Font ResizeSandy » Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman has a lot of experience playing in Major League Soccer conference finals.
Just not much of it good.
Not only was Beckerman a part of last season's painful 1-0 home loss to New York, but the 10-year veteran and team captain was on the losing side of four other conference finals -- two with the defunct Miami Fusion in 2000 and 2001 and two with the Colorado Rapids in 2005 and 2006.
"I've been lucky to be in those spots so many times," he said.
Needless to say, Beckerman hopes he can finally break through to the MLS Cup championship game with RSL, when it plays the Chicago Fire in the MLS Eastern Conference final at Toyota Park on Saturday. He figures this represents one of his best chances to ultimately hoist a trophy.
"The first year, the second season I was in Miami, I thought we were going to do it, for sure," he recalled. "And then last year. The other two were kind of -- it was an iffy team in Colorado and we just happened to go on a run. ... This one feels a little different."
Good situation
Coach Jason Kreis said on a conference call that he's encouraged by the pending addition of local real-estate developer Dell Loy Hansen as a co-owner of the team.
"It's a good situation," he said.
Kreis said there's "no question" the team could use the improvements that
Packed house
Count goalkeeper Nick Rimando among the RSL players who were elated to see a wild sellout crowd at Toyota Park for the Fire's last game -- something that figures to be repeated Saturday.
"It was great," he said. "That's what this league needs. It was perfect. I think if that game was here, we'd have some similarities. But I think it's great. This team thrives on our competition and fans like that and the pressure. ... It's cool to go into a place like that and see their fans, and if you can be victorious, it [adds] a little bit more to get them on their home field."
