Real Salt Lake will host its U.S. Open Cup game on May 28.

RSL will play the winner of the May 21 contest between the Atlanta Silverbacks, of the North American Soccer League, and the Georgia Revolution, of the National Premier Soccer League.

RSL is 5-80 all-time in U.S. Open Cup play and lost 3-1 to the NASL’s Minnesota Stars in the third round of last year’s cup. Salt Lake’s best finishes came in 2006 and 2011, advancing both times to the tournament’s quarterfinals.

Come back

RSL midfielder Enzo Martinez is returning to the team after a short loan to...

A number of Real Salt Lake players are up for weekly accolades - and not just from the team’s 2-0 win over Vancouver.

Midfielder Luis Gil is a Goal of the Week nominee for his game-winning header. The goal was started by a terrific goal kick from Nick Rimando followed by a perfect cross from Joao Plata.

Plata, who had two assists on the night, and Javier Morales are up for Latin American Player of the Week honors.

And finally, Enzo Martinez, on loan to the Carolina RailHawks is a contender or the NASL Play of the Week for his 84th minute blast to tie the game. Martinez was sent to ...

Sandy • The Vancouver Whitecaps have won just two matches this season, and sit in seventh place in the Western Conference. But Real Salt Lake boss Jason Kreis says Saturday’s matchup with the Canadian club is as important as any his team has played so far.

“This is as critical a game as we’ve faced all year,” he said after training Friday at Rio Tinto Stadium. “To come back from a very disappointing performance last weekend (a 2-0 defeat at home to the L.A. Galaxy), we need to make a statement to ourselves about how good we are, and how willing we are to work, and how much we want things. So, for me, it’s a critical match.”

Enzo Martinez came in to his first Real Salt Lake training camp with high expectations and, by his own admission, in terrible shape.

“I don’t think I could have done worse than my first year,” the 22-year-old said earlier this year after playing in an exhibition win over BYU.

A season removed from a disappointing rookie season, RSL’s 2012 first-round draft pick has yet to play a minute with the first team. He’s made the 18 only once, on the final game of last season, but Martinez has shown improvement. By all accounts, he came in to camp this year in terrific shape and he’s made progress while logging 561 minu...

Robbie Rogers was back with a team Tuesday for the first time since he announced that he was gay and stepped away from professional soccer earlier this year.

The U.S. international trained with the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. And, according to Galaxy insider Adam Serrano, one of the team’s biggest names hopes Rogers will return to Major League Soccer and stay in L.A.

“It was fun to play with him. He’s been out awhile so it’s going to take him awhile to get back into it and he would admit that,” Landon Donovan was quoted as saying. “Hopefully he does well, my personal hope is that we can sign h...

Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando says the Los Angeles Galaxy may be the most dangerous team he’s faced yet this season. But don’t expect that to change the way RSL plays come Saturday evening.

“I think we’re both maybe stubborn teams that like to play our style of soccer,” Nick Rimando said. “They don’t match up against us to benefit them and we don’t match up against them. We go out there and play our diamond shape. They play their shape and it’s really whose soccer is better that day.”

The Galaxy are coming off back-to-back MLS Cups and sit tied with RSL in second place in the Western Conference. Kreis...

Asked by a reporter Thursday if he considered Real Salt Lake a rival, Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan paused.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess, yeah. Every team’s a rival.”

“But nothing special beyond ...” a reporter said.

“We’ve had some really good games with them over the years,” Donovan replied. “I guess you create rivalries by playing important games against teams that mean something. And we’ve had a lot of that over the last few years. All that says to me is that we’re two teams that are consistently very good. And that comes down to the stability of the organiz...

The United States Under-20 team will hold camp later this month, but Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil, a staple of the squad, will not be present.

The 19-year-old Gil was left off the list of 24 players announced Monday. Gil’s spot on the team, however, is certainly secure. Gil seldom attends U-20 camps noncompetitive midseason camps. And U-20 coach Tab Ramos’ most recent call ups are largely fringe players who could compete for the team’s final few spots.

However, Los Angeles Galaxy forward Jose Villarreal, already a U-20 starter, will be a part of the camp, which runs through April 29 in Los Angeles. DeAnd...

