This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • Kyle Beckerman's first goal might have been a fortunate accident.
His second of the night, however, left no room for doubt.
The Real Salt Lake captain's brace helped give his team a 4-0 victory over the Columbus Crew before a crowd of 18,398 at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night.
Real Salt Lake had seen the seems in Columbus' defense most of the night. But even as RSL controlled possession and provided a few dangerous moments, it wasn't until the dying moments of the first half that the team finally broke through.
Javier Morales teed up a free kick from about 25 yards out, blasting a shot toward the wall waiting in the box. The ball took a fortunate deflection off Beckerman, changed direction, and left Columbus goalkeeper Matt Lampson with nothing else to do but pick it up in the back of the net.
In the 89th minute, Beckerman struck again, slamming a shot past Lampson to ice the game.
The goal was the 48th for RSL this season, breaking the franchise record of 46 set a year ago, and with seven games left to play on the year.
In the 51st minute, Olmes Garcia put a ball in the box , and all rookie Devon Sandoval had to do was tap it in to double RSL's lead. RSL midfielder Luis Gil also notched a goal in the win.