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Seattle • The collective mood was quiet. Not angry or capricious, but solemn. When you drop a high-profile match on the road to one of your rivals on a last-gasp attempt the way Real Salt Lake did Friday, it's natural to be introspective.

So as RSL players and coaches made for the exits at CenturyLink Field late Friday, a few were asked about the 3-2 loss to Major League Soccer's current top team, the Seattle Sounders.

Some shouldered blame. Others noted that breaks go one team's way and that other times, you're on the short end of the stick. RSL coach Jeff Cassar said he found some positives, saying that before going down to 10 men in the 68th minute, his team was more often than not controlling the pace.

"We could have done more than that," Cassar said. "We need to get better at that and managing the game."

Despite providing the initial punch and taking its first lead at Seattle in over two years, RSL fell victim to the Sounders' strengths in the counter-attack.

Forwards Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey found space, as they usually do, and provided threatening chances. Martins scored Seattle's second goal and out-paced Nat Borchers for a one-on-one ball that resulted in Borchers pulling Martins down outside the box and being shown a straight red card.

Before Borchers was sent off, RSL showed it can hang with Seattle in Seattle. But midfielder Javier Moralea — who notched his first career goals as well as an assist Friday — harped heavily on details after the match.

"Those mistakes, little mistakes, we have to figure it out, because it's the end of the season and it can't happen," he said. "When that happened tonight, we lost the game."

Against the league's best team and on the road in an almost singularly hostile environment at CenturyLink Field, being clinical with possession is the ideal way to keep the Sounders' attack from running rampant.

"The way we feel is, the best way to defend [the Sounders] is when we actually have the ball," captain Kyle Beckerman said.

"So the times we did, we can keep them quiet, but they're always dangerous on the counter."

Now eight points behind Seattle in the Western Conference, RSL turns its focus to Colorado, which entering Saturday's match against Portland, has lost seven straight.

"It's time to regroup," Cassar said. "We've got an extremely strong locker room. I think, for sure, our focus will be great this week. It's about getting rest for some guys and getting fit for others. It's about taking care of business at home." —

Colorado at RSL

O Friday, 8 p.m.

TV • NBC Sports