RSL hopeful 5-match homestand changes fortunes


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SANDY — Real Salt Lake returned to Utah following last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at the L.A. Galaxy having earned one win in its previous six contests in all competitions.

Each observer might give a different reason for the team’s struggles over the past month: injuries, referees’ decisions, international absences, lack of scoring or inefficiency in front of the goal, or a combination of many reasons. Some of them can be controlled by Real Salt Lake (7-4-7, 28 points); others, not so much.

One thing that affects most of these reasons is the schedule.

Only two of RSL’s past seven games in all competitions have been played at Rio Tinto Stadium, and it’s small wonder the squad went 1-5-1 in that time frame. Looking to change its fortunes, the team now faces five of its next six matches in Salt Lake City, and all six in the Mountain time zone.

It’s a great time to pick up some lost points as RSL seeks to make up ground on the league-leading Seattle Sounders (12-4-2, 38 points).

RSL hopeful 5-match homestand changes fortunes
Photo: File photo

“There’s definitely added interest at getting points right now, given our situation,” RSL defender Nat Borchers said after practice Tuesday. “The fact that we haven’t got as many points as we wanted to in the last five or six games, I think when you are on a stretch like this, it’s so important to stay injury-free, make sure you are doing all the right things on and off the field and really focus on the homestand.”

RSL’s only loss at home came June 7, a 3-1 victory for the Portland Timbers. While several draws have felt like home losses, the team still sits in second place in the Western Conference and in prime position for the playoffs — though only seven points sit between it and the eighth- place Timbers.

Staying home has plenty of advantages, aside from 20,500 capacity crowds at RSL’s home venue. The players have lives and families around Salt Lake City, such as Borchers’ newborn son and team captain Kyle Beckerman’s newlywed wife.

“It’s just the comfort,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. “Obviously the guys get to spend the night in their beds, with their families, prepare with the meals they normally do. It’s comfortable.”

In RSL’s lone road match before Aug. 16, when the homestand ends, the team will make the short trip across the Rocky Mountains for a rivalry match with the Colorado Rapids.

The first home match comes quick, though: Saturday’s clash with Vancouver, which stole a point on the road with a 2-2 draw on April 26.

“This is a time where you can really started to gain some momentum and pick up some points in a hurry,” Cassar said. “They are going to be tough games, first with Vancouver, and with them playing midweek, we’ll have to come out with a lot of energy and passion. With our home crowd behind us, it should be a nice match for us.”

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Sean Walker

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