Something is different in the Real Salt Lake locker room in 2016 that wasn’t there in 2015 and while it’s tough to pinpoint what the trigger to that change was, it has been palpable on and off the field. Salt Lake is 5-1-2 for the best record in MLS through eight matches and that winning has enhanced an already tight locker room.
It shows on the practice field and in the locker room, but is most evident on gameday, where RSL has made a habit of surprising opponents and pundits alike with the hot start to the season.
“We’re just a different team,” RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando said on Monday while appearing on ESPN 700 On Frame. “The locker room just has a good vibe to it. Everybody’s happy. Everybody wants to go out and train. Everybody’s pushing each other and that’s a good sign.”
RSL missed the playoffs in 2015 after going just 11-15-8, staying at home during the postseason for the first time since 2007. That unfamiliar feeling coupled with an early-season CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal Round matchup with eventual runners-up Tigres to provide motivation through the offseason and a newfound focus and determination through training camp.
“I think that has something to do with it, for sure, not making the playoffs. I think a lot of players on our current team aren’t used to that,” Rimando said. “It was a very frustrating year for a lot of people – not just the players and coaches, but the fans. I think that’s in the back of our heads that we wanted to make it right this year and prove to ourselves that we can do better. We expect better and the mentality this year is to every day get better.”
There has been a bit of resilience to the 2016 squad too. After several matches already, players have said afterward that it felt like the kind of match that would have ended in a loss or draw in 2015. That resiliency was evident after conceding late goals to finish with draws against Orlando City and Portland, both matches followed up by wins against vaunted opponents in Seattle and Kansas City. But never was the spirit of the team more ubiquitous than after suffering a cataclysmic 5-2 loss to the LA Galaxy.
RSL returned home from that match to face the Houston Dynamo and after trailing 1-0, the Claret-and-Cobalt rallied back for a 2-1 win, the club’s second comeback win at home this season.
“The whole message this week was respond. We weren’t good enough in LA. They were the better team and there are no excuses, but it’s about how we’re going to rebound,” Rimando said. “It was a difficult game for us this last game, but we found a way. That’s what we’ve been doing all year is finding a way. If we go down, if we go up, we’re finding a way to get a result. Aaron went down another player came in and the belief was still there.”
The sky seems to be the limit for RSL with the club’s top lineup seeing only stretches together thus far. But with Joao Plata leading the way with four goals and four assists, Yura Movsisyan rounding into form and growing contributions from Javier Morales and Juan Manuel Martinez, the front four is finding its feet. And while Salt Lake is in the middle of the pack of the league’s defensive stats, that is due in large part to the five goals conceded against LA.
While optimism abounds, Rimando and RSL are focused only on the next match on the calendar.
“For us this year, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t won anything yet,” he said. “We won some games at home. We got some results on the road. But we’ve got to continue to do that. If we do that, this team can go a long way this year.”
To hear the full interview and more of On Frame, listen below.