Sandy • Real Salt Lake couldn’t crack an undermanned Phoenix FC squad, delivering a late attacking blitz on a backup goalkeeper but failing to find a goal in a 0-0 draw with the USL Pro squad Monday night at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The match was played nine versus 10 for an entire 45 minutes after a melee during stoppage at the end of the first half resulted in three red cards. RSL lost center back Kwame Watson-Siriboe, while Phoenix FC saw goalkeeper Andrew Weber and defender Renan Boufleur sent off.

Here’s how it happened: RSL’s Chris Wingert said a Phoenix player was holding his jersey in a scrum in front of the...

Sandy • Chivas USA coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, in his first season in Major League Soccer, the outspoken manager has shown a penchant for stirring the pot and rankling opposing fans.

On Saturday, the man known as “El Chelis” took his shot at Salt Lake City.

“When my grandchildren misbehave,” the coach wrote on Twitter, “I will tell them I’m going to send them to Utah.”

Sola Sanchez went on to explain: “It’s raining, gray, cold and there are no people on the streets.”

Near the end of a 1-0 loss Saturday night, Sanchez Sola shared words with Real Salt L...

Real Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando can add something new to his trophy case.

The veteran goalkeeper was voted by fans as the Utah Sports Commission’s male athlete of the year. Rimando beat out NFL players Paul Kruger and Haloti Ngata, golfer Daniel Summerhays, Sacramento Kings standout Trevor Lewis, and rodeo star Jesse Wright for the honor.

Rimando also won an the Highlight of the Year award for his saves in the first leg of last year’s playoff match up with Seattle. The results of the voting were announced Tuesday.

Rimando has 23 saves for Real Salt Lake th...

Jurgen Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer have made it official: they’re coming to Rio Tinto Stadium this summer.

As first reported last week, the Sandy soccer stadium will host a World Cup qualifying match between the U.S. and Honduras on June 18.

“Choosing Salt Lake for a very important game in the qualifying process is an easy choice,” Klinsmann said in a news release. “We think the crowd will give us huge support, loud, noisy, pushing us forward and giving us a lot of energy for 90 minutes. Every point in a World Cup qualifier is crucial, and we need to have game in venues like Salt Lake where we know opponents not...

American goalkeeper Tim Howard broke two bones in his back during a game two weeks ago and could miss extended time his club in England, Everton, revealed Friday.

“We don’t think he will be out for the season,” manager David Moyes said on the team’s official site. “I read that [Newcastle’s Fabricio] Coloccini could be out for seven weeks [with a similar injury], but we are not sure how long Tim will be out for because, obviously with a goalkeeper, he has to dive around and hit the ground.

“I have let him go away for a few days. It might be that, if everything goes well, he misses next week’s game as well [agai...

Grantland.com published a piece this afternoon about Real Salt Lake and midfielder Kyle Beckerman.

In the story by Graham Parker, RSL’s captain offered some candid remarks about his frustrations watching other clubs be more active in the transfer window, and about his displeasure with stories that surfaced last season highlighting the importance RSL’s Champions League matchup with Herediano would have on the team’s future.

“I was disgusted by it,” the midfielder is quoted as saying. “I thought it was just strange that we would pick a negative story to put out there, when the way I look at ...

All in all, not a bad start to the season for Alvaro Saborio.

The Real Salt Lake striker scored twice in a 2-0 win at San Jose on Sunday. Now his first goal — a near-post finish after a wonderful ball played over the top by Joao Plata — is up for Major League Soccer’s Goal of the Week.

The other nominees are Vancouver’s Gershon Koffie, Columbus’ Federico Higuain, Montreal’s Davy Arnaud, and Portland’s Diego Valeri.

You can vote for Saborio’s goal here until 12:59 a.m. MT on Friday.

— Aaron Falk

...

I took a look this week at Real Salt Lake’s careful development of midfielder Luis Gil, who was just 16 when he signed his pro contract with Major League Soccer.

When I spoke with RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando, the veteran brought up a familiar name: Freddy Adu. Rimando played with Adu in D.C. and in Salt Lake, and he compared the pressure the two teen sensations experienced early in their careers, and contrasted their development.

Here’s a potential parallel to keep in mind in the coming months: Adu had a resurgence after a solid showing in the U-20 World Cup in 2007. His performance in the...

Nat Borchers’ fitness is improving, but the Real Salt Lake center back says it’s too soon to set a firm timeline for his return.

