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The timing is less-than-ideal, but Real Salt Lake will have to make the best of it. There's really no other alternative. On Monday, the club said goodbye to five players who departed for national-team duties for at least the next week.
To make matters worse, the injury bug has briefly resurfaced for RSL, a club entrenched in the stretch run of a heated playoff race. Having now suffered back-to-back losses at Vancouver and at Chivas USA, the pressure will only intensify with just three games remaining in the regular season.
And a playoff berth is yet to be solidified. A win over Chivas Sunday would have punched RSL's seventh-straight ticket to the MLS Cup postseason, but the 1-0 loss kept fourth-place FC Dallas — still one point behind RSL — within sniffing distance of third place.
Who exactly plays this weekend against the San Jose Earthquakes will be a main talking point. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando and midfielder Luis Gil — two of six representatives within Major League Soccer — were summoned by U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann for Friday's friendly against Ecuador in East Hartford, Connecticut. There they'll see RSL compatriot Joao Plata — the club's leading scorer in 2014 with 13 goals — who was called in by Ecuador. On top of that, all-time leading scorer Alvaro Saborio is off with the Costa Rican national team for a friendly at Oman on Oct. 10, and homegrown defender Carlos Salcedo headed to Mexico for his fourth appearance with the Mexican U-21's this year.
To pile on, center back Chris Schuler likely suffered a broken nose and potentially more facial fractures when he collided with teammate Nat Borchers in the first half of Sunday's loss. His timetable for return is unknown.
Outside back Tony Beltran continues to work his way back from a herniated disc suffered in training two weeks ago. Throw in midfielder Javier Morales, suspended for the match against the Earthquakes due to yellow-card accumulation, and the task facing coach Jeff Cassar and his staff promises to be trickier than usual.
"No matter who plays, we've got to respond," RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said. "We have a home game. … I'd expect our response is going to be pretty strong. No matter who's on the field, we just go to get out and get a win."
Without Plata, Saborio, Morales, Gil, Salcedo and likely Schuler, RSL will take the field without 70 percent of its goal production in 2014. Those six players have combined to score 35 of the club's 50 goals through 32 matches.
"We just need to play good soccer," Cassar said. "There's going to be an opportunity for a lot of players to step up — and we're going to need everyone."
What appeared to be a relatively breezy final five games has turned into back-to-back road struggles that have kept teams closer than expected —teams RSL once had quite a bit of distance on.
Borchers said after the loss Sunday that the club has to find a way to earn six points in its last two home outings of the year in order to stay out of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 playoff match-up.
"We have three games left," Borchers said. "We've got to take care of business at home. If we can do that, we'll be in a good situation."
Twitter@ chriskamrani —
San Jose at RSL
P Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
TV: CW30