and his record is 12-2-3. I watched the ESPN MLS Game of the Week on Wednesday and saw him give up 20% of his goals (2) on the year against a formidable San Jose Earthquake squad.

Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake: Rimando has played in 16 games this season and all 1440 minutes in net. He has saved 47 of 60 shots on goal and only given up 13 goals; which consitutes a 0.81 GAA. He has seven (7) shutouts for the season and his record is 9-4-3. I have seen nearly every game of Rimando's season and he has played very, very well.

After the jump I discuss with you all who I think is the top GK in MLS.

If you broke it down by sheer numbers then Hartman from Dallas FC would be the over-all winner. Out of his team's six (6) wins, five (5) of those have been shutouts with Hartman in goal. That calculates out to 83% of FC Dallas' wins have been by shutout. Also, he is the only GK with single digit goals against. But his achilles heal this year is that he has only played in 11 games and that is a big deal when you consider that the two guys that I feel are better than him have played many more games.

Those two GKs that I am refering to are the Galaxy's Ricketts and RSL's Rimando. These two GKs have played above and beyond this year.

Let's start with my hometown goal keeper RSL's Nick Rimando who has played very well this year. He has had an outstanding season in goal. But, if you talk to him, the first words out of his mouth every time is...his backline defenders. Meaning, he praises his defenders more than people praise him. He has three of the best in MLS this year, Defenders Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert and Nat Borchers. And with those defenders and Rimando playing along side each other for the past three (3) years, they have "jelled" into one of the best backlines in MLS. Olave and Rimando both were selected for the All-Star game this year because of their outstanding performances for the 1st half of the season. Rimando has also had a 566-minute shutout streak this year, 3rd longest such run for a goal keeper in League history.

We talk now about Jamaican-born Donovan Ricketts of the 1st place L.A. Galaxy who has played about as well if not better than anyone else this season! He is like a human wall back there in goal for the Galaxy. Let's not forget about the Galaxy's backline of Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez and the Brazilian Leonardo who have played like a well-oiled machine in front of Ricketts this year. I watched the Galaxy/Earthquake game on Wednesday night and I thought it was going to be another shutout for Mr. Ricketts but that was not the case. Like I stated above, I watched Ricketts give up 20% of his current total of goals against this season in that one game. Plus, Ricketts is the #1 goal keeper for the 2010 All-Star game which is being held in Houston next Wednesday night. The All-Starts are competing against one of the most popular and strongest futbol teams in the world...Manchester United!

There will be a warm place in my heart for Nick Rimando, maybe because I see him every game and I have seen him develop over the years as one of the best goal keepers in all of MLS. But with all that said above, I have to give my nod to Mr. Ricketts for the best GK in MLS for the first half of the season. He has played "lights out" with nine (9) of his 12 wins coming in shutout fashion; which is #1 in MLS. His league leading 0.59 GAA doesn't hurt his ranking either.

Who do you all think is the best? Feel free to leave comments below.

Hello RSL Soapbox Fans!

Milo S — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:42:07 -0000

Hello RSL Soapbox fans! I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the Soapbox. My name is Milo and I will be assisting Denz with stories, reports and updates on our favorite major league franchise...Real Salt Lake!

To let everyone know a little about me:

I have been an avid fan of MLS's Real Salt Lake futbol team ever since I arrived in Utah in 2007. I have been blogging off and on for the past five years. I am excited to be combining the two things that I love into one. Look for me blogging regularly on RSL Soapbox with my buddy Denz. He has given me this great opportunity to share with everyone my love, insight, opinion and passion on the greatest franchise in major league sports...Real Salt Lake!

Now let's get pumped up for RSL's game of the week on Saturday night against Chivas USA at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Everyone get there early to cheer on our Real Salt Lake team to victory.