This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • Plenty — seriously, plenty — transpired in the previous seven months and 14 days since Real Salt Lake last walked off a field the victors.
The Chicago Cubs broke a 108-year-old curse and won a World Series. Donald Trump assumed the big seat behind the desk inside the Oval Office. Landon Donovan returned from retirement, only to hang up the cleats once again. Jurgen Klinsmann was shown the door after five years heading the U.S. men's national team. Even RSL coach Jeff Cassar himself was ousted after three-plus seasons on the job.
It'd been a while. An excruciatingly long while.
But that 13-game winless streak spanning the last two months of 2016 and the first two months of 2017 came to a merciful end in a 3-0 win on a snowy, dismal night in Sandy against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
RSL (1-3-2, five points), for the first time in 226 days, didn't trudge toward the locker room in frustration. Players applauded the home crowd that stuck through the flurries and frigid temperatures with three points in their pocket.
Finally.
"Eventually the gates open for you and you can get your wins," midfielder Luke Mulholland said.
The win also snapped the longest winless streak — six matches between 2016 and 2017 — in Rio Tinto Stadium history in Mike Petke's debut as RSL's head coach.
Getting off the schneid offered undoubtedly a unique night in Sandy. The spring storm that rolled in early in the first half slowly morphed from a steady downpour to swirling snow. Referee Baldomero Toledo eventually had to call for snow-shovel breaks in the second half as the snow accumulated.
"Soccer kind of goes out the window," Petke said. "Every pass is slowed up. It looks like you're making a snowman that builds snow on the ball."
The weather didn't seem to bother Albert Rusnák all that much.
It was RSL's new Designated Player, its prized offseason signing, who delivered with a goal and two assists.
In a full whiteout, Rusnák slalomed through Vancouver defenders down the center of the field after running onto a pass from Joao Plata. Rusnák took his time after cutting back inside the box and fired the orange ball into the near post, beating Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted to give RSL a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.
Rusnák's stellar night continued as snow pelted Rio Tinto.
The Slovakian midfielder picked out Yura Movsisyan unmarked running down the center of the field. Movsisyan took a slight touch around Vancouver center back Kendall Waston and curled a right-footed shot into the net as the ball pinged off the post and in. The goal was Movsisyan's third of 2017 and it gave RSL a 2-0 lead in the 74th minute.
"I think he's still getting used to the league," Movsisyan said of Rusnák, "so I think that today was just a little bit of what he could do. Especially if he does that in this weather, imagine what he would on a beautiful day."
Four minutes later, Rusnák's corner was volleyed in from close range by Mulholland, ensuring not only that the rout was on, but the goal also served as an exclamation mark to the end of RSL's dreaded streak.
"These conditions today have definitely been the craziest that I've ever played in," Rusnák said.
When he walked into his first postgame press conference as head coach, Petke jokingly shivered. Asked what he'd remember most about what turned out to be a memorable night, RSL's new head coach said, "My toes are frostbitten and I had to have my pants tumble-dried at halftime. Those are the things that I remember. Oh, and the 3-0 win. I remember that, too."
Twitter: @chrisåkamrani —
Storylines
R RSL snaps 13-game winless streak spanning 2016 and 2017.
• Albert Rusnák notches his first goal in MLS and adds two assists.
• In his first match as head coach, Mike Petke leads RSL to its first win of the year.