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Show Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 Page 7 Wednesday Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com REAL SALT LAKE SUPPORTERS pull a banner around Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy during a match against Sporting Kansas City, Sept. 17. RSL won the match, 1-0. TODD JONES photo Real Salt Lake is the real deal SPENCER WRIGHT staff writer Real Salt Lake's 2011 season has been anything but consistent — red hot and ice cold. They've appeared to be in form and unstoppable for much of the season, then they've also looked dreadfully out of form and inept. Real has been at the top of the Western Conference table, and has also been at the bottom — from international competition finalist to supposed MLS has-been. The team has continued to fight through inconsistency and managed to secure an automatic berth, for the fourth season in a row, in the upcoming 2011 MLS Playoffs. Real Salt Lake has gone from being the perennial cellar dwellers in its first three seasons to perennial powerhouse in the last three. In 2008, RSL made it all the way to the MLS Cup semi-finals. In 2009, RSL squeaked into the playoffs and then went on to win the MLS Cup. The momentum from the 2009 season carried over into 2010, when RSL set a club record with 15 wins and made it to the playoffs again, but this time got knocked out in the quarterfinals. Things were looking promising going into the 2011 season despite a playoff defeat. Coming off two great seasons, the team is fighting for a spot in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Champions League finals. This is North and Central America's premier club competition. The 2011 season couldn't have started much better for Real. It went through the month of March and the beginning of April undefeated, winning four straight, including a 4-1 thrashing of the current Western Conference leader Los Angeles Galaxy and a win over the defending MLS Champion Colorado Rapids. Real Salt Lake also dominated the champions league in addition to a great start to the MLS season. They defeated the Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew, 4-0, after surviving a grueling group stage, on aggregate in the quarterfinals and followed that up with an impressive performance against Costa Rican champions Deportivo Saprissa, in the semifinals. A win in the finals meant Real Salt Lake would become just the third team in U.S. history to be crowned CONCACAF cham- pions league winners. After battling for a 2-2 draw against Mexican power Monterrey on foreign turf in the first leg, RSL looked to have the top hand coming back for the second leg, with an 18-game unbeaten streak at home. Real needed a 1-1 draw or a win to earn the cup. Monterrey, however, had different plans and, after scoring just before halftime, was able to hold RSL scoreless, to come away with a 1-0 win and the champions league title. The season, which started off great, went straight downhill. Wins, which at one point were so easily attained, later came few and very far between. The team, which looked unbeatable to begin the season, now looked vulnerable all over the pitch. After picking up 12 points in its first four matches, it was only able to pick up 11 points in the following nine games. Not only that, but RSL also lost star midfielder Javier Morales to injury, in a match against Chivas USA May 7, just 10 days after the loss to Monterrey. The Argentine's right ankle was broken after a vicious tackle from Chivas USA. The team's form and place oj> See REAL, Page 8 No luck in three losses BY TYLER HUSKINSON assistant sports editor Utah State head coach Gary Andersen does not believe in h|ck. Some have called the three close losses the Aggies have suffered this season bad luck, but Andersen said he doesn't buy into it. He does buy into "playmakers" making plays in key situations, and said he believes it will be needed more than ever in the remaining games of the season. "It is not luck," Andersen said. "I'm not a real believer in luck on either way, bad luck or good luck, I just don't believe in it. I don't think our kids believe in it. Like I said before, it is not a curse, it is not a secret graveyard out there that is causing us to have problems, or whatever. "I have heard it all, I have got all the email, I have got all the information on all that stuff, and I don't believe any of it. That is where I sit. We need to find a way to be able to create. If you want to call it luck, then we have got to create luck. We have got to make a p]^y to make that happen, and at that point you have obviously prepared for that situation, and that doesn't make it lucky." Andersen said he will be re-evaluating every aspect of the program to evaluate if there is AGGIE HEAD COACH GARY ANDERSEN looks on after Utah State's lastsecond 27-24 loss to Brigham Young University Sept 30, in Provo. TODD JONES photo any way to improve the team. "What you do is you have to look at yourself — see if there is something you can do to make it better," Andersen said. "You have got to look at the kids and see if there is something you can help them do better, and you have got to look at your coaches and see if there is something they can do better. We will tweak a few things." Several of the Aggies' losses have come down to the last play and resulted in their inability to move the ball. A first down in the final minutes against BYU could have guaranteed a win, and a converted two-point attempt against Colorado State could have guaranteed a win there as well. Despite the disheartening losses, Andersen said his team remains positive and confident. "The one thing I would say is they understand now, and I believe this, that they believe they can play with anybody from a physicality standpoint. I think they believe they can play with anybody in any stadium," Andersen said. "Is that satisfaction? I can't say that is the ultimate satisfaction, but it does help them go prepare for the next game — them understanding we can beat anybody we play, if we take care of our business." The players are taking the schedule one game at a time and know their goals are still within reach — especially the goal of reaching a bowl game. "We set those goals, and they are still within reach," said senior tight end Tarren Lloyd. "The only way I can really relate it is to' Rocky, he kept getting knocked down round after round, and Coach always relates us to boxing and how we need to go into every round ready to fight. That is kind of the way I have been looking at it. Rocky got knocked down, but he came back again. Obviously, everyone knows what happens when you watch those Rocky movies." USU's schedule does not get any easier, with games against Wyoming, Fresno State and Hawaii coming up, and finishing will be even more of a focus. USU has only trailed for a combined 12 minutes and 45 seconds, in games it has lost. "It is not real easy, it hasn't been easy to this point, and it is not going to be real easy," Andersen said. "We have got our work cut out for us so we have got to find a way to finish, because we are not going to walk into games and say this thing is over in the third quarter, and away we go. They are going to be dog fights all the way through for a long period of time coming at us." - ty.d.hus@aggiemaiiusu.edu |