This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Major League Soccer math is working well for Real Salt Lake.
Having survived a five-game road stretch with two victories, RSL is ahead of the curve in the MLS standings in multiple ways. Real has the dual advantages of more home games to come than everybody else in the Western Conference — and more games, period.
RSL is third in the West, a remarkable position considering how the team has played only four of 13 games at Rio Tinto Stadium. And based on points per game, RSL ranks second.
These guys might be good.
"We are in a really good position. … I think that we have the best to come in this second half of the season," coach Jeff Cassar said Thursday after a 3-2 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium.
The official halfway point of RSL's regular season is four games away, but the completion of the road-heavy schedule is a definite checkpoint. The installation of a new field at Rio Tinto Stadium has kept the team away from home for a long time, yet RSL hardly could have asked for better results in this period.
MLS road teams always talk about being satisfied to earn a point for a tie. So with wins at Sporting Kansas City and NYCFC, Real did better than the equivalent of five ties on the trip.
The team now has a chance to capitalize on a favorable schedule at home, where Real has won all four games this season. Six of RSL's next eight league games and 13 of the remaining 21 contests will be played at the RioT, beginning June 18 vs. Portland (following a June 14 game vs. Wilmington in the U.S. Open Cup).
RSL is allowed to have some big ambitions, at this point. Colorado has 28 points to RSL's 23, having played one more game. FC Dallas also has 28 points, having played three more games. So two wins in those three extra games would lift RSL above Dallas in the standings.
The conservative viewpoint is that RSL is four points ahead of Portland for the last playoff spot, having played two fewer games than the defending champion Timbers. That's a good sign, a year after Real missed the playoffs. But this team has earned the right to look at the teams above it, not those below.
Twitter: @tribkurt