Real Salt Lake serious about MLS Cup bid

'Experienced' Claret-and-Cobalt looking beyond first round

RSL isn't apologetic about drawing the envy and complaints of other teams in the league. The Claret-and-Cobalt are not just happy to simply be playing the No. 1 seed Columbus Crew this week and next. RSL has much bigger aspirations in play than simply making a postseason appearance.

Real are looking to mount a run at claiming the MLS Cup as their own.

"We've been here," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "We're one year older and more experienced. We know we can get past the first round -- we've done it."

RSL earned what head coach Jason Kreis described as "a second life" with a 3-0 victory over Colorado to end the regular season. Given how strongly Salt Lake has performed against its last two MLS opponents at Rio Tinto Stadium, opening at its home venue could play into the team's advantage going into the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series with the Crew.

Overall, RSL has scored 23 more goals than its opponents in home games this season. In its last four MLS home matches, Salt Lake has outscored opposing teams 10-1.

"We're strong, we're confident and we play our best soccer when we're at our home," goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "We don't get enough credit for what we do in the back, but those stats right there show the whole league when they come to our house, it's going to be difficult."

Of course, Columbus could present the most significant challenge of any opponent RSL has hosted at Rio Tinto Stadium recently.

The Crew have shown themselves to be one of the better road teams in MLS play during 2009, posting a 4-5-6 record away from their home stadium. One reason for such consistency is a collection of world class talent peppered throughout the team's starting 11.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto, last year's league MVP, produced 12 goals and three assists during the regular season to lead Columbus on offense. At midfield, Robbie Rogers is one of the league's better talents and got a great deal of seasoning from his stints with the U.S. national team this year.

Defensively, the Crew rely on two more U.S national team players in Chad Marshall and Frankie Hejduk to anchor a backline as formidable when it comes to shutting down opposing teams as RSL. Columbus gave up just 31 goals this season -- a tally that ranked third among MLS teams.

RSL dispatched Columbus convincingly at home during the regular season and lost just as convincingly on the Crew's home field. Real coach Jason Kreis hopes the team can apply some lessons from those games to get consistently positive results in both legs of the series.

Kreis thinks the one thing that will be different in facing the defending league champs in the postseason is that RSL is no newcomer to postseason success itself. He believes his players can draw on what they did to advance to the Western Conference Championship a year ago to help them do well against Columbus this time around.

"That was the first time this team had been in the playoffs and it was a very positive experience," Kreis said. "So I think that we can really glean some confidence off of that."

One thing that has helped RSL get to this point has been standout play from unexpected sources. Robbie Findley scored a pair of goals in last weekend's victory against Colorado after going from a starter to a reserve for multiple games late in the season. Andy Williams, a player who rarely saw significant playing time for much of the season, played a huge role in the team's last two home wins against New York and the Rapids.

Kreis points to their strong outings of evidence of how much more depth and balance the team has shown this year.

"This season we've seen more contributions from more players than I think we saw last season," Kreis said. "For me that's the perfect setup. That's the way a team should be. Everybody should feel like they contribute and everybody should be ready to contribute when they're called upon."

Kreis will have a full arsenal of options to choose from on Saturday. RSL is dealing with no serious injuries and only reserve midfielder Ned Grabavoy is questionable as he recovers from a bout with the flu.

John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com.

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