This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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 • Stability, once the the bedrock of Real Salt Lake, vanished in 2015. So did RSL's accustomed place in the upper tier of the league and an appearance in the MLS Cup playoffs.
The trick now for the front office is to ensure the dip is a minor bump in the road, not the beginning of a longer decline.
"Part of me doesn't feel like I should be in the offseason," right back Tony Beltran said. "It's just a very strange kind of state of flux. Still coming to grips with that. I'm going to have to."
What happened? The numbers tell the story.
In terms of goals scored, RSL produced fewer of them than any time since 2007 — a year in which RSL mustered just 31 in a 30-game season. In 2015, RSL scored 38 in a 34-game season. The club also conceded goals in the bunches, too, giving up 48 goals, the most since 2006. That tallies up to 1.4 goals per game.
At times the defense porous — RSL conceded at least three goals seven times this year. And the attack was anemic — RSL was held scoreless 14 times in 34 regular-season games. That equates to shutouts in 41 percent of the team's games.
For a team that was picked to again contend for an MLS Cup — RSL got 12-1 odds to win it at the beginning of the season — that translates into a problems in a lot of places:
Defensive woes
Owner Dell Loy Hansen and coach Jeff Cassar crooned after RSL reacquired former center back Jamison Olave last December. Between Olave and Chris Schuler, they said, RSL would have the most physically-imposing central defense in MLS. On paper? Sure. But the two injury-prone defenders only started five games together, which eventually led to all six center backs on the roster seeing time.
Schuler started five league games following a torn meniscus and later a foot fracture. Aaron Maund became a regular, starting 21 matches. Defensive lapses cost RSL points throughout the season as new, young players struggled to integrate quickly. Central defense must be the focal point of RSL's offseason.
Problems up front
What was considered the strength of the club going into 2015 floundered. Between six strikers, RSL's forward corps scored 19 goals. Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco (22 goals), Columbus's Kei Kamara (22) and the L.A. Galaxy's Robbie Keane (20) all had more by themselves than RSL's group as a whole.
Alvaro Saborio aged, and the temperamental Costa Rican was shipped to D.C. United at midseason. Joao Plata, after a breakout 2014, was injured for half of the season. Sebastian Jaime had one hot streak, but couldn't sustain consistency, thought the addition of Burrito Martinez in August was a plus. The 30-year-old Argentine now has an offseason to adapt to life in MLS.
Missing veterans
In bidding farewell to Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Ned Grabavoy and Robbie Findley during the offseason, RSL lost over 1,000 combined MLS games worth of experience. The MLS Expansion Draft forced the changes, but losing those veterans proved irreplaceable for a much younger, inexperienced RSL. No one was missed more than Borchers, who started 31 games during his first season in Portland. In a transition year, one can wonder how RSL would have fared had one or two of those veterans stuck around.
Formation adrift
RSL's move from their diamond formation to the 4-3-3 during the preseason made headlines across the league. The change was met with trepidation from captain Kyle Beckerman. But losing Plata for four months due to a foot fracture on the first day of preseason may have doomed the change from the start. RSL couldn't replace Plata's output at the outside forward spot, but the coaching staff still stuck with the approach. It didn't work. RSL was shut out in seven of its first 15 games and lost defensive stability when Beckerman left for the Gold Cup in early June.
Consistency lost
Pulling off 15 wins and 50 points for five straight years is a feat. This season, RSL never pieced together a three-game winning streak in league play.
For the first time since 2009, the club failed to win at least 10 home matches and lost at least 10 matches away from Rio Tinto Stadium. RSL was also shut out six times at home in 2015. The formation change, roster turnover and making deep runs in U.S. Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League took a toll on league play. RSL finished with minus-10 goal differential, tied for third-worst in MLS.
Javier Morales, despite another stellar season with eight goals and 12 assists, said RSL must come to grips with its lost season. Following next week's exit meetings, the players will scatter for an offseason that came much earlier than the previous seven.
"We couldn't do it," Morales said. "Now we have to go home."
Nick Rimando said he'll remember 2015 as the year RSL didn't have a say in the playoffs.
"Some of the losses this year were ties the previous years and some of the ties were wins," he said. "This year didn't amount that way. I think the fans deserve more."
Twitter: @chriskamrani