Has RSL regained its swagger?

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Is Real Salt Lake back to its early form? When RSL was losing 4 of 5, the players and coaches insisted that the team had been playing good soccer at times. RSL was bitten by mental and physical lapses at the worst times, including the loss at Toronto.Yet, there was a spark missing, too."That was a tough time we went through," RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said moments following Salt Lake's big — can you say really big — 2-1 win at Seattle on Saturday. "We learned some stuff from it. We felt our soccer was getting better."To its credit, RSL kept pushing. The result was three straight wins, including two on the road. Right now, Real Salt, more than ever resembles the team that nearly won the CONCACAF Champions League.RSL is also getting a few breaks and bounces it didn't get during its lull. Did anyone expect Kasey Keller to make such a gaffe as the one that led to the first RSL goal?And it is common knowledge that Nick Rimando is one of MLS' top goal keepers. He's smart, but he really used his head Saturday, deflecting a point-blank shot off his face.RSL is now sitting just one point out of the automatic bid zone in the Western Conference with a home game Saturday against Sporting KC."Now we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel," Beckerman said.