Just two matches into the 2015 season, Real Salt Lake is facing its first bye week of the year this week without another contest until hosting Toronto FC in a nationally televised match on March 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
RSL is looking to utilize that time to find some balance after putting forth a rock-solid defensive effort in a scoreless draw in the season opener, then showing its mettle in the attack in a 3-3 draw in the home opener on Saturday.
Defender Chris Schuler was on The Bill and OC Show on Monday (listen here) and said the team is far from hitting the panic button after seeing the two extremes in the first two matches.
“The overall feeling is that we’re still early in the season. We’re still in transition,” Schuler said. It was never going to work immediately. And it’s the second game of the year, so everything is still positive for us.”
RSL will remain on its standard weekly schedule, possibly scrimmaging on Saturday before entering next week’s preparations for Toronto FC. In that time, they can make the adjustments needed to strike that balance between being aggressive going forward and maintaining the sturdy defense that landed a shutout in Portland.
Working with two new players that weren’t on last year’s squad along the back line, Schuler said the cohesiveness is always improving.
“I’ve played with Olave before … and Demar is working hard to fit in as well. It’s not a finished product in the second game of the season,” he said. “The comfort is definitely getting there, the chemistry is getting there, the communication is improving. Everything is improving, but we still have a long way to go. When we’re all on the same page, it’s a tough formation to break down and then we’re explosive going forward. I see a lot of potential in the new formation.”
Tickets are still available for RSL’s only match of the season against Toronto FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT on Sunday, March 29.
