Sandy » It's universally accepted that soccer is a league where good fortune can be the difference between winning and losing.
On Saturday night, it wasn't good fortune that led to Real Salt Lake's 3-0 win over Toronto, but rather its ability to capitalize opportunities.
RSL, for sure, created a ton of chances to score in games against Colorado, Los Angeles and Houston. Still, aside from the 2-0 win over the Galaxy, Real Salt Lake had failed to score multiple times in a month.
Against Toronto, however, it was a different story. RSL was so dominant, and had so many good runs, good shots and attempts at scoring that some were bound to go in. And with goals by Yura Movsisyan , Kyle Beckerman and Clint Mathis , it was obvious that Saturday night was a good one for Real Salt Lake from an offensive standpoint.
"We developed plays with the ball," Mathis said. "I thought we passed the ball extremely well. I thought we possessed the ball extremely well, and I thought we made good decisions with the ball. It was a very good offensive performance tonight."
Mathis, in particular, had a breakout performance, scoring once, assisting once and generally dominating when he had the ball. His effort was characterized by RSL coach Jason Kreis as "fantastic," and it served to be a sign that Mathis is feeling as comfortable with Real Salt Lake as he has since joining the team for a second time last year.
Fast starts
This marks the fourth consecutive game in which RSL has jumped out to a 1-0 lead. It's not a coincidence that Real Salt Lake is unbeaten in that stretch with two wins and two ties.
"I think anytime you score first it helps," Beckerman said. "I think that's extremely important, and when you score the first two goals like we did tonight, it really helps to put the game away."
Odds and ends
Movsisyan has scored or assisted on a goal in four consecutive games. ... Robbie Findley , who is nursing a sprained ankle, suited up for the first time in three games but didn't play. ... Defender Jamison Olave missed the game because of suspension.
