But it's evidently not enough to blow up the team.
Though coach John Ellinger spoke sternly about "accountability" following another disheartening loss last weekend, general manager Steve Pastorino said Monday the team isn't planning any drastic roster changes at the moment 9 even though its record going into a U.S. Open Cup game against Virginia Beach of the USL First Division tonight is 3-9-4, exactly what it was during its excruciating inaugural season last summer.
"We felt like we make moves to make the team better" in the offseason, Pastorino said, "and I don't think we're ready to give up on that 9 even in light of the results that we're having."
Perhaps fortunately, the game tonight at Rice-Eccles Stadium won't count in the Major League Soccer standings.
Rather, it's part of an annual tournament separate from the usual league play that is open to soccer teams of all levels and meant to determine the best team in the country.
The Virginia Beach Mariners already have advanced through one round of games for the opportunity to meet RSL, which embarrassingly lost its only U.S. Open Cup game last summer to the Minnesota Thunder of the same lower-division league as the Mariners.
The winner tonight will advance to meet the Colorado Rapids on Aug. 1, but there is even more on the line for RSL.
It already planned to use many younger players and backups tonight |in |an |effort| to |give |the regulars a break during a stretch featuring eight games in 26 days. But now, after being shut out for the fourth time in six games last weekend, coach John Ellinger might be looking for a few new regulars.
Improving personnel, however, is a difficult task - especially this time of year.
The international transfer window does not open until July 15, and a separate window for MLS teams means RSL cannot negotiate with and sign players from around the world until next month - unless they're not currently under contract.
Even once the windows open, there's the complicated process of negotiating fees and contracts not only with a player, but with the league and its other owners - who under the league's "single-entity" ownership format can have a significant voice in which teams can acquire which players.
"Challenging," is how Pastorino described it.
Trades within the league are always possible, of course, but that requires giving something to get something, as well as having players in whom other teams are interested. And most player contracts became guaranteed for the rest of the season on July 1, so simply cutting a player after that date offers no salary cap relief in order to pursue a replacement. RSL vs. Virginia Beach
At Rice-Eccles Stadium
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: 700 AM, 1600 AM
Records: RSL 3-9-4, Virginia Beach 5-4-6
Series: First Meeting
About RSL: Riding a six-game winless streak, they're trying to win a U.S. Open Cup game for the first time. . . . GK Jay Nolly is among the reserve players expected to start in place of regulars. He has played only 45 scoreless minutes this season, after making five starts last season. . . . In their third-round Open Cup game last season, they gave up three goals in the final 20 minutes and extra time to lose 6-4 to the Minnesota Thunder on the road.
About the Mariners: Sitting in a three-way tie for fifth place in the 12-team USL First Division, they have won only once in their last five games. . . . F Gregory Simmonds leads the team with six goals in 15 games. . . . They have played in the U.S. Open Cup seven times, and never won more than one game. . . . They advanced to play RSL by beating the Arizona Sahuaros of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association 1-0 on a goal by Simmonds in the 74th minute.
Tonight
U.S. Open Cup
RSL vs. Virginia Beach
7 p.m. at Rice-Eccles
