CONCACAF remains carrot in RSL future

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

As bat crazy as the 2011 season has been for Real Salt Lake, there's no reason to believe it can't win the last two regular-season games and have a successful playoff run.Why not? No one could have predicted what else has happened in 2011."Our backs are against the wall," RSL coach Jason Kreis said Tuesday. "[We need] points out of both our last two game if we want to control our own destiny and finish third in our conference."Third place in the Western Conference, as well as having the third-best point total in Major League Soccer, combined with an appearance in the MLS Cup final means another shot at CONCACAF Champions League."It's time to fight, time to put up or shut up," Kreis said. Seattle won the U.S. Open Cup while the L.A. Galaxy clinched the Supporters Shield, giving both automatic berths into CONCACAF. That leaves the door open for RSL, should it turn around this four-game losing streak, beginning Friday at Colorado at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.