Borchers discovered he had torn a quad muscle in January and immediately underwent surgery to repair the damage. He has done some technical training with the team — dribbling and passing exercises — but hasn’t joined the team for full training yet.

“Every week is different,” he said of his recovery. “I’ve really been moving forward the last few weeks, and then at the end of last week things got sore.”

He added, “I’m close but I...

Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil and his U.S. teammates face off with Costa Rica tonight in CONCACAF U-20 action.

Gil helped the squad to a 2-1 win over Haiti Monday by scoring on a penalty kick in the early minutes of the match. Costa Rica beat Haiti on Wednesday.

The U.S. currently sits in first place in Group A thanks to the tiebreaker it holds over Costa Rica. A tie in tonight’s match (which will be televised on Fox Soccer) would give the Americans the Group A title and a quarterfinal matchup with either Canada or Nicaragua. A loss would mean a quarterfinal date with Cuba.

If...

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales will miss the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery Monday to repair a lateral menisical tear.

Morales suffered the injury a loss to the Danish U-20 national team last week in Casa Grande, Ariz. The Argentine flew back to Salt Lake from the team’s training in Irvine, Calif., and underwent the surgery Monday.

“Happy to report that this was a straight-forward procedure, Javier has a good knee,” team doctor Andrew Cooper said in a team release. “Very similar to the injury he suffered in MLS Cup 2009 on his left knee. The surgery was uncomplicated and we can expect Javi b...

The New York Cosmos announced today the signing of goalkeeper Kyle Reynish as the club’s second signing this offseason.

The NASL side announced Reynish’s signing Thursday.

The 29-year-old had been with RSL since being drafted in 2007. Last season, backing up starter Nick Rimando, Reynish recorded a 1-0-2 recorded with a pair of shutouts. RSL elected not to pick up Reynish’s option at the end of the year.

“Kyle is a goalkeeper that I have been following for a long time and I am very happy to be able to bring him to the club,” Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese said in a team release.

Real Salt Lake bolstered its back line some Tuesday, picking a pair of full backs with its two picks in the MLS Supplemental Draft.

With the 50th overall pick, RSL selected Louisville’s Brock Granger, a 5-foot-9 defender from Honolulu, Hawaii. Nineteen picks later, Salt Lake drafted Max Wasserman, a former teammate of RSL defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe at the University of Connecticut.

RSL coach Jason Kreis said this weekend that the club does not alter its draft strategy based on need. But with defenders Nat Borchers and Chris Wingert expected to miss some early season games, Tuesday’s sel...

Real Salt Lake used the No. 12 pick in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft to add depth to its midfield, taking on Maryland’s John Stertzer.

Stertzer, 22, scored 23 goals and tallied 13 assists in 63 career appearances for the Terrapins.

Salt Lake traded up two spots in the second round, swapping its No. 31 pick and some supplemental draft picks for Philadelphia’s No. 29. With the pick, RSL took New Mexico forward Devon Sandoval.

— Aaron Falk

...

After landing forward Robbie Findley, Real Salt Lake took another major step Wednesday toward shoring up its 2013 roster.

Midfielder Javier Morales announced on Twitter that he was returning to the club this season.

“I couldn’t be happier,” the Argentine veteran tweeted. “Just sign my new contract with RSL. Thanks to the Club, Owner, coaches, teammates and [especially] to the fans!”

Morales, 32, scored three goals and notched seven assists in 31 regular season appearances last season for Real Salt Lake.

Aaron Falk

...

Real Salt Lake center back Nat Borchers won’t be ready for the start of preseason training after undergoing surgery to deal with a lingering quad injury.

A torn tendon in Borchers’ right quad — a persistent problem for him since late 2011 — was not responding to rehabilitation last month, so the veteran defender opted for surgery, RSL officials said Wednesday. Borchers underwent surgery the first week of January. No timeline has been established for his return. If he misses extensive time, it would mean another test for a back line that will already be without Jamison Olave this year.

Goal...

Rio Tinto Stadium won’t get a World Cup Qualifying match in March after all.

U.S. Soccer on Tuesday announced the March 22 Men’s National Team match against Costa Rica will be played in Denver. Salt Lake City and Kansas City had been reported as the other possibilities for the site.

