REAL SALT LAKE FIGHTS TO THE FINISH FOR 1-0 WIN AT CHICAGO
Gritty
Three Points Moves Undefeated Streak in MLS Play to 10 Games;
Shutout
Streak of 498 Minutes Now Fourth Longest by a Team in League History;
FW
Robbie Findley Hits the Back of the Net in His Third Straight League Contest
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (Thursday, July 8, 2010) – Real Salt Lake (9-3-3, 30 pts.) used a penalty kick from FW Robbie Findley, a stout defensive effort, and a little help from the woodwork to post a hard-fought 1-0 road victory over the Chicago Fire (4-5-5, 17 pts) tonight in front of 17,847 at Toyota Park.
Findley earned the kick from the spot himself
after it ruled Fire DF C.J. Brown
knocked him over in the area, the striker sending Chicago GK Andrew Dykstra the wrong way before
sending his low shot just inside the right post. That post played a prominent
role for RSL, as Fire DF Steven Kinney
twice hit the woodwork with headers off of corner kicks in the second half.
Click
here for the MLSsoccer.com recap of tonight’s contest
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view the match highlights on MLSsoccer.com
Real
Salt Lake Notes
·With tonight’s victory, Real Salt Lake pushed its club-record undefeated streak in League play to 10 games (8-0-2). The Utahns ended the longest such streak in MLS in 2010 back on June 9, when its 1-0 victory over the LA Galaxy ended their 12-game run (10-0-2) to start the season. This marks the 22nd double-digit undefeated run in MLS’ 15-year history.
·Real Salt Lake’s stingy defense across the last month-and-a-half has resulted in the fourth longest shutout streak for a team in League history:
CONSECUTIVE MINUTES
WITHOUT ALLOWING A GOAL
TEAM MIN START END
Houston Dynamo 727 6/10/2007 7/22/2007
Kansas City Wizards 681 4/19/2000 5/27/2000
Los Angeles Galaxy 521 6/17/2006 7/22/2006
Real Salt Lake 498 5/29/2010 current
·The shutout for Nick Rimando was his fifth straight clean sheet, his seventh of the season [2nd in MLS (Ricketts, LA - 9)] and the 67th of his illustrious career (4th all-time, now 5 behind Zach Thornton). The reigning MLS Player of the Month’s personal and club-record 498-minute shutout streak is now the 5th longest in MLS history for a goalkeeper:
LONGEST
SHUTOUT STREAKS (MINUTES)
PLAYER MIN START END
Tony Meola, KC 681 4/19/2000 5/27/2000
Donovan Ricketts, LA 612 9/26/2009 4/17/2010
Pat Onstad, HOU 547 6/10/2007 7/22/2007
Kevin Hartman, LA 521 6/17/2006 7/22/2006
Nick Rimando, RSL 498 5/29/2010 current
·The goal for Findley was his third of the season, all coming in as many contests. The U.S. MNT representative is the eighth player in the League to score in at least three straight matches this season, and his streak is currently the longest in MLS. The club’s all-time scoring leader now has 27 goals in an RSL uniform.
·Findley’s goal came on the first penalty kick of the season awarded to RSL, this after the Utahns had conceded four kicks from the spot in its first 14 games.
·The 30 points accrued at the halfway point of the season easily marks the most by RSL through 15 games, the previous high-water mark standing at 19 points during both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. This year’s Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy squads are the only two teams to post 30 points through their first 15 games in the last four MLS seasons.
