This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy
Anyone involved with Real Salt Lake during this decade would trade last Saturday's victory at Sporting Kansas City for a more favorable outcome in the 2013 MLS Cup final in the same venue.
With no such choice available, RSL will take the 2-1 win and everything that comes with it. The practical benefit is three points in the standings, as Real tries to keep from falling too far down in the demanding Western Conference. The perception gains might be more important.
That performance alters the way all of us view this team, doesn't it? Since the franchise's seven-year run of making the Major League Soccer playoffs ended in October, all kinds of questions have dogged RSL. And then a team significantly weakened by injuries and suspensions went on the road and took down one of the league's best clubs, in one of the toughest environments in MLS.
The entire RSL operation needed that victory, from owner Dell Loy Hansen to general manager Craig Waibel to coach Jeff Cassar to a bunch of players trying to establish themselves on the team. This market came to expect consistent success from the franchise's former administration and personnel.
Everybody around here, and justifiably so, has wondered where this team was headed in 2016 and beyond. And now there are signs of a positive direction and a developing identity. Cassar suddenly looks like he knows what he's doing, and he likes the way his team is playing, with solid defense and a counter-attacking offense. And here's the best part, theoretically: "This is sustainable," he said.
RSL veteran defender Tony Beltran said an interesting thing after the victory, observing how it was not so much a case of what the team learned about itself, but more about what it showed the rest of the world. The players "wanted to make that statement," Beltran said Tuesday, when RSL returned to practice.
The signature play of the fill-in crew was the first career goal for Justen Glad, and he was among several reserves who "not only stepped in, but stepped in and came through," Cassar said. "That's what we talk about: It's not just getting the opportunities, but what do you do with these opportunities you get?"
The standings answer that question. Having played three of four games on the road, RSL (2-0-2) has eight points, trailing only FC Dallas with 10 (having played five games) and previously unbeaten Sporting KC with nine. This is where it gets jumbled: Los Angeles, Colorado Vancouver and San Jose all have seven points, illustrating the West's depth.
So who would have imagined that defending champion Portland would be ninth and former RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey's Seattle team would be 10th? Those developments are more weird than RSL's standing third, never mind that more than six months of soccer are ahead of everybody.
Even crazier is the recognition that if not for stoppage time, RSL would be 4-0. In each of three road games, the team has held a 2-0 lead and twice settled for ties, partly explained by red-card personnel losses. "You can see how we've been able to finish games when we have 11 people out on the field," Cassar said.
Now comes a critical rest of the month for RSL. Because of field installation at Rio Tinto Stadium, the team will be gone for all of May. That scheduling quirk means Real must create some cushion for itself in the standings with a strong April. Saturday's meeting with rival Colorado is one of three home appearances in the next four games, and RSL must capitalize at the RioT, making it "the fortress that it once was," Cassar said.
That's almost a lyrical comment from a coach who already has moved on from last weekend's road success, knowing his team has to follow through at home. RSL's start is "excellent, obviously," Cassar said. "But if we don't take care of business at home, it doesn't do any good."
And after last season, this team needs all the goodness it can get.
Twitter: @tribkurt