Among the biggest factors in the decision: altitude. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann wanted a match at elevation before his team plays Mexico, and he will certainly get one in Denver. Salt Lake City is some 800 feet lower than Denver and some 3,200 feet lower than Mexico City, where the U.S. will play at Estadio Az...

Robbie Findley has said goodbye to his fans in England.

And while he has yet to say hello to the ones he has in Salt Lake City, all indications are that a return to the Wasatch Front is imminent.

The English club Nottingham Forest, where the 27-year-old forward has spent the past two years, announced Monday it had terminated Findley’s deal, citing “mutual consent.” Meanwhile, sources have confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune that Findley has signed a deal with Major League Soccer, which handles all its players’ contracts.

Real Salt Lake general manager Gar...

Major League Soccer just released its schedule for the upcoming season. Here is Real Salt Lake’s schedule for the year (all times are Mountain), and a few first impressions:

•Real Salt Lake plays five of its first seven matches away from Utah.

• Los Angeles, San Jose and Seattle each make two trips to Rio Tinto this season. RSL has to play those teams just one time apiece on the road.

• On the other side of that coin, RSL plays twice in Portland, Dallas and Denver.

• Real visits the Great White North, where it is 0-for...

It looks like Robbie Findley could be on his way back to Utah.

The former Real Salt Lake forward is reported to have been reacquired by the franchise Tuesday morning, according to soccer scribe Ives Galarcep of Soccer by Ives. Galarcep reported the Portland Timbers, who owned the rights to Findley after selecting him in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft, traded those rights to RSL to complete Findley’s potential return to the Wasatch Front.

Galarcep reported that it remains unclear what RSL gave up in the deal to get Fi...

Salt Lake City is one of three finalists to host a World Cup qualifying match between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Costa Rica in March, according to Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl.

Denver and Kansas City round out the list of finalists, the veteran soccer writer reported on Twitter yesterday, adding that a decision will be made sometime this week.

“We are always happy to be considered by U.S. Soccer,” Real Salt Lake’s vice president of communications Trey Fitz-Gerald said. “Our track record hosting both the men’s and women’s teams is excellent, and that is a tribute to the rapidly gro...

It was 17 degrees in Sandy on Thursday evening shortly before 5.

Not exactly ideal weather for watching a soccer match at Rio Tinto Stadium.

So while Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber is once again talking about the possibility of changing the league’s schedule to a fall-to-spring format, Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning doesn’t see it happening any time soon.

“Do you want to play a soccer game here in January?” Manning said Thursday, after being asked about Garber’s remarks to The Washington Post. “There’s idealism, and then there’s reali...

Real Salt Lake has signed defender/midfielder Lovel Palmer, the team’s only selection in the December Re-Entry Draft.

RSL announced Palmer’s signing Thursday. The terms of his contract were not disclosed.

Palmer, 28, made 19 appearances last year for the Portland Timbers. He previously played for the Houston Dynamo.

“Lovel is a versatile player who we’re excited to add to our roster,” RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey said in a news release Thursday. “He’s a proven player on both the MLS and international levels and we believe he’ll be a good fit in our...

Kwame Watson-Siriboe has followed the tragic stories out of Newtown closer than some.

The Real Salt Lake defender played his college ball at the University of Connecticut, about 75 miles away from Newtown and Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children and six adults were gunned down earlier this month.

“It was definitely something that was very, very devastating for the world, but especially for the community in Connecticut,” Watson-Siriboe said Monday.

Next week, Watson-Siriboe will return to the state — along with dozens of other MLS players and U.S. soccer icons — in hopes ...

If Real Salt Lake hopes to claim the 2013 Supporters’ Shield, it will have to start with last season’s winners.

For the third time in four years, RSL will kick off the Major League Soccer season against the San Jose Earthquakes. The game will be held March 3 in San Jose, Calif.

Real stays on the road the following weekend for a March 9 match with D.C. United. The season’s first match at Rio Tinto Stadium will come two weeks later, on March 16, against Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado.

And here are some other key RS...

Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil has been called up to the U.S. Under-20 National Team for a week of training later this month.

But RSL officials don’t expect that will be the 19-year-old’s only time away with the U-20s. Gil will likely miss most, if not all, of the team’s preseason training.

The CONCACAF U-20 Championship is set for Feb. 18 through March 3 in Mexico. RSL’s first regular season match will likely be scheduled for the weekend of March 2.

