The last time Real Salt Lake enjoyed a big victory, it merely set the stage for a miserable winless streak by encouraging players -- by their own admission -- to think they were better than they were and not work hard enough.
Coach Jason Kreis said he's determined not to allow that to happen again.
After RSL snapped a seven-game winless streak and earned its first road victory of the season by beating the Los Angeles Galaxy last weekend, Kreis said he would emphasize the danger as the team prepares for another road test at Houston on Saturday.
"We have some experience now with having a big win and then having disappointment afterwards," he said. "So we will address that this week and make sure it doesn't happen" again.
Still, Kreis said the value of finally winning for the first time since a 6-0 blowout of New England in April was "immeasurable" as RSL approaches the halfway mark of the season one point shy of the 16 it had at this time last season.
But beating the Dynamo won't be easy. Though they're missing midfielder Ricardo Clark , who's away playing with the U.S. team at the Confederations Cup in South Africa, they're unbeaten at home, riding a 10-game unbeaten streak and have won all four of their home meetings against RSL.
Finding a home?
Midfielder Will Johnson has done a fine job since moving from the left side into a defensive holding role in RSL's 4-3-3 formation, and was happy with his work against L.A..
"I feel like that was probably the best soccer game I've ever played," he said.
It was the second straight game Johnson has enjoyed a strong showing in that role, which has helped convince Kreis that he finally has two strong formation options.
"It's something the coaching staff has been wanting to be able to do for a long time, which is to change our shape, based on what the game needs," he said.
