Officially, Saturday night's game was tied. In reality, Real Salt Lake will record this outcome as a 1-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids.

That's because a tie was sufficient to lift RSL over Colorado and into the Western Conference playoffs, and the way it happened simply made this tie feel as good as any win ever could have.

Before the 90th minute of play, when RSL's Yura Movsisyan drilled home a rebound of Andy Williams' shot for the winning - well, tying - goal at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, nothing suggested an ending like this was in the works. Real played from behind after the 19th minute in a performance Kreis would candidly describe as "one of our worst games all season."

So the valuable tie was unlikely, almost unbelievable and probably undeserved.

And RSL is not giving it back.

Movsisyan labeled it "the most important game for this franchise," and that statement was as accurate as his last shot on goal.

In the team's fourth season, a wonderfully mediocre 10-10-10 record is a playoff-worthy achievement, a breakthrough that gives credibility to Kreis' leadership and further stability to the franchise in a month already distinguished by the opening of Rio Tinto Stadium.

This moment was even more special to Kreis because of Williams' contribution to the historic goal. They were original RSL teammates in the days before Kreis became the coach, and Kreis hugged Williams on the field soon after the extra time finally expired. Kries choked back tears in the postgame interview when speaking about the difficult year Williams has endured as a result of his wife's illness, mixed with the joy of Saturday's outcome.

"That's stuff history's made of," Kreis said.

Yet at the moment Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul stopped Williams' shot, all Robbie Russell was thinking was, "Oh, no."

Russell had headed the ball toward the goal and Williams caught a piece of it with his toe, only to have Coundoul deflect it away. But Movsisyan was there to "clean up the mess," in Williams' words, and beautifully so.

Coundoul had absolutely no chance, as Movsisyan delivered a nice ending to an otherwise frustrating night. Late in the first half, Movsisyan headed the ball sharply, only to have Coundoul's left hand steer it into the goalpost, where it caromed away. That was just one of several chances he could not convert, until it really counted.

"We didn't come here to tie," Movsisyan said, but nobody in the raucous visiting locker room seemed to mind.

Result.

It's one of those soccer-specific words that everybody in this little world understands, with no modifier necessary.

It means a win or a tie, as in an acceptable result or a satisfying result or an encouraging result.

This was all the above.

If not for this result, RSL's sparkling new stadium in Sandy would have gone dark, just when things were appearing brighter than ever for this franchise.

Regardless of what happened in the playoffs, just playing in November will mean everything to RSL. The team has made the playoffs in its fourth season in Utah, which is more than even the Jazz can say.

Now, if RSL plays in the postseason for 20 years in a row, as the Jazz did in an era that began once Real owner Dave Checketts joined the organization, that will make for quite a story. For now, Saturday's story stands as awfully good one for RSL, in the end.

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KURT KRAGTHORPE can be reached at kkragthorpe@sltrib.com. To write a letter about this or any sports topic, send an e-mail to sportseditor@sltrib.com.