RSL end magical season with MLS Cup

Posted Saturday, December 26, 2009 by MLSnet.com

Salt Lake caps move to top by winning first Anschutz Trophy

Once they claimed the 2009 MLS Cup as their own, Real Salt Lake came full circle during a sometimes turbulent season.

RSL went from a team touted as one of the top Western Conference teams in the preseason to a group seemingly on the verge of not even making the playoffs in just a few months. When Real finally put together an amazing run to claim the eighth seed in the MLS Cup Playoffs and finally emerge as league champions, it ironically served to validate the early hype surrounding the club.

Through the struggles on the road and inconsistent stretches of play, however, RSL players and coaches never relinquished their belief they could put it all together when it came time to do so. Real coach Jason Kreis said his team never felt like the underdog at any point in the season.

"I guess that's the image that was portrayed and a lot of people feel that way about us," Kreis said. "But, inside the locker room, we were never a Cinderella team. Inside the locker room, we've been favorites all along."

RSL began its 2009 MLS campaign being predicted in national and local soccer media as a viable contender for a Western Conference championship. Things seemed to be right on track when a 6-0 drubbing of New England at Rio Tinto Stadium left the Claret-and-Cobalt with a 3-2 overall record and looking seemingly invincible.

Any aura of invincibility faded amid a seven-game winless streak that left RSL grasping at straws to avoid sinking to the Western Conference cellar. Ironically, Salt Lake snapped out of its funk with a 2-0 road victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy in mid-June. The result came after a switch to a 4-3-3 formation that RSL employed for several months and a renewed commitment to sound defense.

Getting a positive result at that point meant everything in Salt Lake's quest to turn things around.

"This feels a little better because we've really been down to the depths of despair," Kreis said, a few days after that key victory. "To see a result like that: hard-fought, well-deserved, on the road -- everything that went into that game is gratifying."

The first major highlight of the season came with the arrival of the 2009 MLS All-Star Game. Not only did RSL get to host the event in the pristine Rio Tinto Stadium, but three Real midfielders were selected to the all-star team roster.

Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales were selected with picks reserved for MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Will Johnson later joined up with the team as an injury replacement.

While appeasing the local soccer fans played a factor in the selections, the trio of midfielders validated those selections with standout efforts before and after the All-Star Game.

"It's a good reward for the guys," Beckerman said shortly after the all-star team selections from RSL were announced. "It's one of our strong points in Real. It's something we're really proud of. It's an honor for anybody to get on this team."

As the final month of the regular season approached, it appeared the wheels had fallen off RSL's wagon for good after road losses to FC Dallas and Houston. Real had surrendered decisive goals within the first 10 minutes in both games.

Going into October, RSL counted on needing to win all three remaining games -- at home against New York and Colorado and on the road against Toronto -- just to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for a second consecutive year. Real got an important 2-0 victory over the Red Bulls, but fell short against TFC with a 1-0 loss.

Still, RSL kept going and closed the season with a 3-0 victory over Colorado. Remarkably everything went the team's way and the results around the league that weekend paved the way for Salt Lake to return to the playoffs.

It was a big moment of validation to a team that refused to give up on its season.

"The one thing that sticks out in my mind more than anything is how we managed to stay together and really keep believing when everybody else didn't believe in us any more," Johnson said.

Entering the playoffs as an eighth seed made RSL an immediate underdog. Salt Lake drew the defending league champs Columbus in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Claret-and-Cobalt appeared headed for a scoreless draw in the first leg until Robbie Findley delivered an ice-breaking goal in the 88th minute. Going on the road with a 1-0 lead offered a big confidence boost to RSL.

The Crew started the second leg running out to a 2-0 lead. But RSL chipped away at the margin and took back the lead on aggregate when Findley connected on a penalty kick. Salt Lake would go on to score a major upset with a 3-2 second leg victory over Columbus that boosted it into the Eastern Conference Final.

That next game against Chicago mirrored what was ahead for RSL when it battled the Fire to a shootout after 120 scoreless minutes. Salt Lake needed a pair of fantastic saves from Nick Rimando to set up the winning penalty kick from Ned Grabavoy -- who came on as the seventh kicker for Salt Lake in the shootout.

Suddenly, RSL was a step away from claiming the MLS Cup for itself. They also had a favorable draw among title game opponents. Real had beaten the Galaxy on the road and earned a draw with them at home. Because of that, the team felt confident of their chances -- especially since they were once again an underdog going into the championship match.

"We had nothing to lose, so that was the mentality we had going in there," Findley said. "All the pressure was on the Galaxy. We went in and did the same thing we've done for the past month -- play our game and just focus on ourselves, really."

Mike Magee latched onto a nicely served ball set up by Landon Donovan and David Beckham to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute. But Findley came up with a crucial equalizer in the 64th minute and Salt Lake clamped down on Los Angeles the rest of the way.

Once again, everything came down to a shootout. Once again, RSL slotted home the winning penalty kick after a big save by Rimando -- with Robbie Russell doing the honors this time around.

Seeing the joy in the faces of his teammates was a priceless moment for Russell because they had earned the top prize in MLS by traveling a long, hard road.

"Maybe it makes it sweeter," Russell said. "I don't how it would feel like any other way. Getting a championship is always great. But we had to fight a little bit harder for it and it makes it that much more worthwhile."

Now that the 2009 season is a part of history, RSL intends to validate its surprise championship run with an even stronger showing in 2010.

Most of the team's key contributors should return, so Real Salt Lake believe this season will be the start of something bigger. The Claret-and-Cobalt have lofty goals for next year -- chief among them defending their league crown.

"We're just starting to scratch the surface of this team," Beckerman said. "This is a big moment for our team and I think this is going to help us a lot to move forward and really get better and really make Salt Lake a team that is always consistently good."