The matches in Mexico are qualifiers for the 2013 U-20 World Cup, and if the U.S. qualifies, Gil could miss even more time. The W...

After firing former Real Salt Lake assistant Robin Fraser at season’s end, Chivas USA has named Jose Luis Sanchez Sola as its new head coach.

“El Chelis” has spent the last six seasons coaching in Mexico’s Primera Division of Liga MX, and he says he hopes to infuse Latin-style play into a team that finished dead last in the West last season.

“We are going to try to implement a more appealing style of soccer for our fans, without forgetting that we are a team that plays in the United States,” Sanchez Sola said in a team release. “We will look to appeal to both cultures while obtaining positive results for the c...

Real Salt Lake remains in contract talks with star midfielder Javier Morales, and a decision could come sometime this week.

“I think we’re going to have an answer by next week, one way or another,” general manager Garth Lagerwey told fans at the team’s Winterfest event on Saturday. “I don’t know what the answer is going to be.”

RSL has given Morales an offer, but Lagerwey has said Mexican clubs have shown interest in the midfielder and could make a more lucrative offer.

Morales’ agent Alejandro Taraciuk said his client’s top “priority” is to return to RSL, where he has played since...

Real Salt Lake will likely have to wait until after Christmas before the team can land the forward — or two — who will pair up top with Álvaro Saborío next season.

As general manager Garth Lagerwey explained to fans at the team’s Winterfest event over the weekend, the Mexican soccer season just ended and clubs there will be looking to make moves of their own.

“Mexico pays more than we do,” Lagerwey said. “You probably are in, I wouldn’t call it a holding pattern between now and Christmas, but you have more credibility after Christmas with South American and Central American teams. Because ...

Real Salt Lake announced Monday it selected midfielder Cole Grossman in the Major League Soccer waiver draft.

Grossman, 23, was taken with No. 28 overall pick by the Columbus Crew in the 2011 MSL SuperDraft. He played in two games as a rookie and 10 last season. In 512 minutes, he has scored one goal.

Grossman played collegiately at Duke, where he scored 25 goals and 24 assists in 70 games. He was a two-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

Grossman will join Real Salt Lake when the team opens preseason camp in January. He was the only player selected in the MLS waiver draf...

Real Salt Lake players will scatter for their short offseason on Thursday, after finishing exit interviews with management and taking physicals.

The Major League Soccer playoffs ended for RSL last week, when Seattle defeated Real Salt Lake in a two-game aggregate series, 1-0.

RSL finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. But it failed to score in its last five games, including both playoff matches against the Sounders.

After MLS playoff losses in 2010 and 2011 and the failure to advance in this year’s Champions League, Real Salt Lake could face major ...

The weather forcast for Real Salt Lake's CONCACAF Champions League showdown against Herediano on Tuesday night at Rio Tinto Stadium calls for rain, wind and temperatures in the low 40s.

Perfect, perhaps, for RSL.

It's unlikely many players on Costa Rica's Herediano have much experience in such miserable conditions, so Real Salt Lake might have an advantage.

"It could [be]," coach Jason Kreis said Monday morning, after a light training session at Rio Tinto. "I think we're a little more used to playing in cold, sloppy weather this time of year. We're hopeful we can gain some sort of advantage, sure."

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RSL faces two huge games in the nex...

Notes and quotes from Real Salt Lake, which plays Herediano on Tuesday night in a CONCACAF Champions League match at Rio Tinto Stadium:

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Midfielder Will Johnson says the key to defeating Herediano is "... experience. Just experience and professionalism and not trying to go win the game in the first five minutes. Just using our experience in the competition. It's a 90-minute game. We've won a lot of games in the second half. Most games are won in the second half. So patience."

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Johnson hopes Real Salt Lake can advance to the Champions League quarterfinals in February, in part, for the fans in Utah: "This needs to happen for our fan-base. They hav...

Sandy -- Real Salt Lake could be without forward Fabian Espindola and defender Jamison Olave on Tuesday night during its CONCACAF Champions League game against Costa Rica's Herediano at Rio Tinto Stadium.

With forward Alvaro Saborio already sidelined because of yellow card accumulation, the loss of Espindola and Jamsion would be a huge setback for RSL in its attempt to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.

