Real Salt Lake opened its gleaming new $110 million Rio Tinto Stadium in front of a sellout crowd and national television audience, but managed only a disappointing 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls in an autumn chill that could prove fatal in its pursuit of the first Major League Soccer playoff berth in its history.
"To not get a win is inexcusable," midfielder Will Johnson said.
Though not every seat was filled, thousands of fans who had waited four years for a new home for their team nevertheless finally enjoyed - and created - an atmosphere befitting a big-time soccer team. Flags waved in the supporters sections, streamers cascaded onto the lush grass field and the cheering noise seemed to echo inside the stadium.
Owner Dave Checketts said it was "beyond ... what I dreamt about."
"It was great, man," defender Chris Wingert said. "The atmosphere was great, everything was great except the result. Of course, we were disappointed with the tie, but we want to thank the fans. They were amazing. The atmosphere was incredible, and it felt great to be out there."
Until the end, anyway.
By not getting the full three points for a victory, RSL put itself at risk of falling out of playoff position with just two games left. It's 9-10-9 for 36 points in the MLS Western Conference, good for the third and final guaranteed playoff berth. But it could get leapfrogged by rivals Colorado and FC Dallas when they play this weekend.
"We said going into these last three that we thought we would need six points" to reach the playoffs, coach Jason Kreis said. "So, there's still six points out there."
To get them, though, RSL will have to beat FC Dallas in its home finale on Oct. 18 and win at Colorado the following weekend.
Against the Red Bulls (9-10-9), Kreis said he thought nerves affected his team, keeping it from passing crisply or keeping possession. RSL allowed the Red Bulls to score the first goal in stadium history, too, when midfielder Dave van den Bergh fired the rebound of a blocked shot past goalkeeper Nick Rimando from near the top left corner of the box in the 31st minute.
It was a bad sign; RSL is 1-8-1 when allowing the first goal. "Fantastic experience out there tonight," Kreis said. "Terrific atmosphere for a big game. Maybe it was too good an atmosphere, really, for what we saw there. The quality of soccer I think was a little bit lower than what we've been used to seeing the past few weeks. Our guys looked very, very nervous."
Yet RSL pulled the goal back when defender Jamison Olave - back in the lineup after missing the last game with a yellow-card suspension - got on the end of midfielder Javier Morales' corner kick in the 41st minute for his second goal of the season.
But nothing changed the rest of the way, even though RSL played the final seven minutes plus stoppage time with a man advantage, after New York's Juan Pietravallo was ejected with a red card in the 83rd minute for kicking RSL's Clint Mathis in the head going for a ball near midfield. That forced Mathis to the sideline with a bleeding gash on his bald head that required a dozen staples to close.
"He just caught me with the bottom of his cleats," Mathis said.
"Sliced it open pretty good."
Now, RSL will be watching anxiously as their rivals play over the weekend, knowing it wasted another chance to pick up points at home.
"It's going to be a fight," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "They need points, we need points. . . . It's going to be tough. We're going to have to show some character. People are going to have to step up, everybody, and really just buckle down and make it happen."
