Real Salt Lake 0 vs Portland Timbers 1
October 14, 2015; Rio Tinto Stadium
Real Salt Lake (11-13-8, 41 points); Portland Timbers (13-11-8, 47 points)
Man of the Match: Javier Morales was the biggest spark in RSL’s attack, threatening Portland’s goal and making goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey work for saves with two shots on target. He also completed 92-percent of his passes and created two more scoring chances for his teammates. In the end, RSL was still shut out though as a stout Timbers defense kept the Claret-and-Cobalt out of the net for a third time this season.
Telling Stat: It has been 427 minutes since Real Salt Lake’s last regular season goal against the Portland Timbers. Included in that stretch is two scoreless draws at Providence Park and two 1-0 defeats at Rio Tinto Stadium, where RSL lost just three games all season, two of which came against Portland.
What You Missed: RSL captain Kyle Beckerman matched former Tampa Bay Mutiny and New England Revolution stalwart with 378 career MLS regular season appearances. That is the most by any field player in MLS history and trails only goalkeepers Kevin Hartman with 416 and Nick Rimando with 394. Of Beckerman’s 378 career matches, 230 have come in an RSL uniform.
So What: The loss puts RSL’s playoff hopes in serious peril, as Salt Lake needs to win both remaining matches and get significant help from other teams in order to land in the sixth spot in the Western Conference. Missing the postseason would end RSL’s run of postseason appearances after seven straight playoff appearances.
