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SANDY — Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales put it best when talking about his fellow countryman, Sebastian Jaime.
He’s on fire.
“He’s scoring goals. We need him,” Morales said after a 2-0 win Wednesday night. “I think right now he’s on fire, and that’s good for us.
“You can see he’s more happy. His confidence is high. I think he is very important for the team.”
The Argentine duo of Jaime and Morales each scored a goal to help RSL knock off the Portland Timbers in a round of 16 matchup of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in front of 15,840 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Jaime’s goal, which opened the scoring, provided a spark that helped RSL tumble out of a scoreless halftime and roll past its second-straight Open Cup opponent from the Pacific Northwest.
“He’s feeling it right now,” RSL coach Jeff Cassar said of Jaime, who led all players with four shots. “He’s confident, making good runs, and guys are delivering him the ball.”
Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella made two saves to earn the shutout for RSL, which advanced to host the LA Galaxy in the quarterfinals July 14 of U.S. soccer’s longest-running national tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT at Rio Tinto Stadium.
The shutout made the win “comfortable,” something Attinella said the team hasn’t had much of in a little while.
“Getting a comfortable win is a good feeling when you haven’t had one in a while; I think our last one was New York City,” he said. “It’s been awhile since we’ve had a nice, comfortable win, and hopefully that’s something that we all start to enjoy in the locker room and we can enjoy it a little more.”
Olmes Garcia slipped a through ball to Jaime in the 54th minute to set up the game’s opening goal, and the Argentine buried it in the back of the net for his third goal in four games across all competitions.
Garcia’s assist, which Morales likened to a play performed often by Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, was a perfect example of how RSL’s offense is clicking in the current Open Cup run.
“If we could do our best not just on the field but for the team, everything is going to be all right,” Morales said. “I think tonight the team effort was great. Everyone was great. Everyone worked hard.”
Morales added a goal from the penalty spot in the 70th minute. The Argentine who donned the captain’s armband for the night stepped up to the spot after head official Jose Carlos Rivero signaled a foul against Joao Plata in the box, and buried it inside the left post past Adam Kwarasey.
Demar Phillips sprinted forward and almost bagged another one for RSL in the 59th minute with a shot from the left side, but Portland goalkeeper Kwarasey was there to make the save.
Jaime tried to add a goal just seven minutes from the end of regulation, but his shot at Kwarasey was popped up and bounced past the end line for a corner kick.
“We’ve been preaching that together, as a group, is the only way we are going to succeed,” Cassar said. “Tonight, it was a total group effort. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Attinella made both his saves in the first half, including a save on Maxi Urruti’s shot in the 13th minute as Portland looked to press early. Attinella then cleared Rodney Wallace’s follow-up attempt from the left side of the box to keep the score level through 45 minutes.
RSL out-shot the Timbers 6-3 in the first half, but Portland had the only two attempts on frame through 45 minutes. Aaron Maund had two shots off his head from RSL, including a glancing header from Morales’ free kick three minutes before halftime that sailed wide of the goal.
“Tonight, I feel like it was the most comfortable game we played all year,” Attinella said. “It’s a credit to the guys; we’ve won one game, and now we have to win a second one.
Park City-raised Sebastian Saucedo, who replaced Jaime at the start of stoppage time, found space two minutes into the extra minutes but saw his shot flutter away from the face of the goal. He followed a minute later with a fast-break into the box that forced a corner kick and helped RSL kill off the match and advance to the quarterfinals.
The youngster became the third Utah native to appear at Rio Tinto Stadium, joining Portland’s Taylor Peay (a Brighton High graduate) and former Salt Lake Community College standout Justin Braun, who played with Sacramento Republic FC against Real Monarchs in the first match of the day.
“It’s now about the Open Cup and winning a trophy,” Cassar said. “We have to win three games and we are there. We’re going to take one at a time. But it’s not about who you are playing; it’s just about getting the victory.”
REAL MONARCHS 1, SACRAMENTO 1 — At Sandy, Eti Tavares’ second-half goal helped the third-division Monarchs to a draw with the defending USL champions in the first-ever doubleheader at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Salt Lake City native Braun opened the scoring in the 27th minute, banging in a loose ball to give Sacramento (9-6-3) a 1-0 lead at halftime.
But the Monarchs (1-9-6) came back in the second half, finding the equalizer through Tavares’ left-footed shot off the far post in the 60th minute. Ricardo Velazco provided the assist on Tavares’ goal that helped the Monarchs move to 1-0-2 all-time against Sacramento.
Republic FC moved into a tie for first in USL’s Western Conference with the result.
RSL’s Chris Schuler started and played 45 minutes for the Monarchs in his rehabilitation back from knee surgery in April. The central defender put in 110 minutes with the Monarchs over the past two games, including a 2-1 loss at Arizona United SC.