Because of tie-breakers, Real Salt Lake must defeat Herediano by specfic margins: 1-0 or at least two goals.

Espindola left training Sunday because of what coach Jason Kreis described as general soreness he's experienced since last Wednesday's ...

Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis and his players will not train today after doing so in the cold, rain and wind on Friday and Saturday.

Perhaps practicing in such conditions will help get RSL ready for Wednesday night's critically-important Major League Soccer game at Seattle, where Real has traditionally fared well.

On May 12, Fabian Espindola's goal on the 50th minute gave Real Salt Lake a 1-0 victory over the Sounders. In 2009, RSL won the MLS Cup with a victory over the L.A. Galaxy at Qwest Field, which is now CenturyLink Field.

"For whatever reason, we tend to play pretty well there," Kreis said. "I don't feel we've ever been there and not performed we...

It's always an honor, the players say, to represent your country in an international game.

But RSL's Kyle Beckerman, Alvaro Saborio and Will Johnson did not have a universally successful night in qualifying games for the 2014 World Cup on Friday night. Only Johnson tasted victory, going 72 minutes for Canada in a 2-0 victory over Panama at BMO Field in Toronto.

Coach Jason Kreis believes goalkeeper Nick Rimando made a mistake charging off his line after a ball in the air in the dying minutes of stoppage time on Thursday night, on a play that led to the decisive penalty kick that doomed RSL to yet another loss in Texas.

But he...

Sandy — Kyle Beckerman — television star.

This week, the Real Salt Lake captain will train and prepare for Saturday's MLS game against visiting D.C. United — 7 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium — with a film recording his every move.

Well, maybe not every move.

"MLS 36," a 30-minute program created this year by the NBC Sports Network, will eventually follow five MLS players, including Beckerman. An air time has yet to scheduled, but according to RSL, there's a good chance that the network will show it prior to the Sept. 22 game against Portland.

"It's strange, for sure," Beckerman said. "It's cool. I'll try and represent the club the right way. That’s why...

Sandy • Try as he might to maintain his cool, Real Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman could not stop the smiles as he described Wednesday's U.S. National Team's 1-0 victory at Mexico — its first-ever win there in 75 years of trying.

" I have the newspaper clippings from Mexico and saved that," said Beckerman, who played 90-plus minutes. "I was really happy to be part of it."

One tie (0-23-1) was the best the United States' had ever done prior to its historic victory in what was described as a "friendly" in Mexico City. Michael Orozco Fiscal, who plays his club soccer in Mexico, scored the game winner in the 80th minute.

That goal and a h...

A handful of Real Salt Lake players, including midfielder Kyle Beckerman and keeper Nick Rimando, have been called to their respective national teams.

Beckerman and Rimando joins the U.S. National Team for Wednesday's "friendly" against Mexico at Mexico City's the famed Estadio Azteca.

Also, Álvaro Saborío leaves for Costa Rica and a game against visiting Peru, while Will Johnson joins the Canadian national squad, which takes on Trinidad and Tobago in Lauderhill, Fla. Johnson could earn his 28 cap.

Should Beckerman play, it would be his 22nd appearance for the United States.

Saborío will earn his 71st cap for Costa Rica at San Jose’s Estadio Nacional,...

Sandy — Real Salt Lake understands it has only itself to blame for opening its CONCACAF Champions League campaign with a 1-0 loss to Costa Rican champions Herediano on Tuesday.

RSL was surprisingly tentative to start the game and gave up an early goal. Then, as Real began to find its flow, centerback Nat Borchers' sturdy challenge was met with a red card in the 58th minute.

"We weren't quite focused on what we were trying to do defensively and the goal came up our gut," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "We never want passes to go between us and it did, one, two, three passes right in the middle of us and it's a goal."

Though RSL can ill afford another stumble, hope live...

What's the difference between taking a commercial flight and a charter.

When you are on your way to Costa Rica, it could mean the difference between winning or losing. Especially since flying time for Real Salt Lake can potentially be cut in half from 12 hours.

Think of the leg room as well as delays at airports. Then there is customs as RSL begins its four-game CONCACAF Champions League group.

"Hundred percent," said Real Salt Lake goal keeper Nick Rimando on the importance of taking charter flight to play Costa Rican champion CS Herediano. "All the teams are doing it around the league and it was great for us to step up. It's a huge advantage for us. It's a huge a...