Unbeaten RSL looking for more after hot start


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With four of its first six matches played on the road, Real Salt Lake players, coaches and front office personnel could be forgiven if they expected a slow start to the season, waiting to "ease in" to the summer months — when the team will face more opponents at the friendlier Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy.

In six weeks, though, those concerns appear unfounded.

RSL became the only unbeaten team remaining in Major League Soccer after a tie with the Philadelphia Union in the sixth week, improving to a 2-0-4 record with only two home matches to date. That record includes significant results from a win at Los Angeles and draws at San Jose, Kansas City and Philadelphia.

“It says that we have a lot of fight, a lot of pride in our play right now, and I think we are going to get better and that is what really is exciting,” RSL head coach Jeff Cassar told reporters after Saturday’s 2-2 draw at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. “We are not playing our best soccer right now, but we’re still getting results, and that is up to me to get the guys going.”

RSL hadn’t conceded a goal since March 22 to the L.A. Galaxy before giving up two to the Union. The four games since included shutouts against two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams in Toronto FC and Sporting Kansas City.

The solid start has the newcomers feeling good alongside the team’s veterans, and the quick initiation of young talent has been a factor in the season.

“I think it shows that we are a hard team to beat, even though that is possibly two points dropped because we have taken the lead so late on,” said RSL midfielder Luke Mulholland, who scored the second goal of his first season with the team Saturday. “It just shows our expectations that we have for the whole season.”

The unbeaten record isn’t all roses. There were several instances of RSL dropping points against teams it lead for long stretches — even if it was on the road. A 2-1 lead on the Union’s home field led to a 90th-minute goal by U.S. international Maurice Edu that salvaged a draw for the home team.

“In a way, I’m a bit disappointed we did not get the three points — getting the lead twice and on the road,” Mulholland added. “It’s a proud feeling we are still undefeated. Obviously, at the same time looking at it, taking the lead twice it would have been nice to get all of those three points.”

Indeed, closing out games and keeping last-minute goals off the board will be a focus for RSL and its first-year head coach.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Cassar said after the Union draw. “It looked like there were two tough teams out there competing extremely hard, and we just have to do a better job of focusing and closing out games.”

With 28 matches still to play on the schedule, a little motivation to get better isn’t such a bad thing for RSL. Too much satisfaction leads to contentment, and that can be a dangerous thing only six weeks into the season.

“I feel like this group expects a lot,” veteran midfielder Ned Grabavoy said Saturday. “Our expectations are very high, from our coaching staff on down to our players. We think that we can go most places, play soccer and win games. We have been putting ourselves in great positions to do that; we have won a few and we have let a few slip away for ties. But I still feel we can clean some of these things up — and it is early in the season.” Sean is a recent journalism graduate of Syracuse University who covers Real Salt Lake and soccer in Utah for KSL.com. Follow him on Twitter @GoaldotSean.

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