The new season has already begun in Sandy, Utah.
Just days after the regular season came to a close in Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake took to the training field to ready for its seventh consecutive postseason appearance and a rendezvous with the LA Galaxy at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday.
Salt Lake finished the regular season with a 15-8-11 record, for 56 points and the third seed in the Western Conference. With 54 goals scored and 39 goals allowed, RSL was one of just two teams, the Galaxy being the other, that finished in the top five in MLS in both categories. Not coincidentally, RSL also finished with the fourth-best record in MLS.
The year started off with a bang, as newly minted Head Coach Jeff Cassar led RSL to an MLS-record matching 12-game unbeaten streak to start the season, going 6-0-6 in his first dozen matches at the helm.
Salt Lake then lost three of its top players to World Cup duty, as Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando joined up with the U.S. National Team and Alvaro Saborio was called in by Costa Rica.
To make matters worse, Saborio fractured his right foot early in World Cup training camp, sidelining the prolific forward for 16 matches before he made his return. Thirteen seconds into that return, a substitute appearance against FC Dallas, Saborio headed in his seventh goal of the season. He finished the year with eight goals in just 16 matches, marking the first time he hadn’t reached double-digit scoring.
Joao Plata was able to keep RSL’s offense alive and he finished the season with a team-leading 13 goals. Javier Morales notched nine goals and 12 assists as well, finishing another strong season for the Argentinean playmaker. In addition, newcomer Luke Mulholland provided a spark in the midfield with six goals and seven assists in his debut MLS season.
Defensively, Chris Schuler continued his development to solidify the veteran back four in front of Rimando, joining Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran in defending Salt Lake’s net. That defensive core helped Rimando to another stellar season in net, finishing with seven shutouts and a 1.04 goals against average in 24 matches. He also surpassed the MLS career mark for clean sheets and now has 115 in his decorated career.
RSL finished the season on a high note, going unbeaten in the final three matches while touting a 313-minute shutout streak as well.
That has the team in prime condition for the gauntlet of playoff battles on the horizon. And with a veteran core that includes seven players that have been to two MLS Cup Finals with the Claret-and-Cobalt, Real Salt Lake is not a team to be taken lightly in the postseason.
