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Sandy • The goal was unassisted, they said.
There had hardly been time to blink after the second-half whistle when Robbie Findley had smashed a shot at Seattle goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, and the rebound had fallen to a red jersey. The player put his boot to the ball and it made its way back to Findley, who beat Gspurning to give Real Salt Lake a 2-0 lead over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night.
Unassisted.
But, of course, Alvaro Saborio would find his way to make his mark.
The Costa Rican striker, making his first appearance in RSL's starting lineup in more than two months, was eventually credited with the assist as he played all 90 minutes in the victory.
"Pleased to have him back," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "I thought he was really sharp on the ball. Made some good decisions with his passes. Got around pretty darn well. Worked hard for the team."
Saborio's last start for his club came April 20, a 1-0 home win over Chivas USA. The striker injured his quad and didn't reappear until he came on as a substitute against the Chicago Fire on May 25.
Saborio scored a goal in that game, a 1-1 draw, but injured himself in the process.
He played 90 minutes for Costa Rica on Tuesday, flew back to Utah on Wednesday and trained with his club twice before getting the starting nod on Saturday night.
"It's great to have him out there," midfielder Ned Grabavoy said. "When he's healthy it's always good. We'd like to use him in as many games as we can."
Saborio nearly got on the scoreboard himself in the 78th minute, when he got on the end of a cross into the box. But the forward's shot from close range went straight at Gspurning.
In the 87th minute, Saborio headed a cross inches wide of the goal.
"We're pleased," Kreis said. "Obviously, he's probably not so pleased because he feels like he has to score all the time. I don't. He was a major contributor to the success the team had."