This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • Referee Jorge Gonzalez took a peek at his watch and then blew his whistle. Once the first second ticked onto the scoreboard at Rio Tinto Stadium, it made history for the face of Real Salt Lake.
Kyle Beckerman, the feisty, dreadlocked linchpin of RSL success the last decade, broke Major League Soccer's record for most regular-season appearances by a field player.
Saturday night's start against FC Dallas was the 33-year-old's 379th regular-season appearance in his 17th season in MLS.
Beckerman moved past former New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston, whom he tied at 378 Wednesday against the Portland Timbers. Ralston played 15 season in MLS, starting out his career with the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny from 1996 to 2001 before heading to New England, where he'd play the final nine years of his career.
Acquired by RSL in July 2007, Beckerman quickly transitioned from loathed rival as part of the Colorado Rapids to team captain and the eventual identity of RSL. This year is his ninth at RSL and Beckerman is an eight-time MLS All-Star. Last summer, he started all three group stage matches at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and has been a mainstay on the U.S. men's national team under coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Of Beckerman's 379 regular-season appearances, 350 have been starts. In nine seasons at RSL, he's made 261 appearances.
Strain sidelines Plata
Striker Joao Plata missed Saturday's regular-season home finale against due to a left adductor strain suffered in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Portland.
The 23-year-old Ecuadorian forward missed the first four months of the season due to a foot fracture. He's scored four goals and has four assists in 19 games in 2015.
No Rimando, Jaime
or Mulholland
RSL coach Jeff Cassar rested three regulars ahead of Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League group-stage finale. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando, forward Sebastian Jaime and midfielder Luke Mulholland were all coach's decisions Saturday night against FC Dallas. Jeff Attinella, Devon Sandoval and John Stertzer were tabbed as replacements in the RSL starting lineup.
Twitter: @chriskamrani