"There's going to be a lot of nerves," he said.

He should know.

Borchers played in the first game at the Home Depot Center near Los Angeles five years ago, and recalled a wild atmosphere that figures to be replicated when RSL plays the New York Red Bulls at the shining new stadium. "Man, there were people everywhere," he recalled, "and it had a spectacle kind of atmosphere."

And to think, Borchers was only a visitor at the time, playing his second professional game for the Colorado Rapids - not as a member of the home Los Angeles Galaxy facing great expectations to add victory to the excitement of christening a new stadium. Even more than that will be at stake for RSL, with hopes for its first Major League Soccer playoff berth hanging in the balance.

"It could be difficult," coach Jason Kreis said. "It's just something we have to continue to talk to the players about. It's still a game played on a green surface - grass, in this case - with white lines, and the ball's still round and the same size. So we've got to control our emotions and keep them in check."

If history is any guide, the team should be fine.

No established team has ever lost the opening of its new soccer-specific stadium in MLS; the only team to lose its inaugural game was expansion Toronto FC at BMO Field last year. Otherwise, home teams are 3-0-2 in new stadium openers, and all of them have scored at least two goals in those games.

"It's going to be great," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "Hopefully, the weather will be good, and it's got some big points riding on the game, so it's pretty exciting to be a part of it."

RSL currently sits in the Western Conference's third and last guaranteed playoff spot, just one point ahead of Colorado and FC Dallas with three games to play.

Beckerman also has experienced the thrill of a stadium opening, having played for the Rapids when they opened Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver by beating D.C. United 2-1 at the start of last season. He agreed that it can be difficult to focus on the game amid the excited chaos.

"You try as best you can" to deal with it, he said. "This will be a little different for me, because it's ... at the end of the season. So it will be a little interesting, but I think we're all excited to play on some grass in one of the best stadiums in the country, and it's ours. It's our home field. We're not going anywhere to play. That's our home field, so it's pretty cool. It's exciting."

RSL will be without one other important player who has previous stadium-opening experience, however.

Midfielder Andy Williams played for Columbus when it opened its stadium with a 2-0 victory over New England in 1999, but he will be suspended against the Red Bulls after being ejected with a red card during stoppage time of RSL's 2-2 draw at New England last weekend.

"That's a sad state of affairs," Kreis said.

Stadium openers

No non-expansion Major League Soccer team has ever lost its first game in its new stadium:

Year / Home Team / Stadium / Opponent / Result

2007 / Toronto FC / BMO Field / Kansas City / L, 0-1

2007 / Colorado / Dick's Sporting Goods Park / D.C. United / W, 2-1

2006 / Chicago / Toyota Park / New England / T, 3-3

2005 / FC Dallas / Pizza Hut Park / Metrostars / T, 2-2

2003 / Los Angeles / Home Depot Center / Colorado / W, 2-0

1999 / Columbus / Crew Stadium / New England / W, 2-0