This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Snowflakes were falling today during RSL's final training session before meeting Monterrey in the decisive second leg of their Champions League finals series, but the spirits were clearly high during a free-spirited session that concluded with penalty-kick practice that was closed to the media."The guys seem relaxed and ready to roll," coach Jason Kreis said. "The guys have been loose and relaxed and feeling confident for many, many weeks now, so it's no surprise to me."With easily the largest group of reporters ever to attend an RSL practice scribbling away, the coach and his players said they remain confident heading into the biggest game in team history at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday night — the stadium is sold-out — but cautioned that they still have a big challenge against a Monterrey team that they expect to come out flying in search of desperately needed goals."They do such a good job of coming at you with a lot of numbers, guys running through all over," defender Chris Wingert said. "So the biggest key is communication, as best we can, and then following runners. And if they do get in behind us, [we need] to just have a good reaction and try to get there and close it down as soon as possible."To win the tournament and advance to the FIFA Club World Cup later this year, RSL needs to either beat Monterrey or draw 0-0 or 1-1 — a good-looking prospect, considering RSL has played 20 straight home games without allowing more than one goal.It's also 7-0-3 in home games the last two years when playing without midfielder Kyle Beckerman, who's suspended for the game for caution accumulation.However, an RSL loss or a draw higher than 3-3 sends Monterrey through, and a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes would force a 30-minute overtime and then penalty kicks, if necessary.Speaking of penalties …Coach Kreis said he likes to have a broad idea about his potential penalty-kick takers heading into the game, but doesn't finalize his list until just before a penalty phase, in part because "it comes down to who you kind of think is 'in the moment,' who looks fresh out there and who is ready for those high-pressure situations."Then somebody asked about goalkeeper Nick Rimando facing penalties."Too many questions about penalties right now," Kreis responded, jokingly.Clearly, he wants to take care of business before it comes to that."It's going to take all of 90 minutes," he said, "and it may take 120 or penalties. And we need to be prepared for that. We need to be focused for every single second, and every single minute of this match."