RSL: Young defender rare bright spot

Sandy » When the season began, Real Salt Lake still had some questions about whether young defender Tony Beltran had what it takes to hold down a regular job in Major League Soccer.

Now, it has some answers.

Even though RSL has strained to build on its playoff success last season, the 21-year-old Beltran has emerged as a bright spot -- proving to coaches that he can handle a starting position and contribute to a defensive back line that generally has been a strength of the team that will continue fighting for its playoff life tonight against Chivas USA at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"He's been very, very good as of late," coach Jason Kreis said last week. "I'd say one of the

most switched-on, focused, committed players on a regular basis for us over out last six or eight matches. Just really, really pleased with his progress."

Obviously, nobody enjoyed an especially good performance in the lethargic 3-1 loss at New England last weekend that has imperiled RSL's playoff prospects and put pressure on it to beat Chivas tonight and then win at Kansas City on Saturday.

But without Beltran emerging, the straits might have been even more dire.

The team desperately needed him, in order to cope with the midseason departure of veteran outside back Ian Joy -- he left the team to return to Germany and be closer to his young daughter -- as well as an injury to versatile Robbie Russell. "He has the

tools, he has the potential, and he's got the smarts," Kreis said. "He has everything to really continue to improve. He's definitely not a finished product yet."

That's fine with Beltran.

The former No. 3 pick of the MLS SuperDraft out of UCLA said he simply has been concentrating on consistently maintaining a high level this season, after an up-and-down rookie year that was marred near the end by sports hernia surgery.

He has stayed healthy and confident this season, and already has started as many games (15) as he played all of last year, showing at times an improved ability to get forward into the attack. He bounced back from a poor season-opening performance at Seattle, too, as well as a midseason lull that found him on the bench for a few games.

"I really wanted to put together a complete season this year and focus on continuing to get better throughout the year and contribute to the team in some aspect, every game, throughout the entire season," he said. "And I feel like I've done that."

Now comes the tough part, though.

Team officials figure RSL must win five of its last eight games (with at least one draw, too) in order to return to the playoffs. And given the recent paucity of scoring -- two goals in the last four games -- the pressure will be on, defensively, to prevent any more outbursts like the one the Revolution enjoyed last weekend. But RSL is facing two of the three lowest-scoring teams in the league in its next two games -- Chivas and Kansas City average only about one goal per game -- and Beltran has faith that his club still can make some noise.

"We put ourselves in a tough spot here," he said. "But down this last stretch, if we can put some results together ... I believe in this team, that we can do it."

mcl@sltrib.com