This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Seattle • It has built itself from the dregs of the league into a virtual superpower, constructed a staggering playoff run that ended with a championship, and forged the longest regular-season home winning streak in Major League Soccer history.
Yet even amid all of that accomplishment, Real Salt Lake never has meaningfully stood atop the standings.
But that could all change Thursday night, when the defending MLS Cup champions take on the Seattle Sounders in a nationally televised game at Qwest Field — site of their dramatic and improbable championship victory last season. Just one point off the league lead at the moment, RSL can vault into first place with a victory, or momentarily equal co-leaders Los Angeles and Columbus if it can earn at least a draw.
"That would be a great achievement for this club," defender Robbie Russell said. "It would speak volumes for the level of improvement that has occurred."
Oh sure, RSL once led the MLS Western Conference for a few weeks a couple of years ago. And it was among seven teams that sat in a first place tie after winning their opening games this season.
But top of the table, alone … in September?
Nothing like that has ever happened to the club that continues to try to disprove the skeptics who called it a fluke championship last season, and coach Jason Kreis would love to see it —- even if the team winds up giving up the lead again when the Galaxy and Crew meet in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
"To kind of answer a lot of naysayers and what they said about us at the end of last season would be gigantic, in my opinion," Kreis said. "To say, 'Oh, you thought we were just a good team at the end of last year? We'll show you over the course of 2010 what kind of team we are.' ... So we'll handle this one with a big, big desire."
The question is whether desire will be enough.
All-star defender Jamison Olave is suspended due to yellow-card accumulation and will not make the trip, nor will forward Fabian Espindola, who has scored six goals this season but strained his left hamstring during a 1-0 home victory over New York last weekend.
Midfielder Ned Grabavoy is battling a knee injury, too, and forward Alvaro Saborio and midfielder Will Johnson are just getting back from long trips to play for their respective national teams. That will leave Kreis with something short of a first-choice lineup against a Sounders team that had been unbeaten in seven games before a 3-1 loss at New England last weekend.
"We think we've built the team the right way, and we think we have a deep team," Kreis said. "We'll have somebody else with the opportunity to step in and show what they can do."
Besides, RSL has lost only once in its last 18 league games, and the Sounders aren't in top shape.
Coach Sigi Schmid's bunch has battled injuries all season, and have no fewer than four potential starters — including midfielder Brad Evans and defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado — out with long-term problems, in addition to some other banged-up players.
The Sounders also trying to shake off what goalkeeper Kasey Keller called the "probably the worst 10 minutes we've played all year," a span in which they allowed three goals to the Revolution after taking a lead.
"They're just a hungry team," RSL's Nat Borchers said.
Say the same about RSL, which still is angling for the Supporters Shield regular-season championship and the top seed in the playoffs, even though Kreis has characterized its odds as a "long shot."
That's because while RSL and the Crew both play four of their last seven regular-season games on the road, the Galaxy have six of theirs at home — if you count their "road" game at Chivas USA, which shares the Home Depot Center with the Galaxy.
What's more, the Galaxy don't have to also juggle games in the CONCACAF Champions League, the way RSL and the Crew do.
Team officials also have calculated that RSL faces the most difficult remaining schedule, based on the average points per game of its opponents.
But that hardly means the team will quit trying, especially with a game in Seattle — where Russell fired home the penalty kick against the Galaxy to finally deliver RSL its championship last season. Kreis says his memories of that night are so strong and meaningful that he keeps a photo of the Seattle skyline as the screensaver on his computer at work.
"To win the Supporters Shield would be a fantastic thing to put in our trophy case," Borchers said. "It's one of the toughest things in sports to do, to say that you were the best team over the entire whole season. I don't think American fans really rate that as high as the MLS Cup, but I think we in the locker room do. And I think that's our goal right now — we're in contention, and we're going to fight for it until the end."
The road to the title
Three teams are within one point for the MLS Supporters Shield lead. Here's their remaining schedules*:
RSL L.A. Columbus
Week 24 at Seattle vs. Columbus at Los Angeles
Week 25 vs. Chicago vs. D.C. United vs. Seattle
Week 26 vs. Colorado vs. New York at New England
Week 27 at New England at Chivas USA vs. San Jose
Week 28 at New York at Philadelphia at Chicago
Week 29 vs. FC Dallas vs. Colorado at Toronto
Week 30 at Colorado vs. FC Dallas vs. Philadelphia
*Does not include CONCACAF Champions League games that RSL and Columbus will play. —
Real Salt Lake at Seattle
P Kickoff • 9 p.m. MDT. TV • ESPN2
Radio • 700 AM, 1600 AM, 106.1 FM
Records • RSL 12-4-7, Seattle 9-9-5
All-time series • Tied, 1-1-1
Last meeting • RSL 2, Seattle 2 (April 10, 2010)
About RSL • The defending champs lead the league with 37 goals and just 16 allowed, which is on pace to set a new league record. They already have set new single-season team records with 12 victories, 11 shutouts and 43 points, and are an amazing 11-1-6 in its last 18 regular-season league games.
About the Sounders • Forward Fredy Montero leads them with 10 goals and nine assists, and they were 5-0-2 during a seven-game unbeaten streak, before falling 3-1 at New England last weekend.