Real Salt Lake will look to rebound quickly from its most lopsided defeat in team history as the team returns home for the most important home stand this year. RSL’s two home games this week will go a long way toward determining its playoff chances; it plays host to the L.A. Galaxy tonight and the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
L.A. and RSL enter today’s match with identical 8-11-5 records, good for 29 points and a tie for fifth place in the Western Conference. Each team is also just three points behind fourth-place Colorado for the final playoff spot. Second-place Houston is a mere six points ahead of both RSL and L.A., making every one of the last eight games chock full of playoff implications.
L.A. holds a 2-1 edge over RSL in the season series this year. RSL would need to win tonight’s match to ensure itself the tiebreaker in the event that the teams end up tied for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West. An RSL victory would square-up the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head record, and a victory would give RSL the advantage in the second, which is goal differential in head-to-head matches. Both teams have scored and allowed exactly five goals in their three matches this season.
An RSL victory and a Colorado loss to FC Dallas tonight will tie RSL and Colorado in points for the fourth playoff spot, and RSL currently holds the tiebreaker as the teams have combined for a 1-1-1 record against each other-but RSL has outscored the Rapids 5-2 this season.
Looking past L.A. would be a huge mistake for RSL because L.A.’s confidence has to be at a season-high after its match with D.C. United on Saturday.
L.A. traveled to Washington, D.C. last week and did something that no other team in MLS has been able to do this year-beat D.C. United in RFK stadium. The Galaxy not only handed United its third loss of the season, but L.A. scored more goals in that match than D.C. has allowed in any two of its other matches, routing the top team in the East, 5-2.
Conversely, Real Salt Lake is coming off its worst outing in team history as the New York Red Bulls blanked RSL 6-0 Saturday night. Despite the horrific loss, the team’s confidence is still riding high. The team has compiled a 4-1-1 record in the last month and a 5-2-2 record since going on the team’s second six-game winless streak this year.
L.A. has enjoyed its own stretch of excellent play, going 3-1-1 over the past month and 6-1-2 in its last nine. During those stretches, both L.A. and RSL made a lot of ground in the standings, yielding a very interesting playoff race down the stretch.
The L.A. Galaxy features two of the most well-known players to have played on the U.S. National team in recent history. Cobi Jones has appeared in more U.S. National matches than any other player with 164. Jones has also spent his entire MLS career with the L.A. Galaxy. Jones joined the Galaxy in MLS’s inaugural season and has been an integral part of the growing interest in U.S. club soccer.
Landon Donovan is arguably the most recognizable name in U.S. soccer today. Although he has yet to turn into the goal scorer that Jeff Cunningham and Ante Razov are, he still leads the team in goals with seven, even after missing part of the season participating in the World Cup in Germany. Donovan has started to pick things up as of late, scoring three goals in the last two matches for the Galaxy.
Even with the perpetually dangerous Donovan on the field, L.A. does not present the dangerous offense that one might expect. The Galaxy is last in goals scored in the Western Conference, but has managed to stay in the playoff hunt by allowing the fewest goals out of the six teams in the West.
Notes: Scott Garlick rejoins the team after a one-game absence for accumulating his fifth yellow card two weeks ago against Houston?The road has been very friendly to L.A. this season: L.A. has earned the majority of its points on the road with a very respectable 5-6-2 road record.
Kamil KrzaczynskiRSL forward Jeff Cunningham gets a leg up on Houston defender Dwayne De Rosario during RSL’s 3-1 win over the DynamoAug. 19 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. RSL faces the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday night as both teams look to gain ground in the Western Conference playoff race.
Kamil KrzaczynskiRecently acquired defender Jack Stewart wins a header during RSL’s Aug. 19 meeting at Rice-Eccles Stadium. RSL won that game 3-1 but dropped a 6-0 decision to the New York Bulls o Saturday night.