SANDY — Javier Morales continued his lethal finishing again Friday night.

Morales and Joao Plata each scored a goal for the second-straight match to help Real Salt Lake beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 in front of 20,809 fans on Pioneer Day at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The 35-year-old Argentine midfielder weaved through four defenders in the 34th minute before ripping a right-footed shot inside the upper 90 and past a diving former teammate in Tim Melia to help RSL finish July with four wins, the most wins in a single month since November 2013, when the club was running through the MLS Cup playoffs en route to the final in Kansas City, Kansas.

Second-half substitute Benny Feilhaber equalized from distance just five minutes into the second half, ripping a shot from 30 yards out into the top corner. The recent snub from Jurgen Klinsmann's Gold Cup roster barely flinched as Luke Mulholland's space allowed for a shot that sailed over half of RSL's roster and just under the crossbar to level the match at 1-1.

Joao Plata pulled the hosts ahead again on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute.

Here are a few quick thoughts from RSL's fourth win in July.

Morales is a wonder

Morales' run at goal came courtesy of a little dogged determination, some fancy footwork — and Sporting Kansas City's lack of usual defensive bite. A team that lost center back Aurelien Collin in the offseason was also playing without three regular starters, though U.S. international Matt Besler was one of the defenders beat on the goal.

Still, every week it seems the Argentine does something that catches attention — even scoring the MLS goal of the week last Saturday in a 2-0 win over Houston. Morales' aptitude for scoring goals at a high degree of difficulty seems to be matched only by his lethal finishing qualities — he's scored a team-best five goals on nine shots on target in 2015.

"Talk about an MVP candidate," RSL goalkeeper Jeff Attinella said of Morales. "I know there are a lot of guys getting a lot of attention. But with what Javi's doing this year, the fact that he's not an all-star is a crime. He's having an unbelievable year and hopefully everyone is starting to realize it."

Plata continues his run of form

When Alvaro Saborio was traded to D.C. United last week, the responsibility of penalty kicks fell to Morales, who has also worn the captain's armband in the absence of Kyle Beckerman.

Last Saturday, Morales told Plata to take a close-range free kick to try to help the Ecuadorian score his first goal of the season. The pint-sized striker missed that effort, but scored his first goal of 2015 just a few minutes later.

On Pioneer Day, Morales pointed to Plata to take a penalty kick after Melia charged off his line and earned a yellow card while cleaning out substitute Olmes Garcia on a dangerous counterattack in the 72nd minute.

Plata stepped to the spot, converted on a perfectly placed ball inside the left post, and RSL went ahead for the second time of the match with a 2-1 lead.

"Like I always say, I don't care about who scores goals or makes assist," Morales said. "I care about winning games. He has confidence, and I think he's needed it. He scored the last game, and now he's scoring good. I need him playing that well."

Confidence is a funny thing among forwards, but with goals in back-to-back games, Plata — who missed most of the first half of the season following a foot injury on the first day of training — is getting back to his 13-goal, six-assist self from 2014.

Feilhaber deserves to be a part of the national team

For some unknowable reason to anyone but Jurgen Klinsmann, the Sporting Kansas City midfielder hasn't been a part of the U.S. men's national team for the better part of a year.

The 30-year-old Feilhaber showed he still has quality left in him, with seven goals and 10 assists in MLS play in 2015. Feilhaber's goal just five minutes after his halftime substitution pulled Kansas City level, and nearly gave the Midwest side a point on the road in a rivalry that has flared up since the 2013 MLS Cup final.

It was the kind of goal RSL could give up plenty, if it doesn't catch itself.

"I think we are doing a lot of the right things. But we can't stop to pat ourselves on the back or anything," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "What we need to do is just keep staying the course, doing what is successful for us right now, and that's having a unified team with everybody working hard, playing defense and offense.

"We have to stay level-headed through the stretch we have coming up."

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