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SANDY -- Real Salt Lake got a big win Saturday night against Toronto FC, 3-1, with a huge contribution from returning International Duty player Alvaro Saborio who scored two of RSL's goals.
"The contribution that Alvaro made for us tonight was hugely important for us, probably more important for him. I think we're both going to be benefactors of that, certainly in tonight's game and hopefully in games going forward," said Head Coach Jason Kreis.
Kreis also focused on how good the win was for RSL, not only in points, but also in confidence and lifting them out of the slump they've been in. Since losing playmaker Javier Morales to injury, Kreis admitted that they've had some "ups and downs along the way," but remains hopeful that it's beginning to turn around.
I think we labeled this one a must win game and it definitely was.
–Nat Borchers
"I feel like the last three matches we've started to gain some momentum," said Kreis. "Even though we haven't gained all the points that we would have wanted along the way, I still feel like we've started to gain momentum and I'm hopeful this is the one that's going to put us over the top and give everybody a ton of confidence going forward."
RSL defender Nat Borchers, who scored RSL's other goal against Toronto, agreed with Kreis and said they can take away some confidence with the win.
"I think we labeled this one a must win game and it definitely was," said Borchers. "I think if we would have come out of this game with an entire loss we would've been looking at ourselves in the mirror and asking a lot of questions so I think we're very happy with this result and we can move forward with some confidence."
RSL captain and midfielder Kyle Beckerman also thinks this win helped and is a start to bringing their team back up.
"I don't think we're out of the water yet, but it was a good result, something we needed, good for some confidence, but we still have a ways to go and have a ton more games," said Beckerman. "I think we've been playing a little bit better these past couple games and so that, plus the addition of Sabo back really helped us out tonight."
RSL only gets two days rest before hitting the field again as they will be a host to the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, June 28 and will face the Wilmington Hammerheads.
Kreis touched on the fact that because his roster has seen so much action in the last week, fans may get to see some new faces on the field for Tuesday's match, but is still not sure what the roster will be like. "I think that we have a deep team, I've felt that a long time and it may be time for some other players to step in and contribute."
After the U.S. Open Cup match Tuesday, RSL won't return to Rio Tinto for their usual weekend match, but will hit the field on Monday, July 4 as they host the New England Revolution. The first 10,000 fans will receive an RSL poster courtesy of Sports Med Utah.
