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Sandy • Write the name in the record book, all by itself.
Thanks to a lethal penalty kick from forward Alvaro Saborio just before halftime, Real Salt Lake beat the 10-man Chicago Fire 1-0 in front of 14,449 fans Saturday to break a tie with the Columbus Crew for the longest regular-season home unbeaten streak in Major League Soccer history.
The defending MLS Cup champs have not lost in 23 consecutive league games at Rio Tinto Stadium since May 16, 2009, marking their latest and biggest accomplishment since unexpectedly winning the league title last season.
"It's unbelievable that we've come from the worst to the best," midfielder Andy Williams said.
The game itself was hardly the most vibrant or dynamic — both sides seemed tired in the heat of a rare afternoon game, and the Fire played the second half a man down after a red card.
But the post-game celebration was memorable, with players parading onto the stage behind the south bleachers while the team unfurled a banner from the top of the concert scaffolding that thanked the "best fans in MLS" for their contribution to "The Reign of RSL."
"It was crazy," forward Robbie Findley said. "We didn't even really know what was going on, but all the fans were there, taking pictures and all that. It's definitely a great accomplishment."
Better still, the victory pushed RSL (13-4-8) at least momentarily into a tie with the Los Angeles Galaxy for the league lead with 47 points. L.A. then beat D.C. United late Saturday to retake the lead with 50 points. The Columbus Crew missed out on a chance to pull even with RSL when they lost at home against Seattle, 4-0.
"I always knew that this was the potential of this team," coach Jason Kreis said.
Midfielder Ned Grabavoy joined Saborio in providing the difference against the Fire, racing behind the defense in the 44th minute to latch onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Saborio and force Chicago's Wilman Conde to pull him down on the left side of the box.
Referee Jorge Gonzalez pointed to the spot, ejected Conde with his second yellow card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity, and watched Saborio clinically bury the penalty for his ninth goal of the season — all of them at home.
"It feels great," Saborio said. "It's very important for the team, for the club, and we have to look forward and keep going."
That part certainly won't be easy, with two more games next week — one of them, a CONCACAF Champions League meeting with Arabe Unido in Panama — as part of the marathon stretch featuring 14 games in 56 days.
But at least the team has plenty of accomplishments to consider while it's trying to recover.
Not only did its home unbeaten streak reach 23 games — the streak is 29 in all competitions, counting playoffs and friendlies — but RSL also extended its overall unbeaten streak to nine games, while the Fire (6-9-8) remained winless in six games and have scored only twice in their past five.
Its fifth straight shutout extended the team's shutout streak to 532 minutes, barely a half-hour shy of its 567-minute streak earlier this season.
"Sometimes, it's not the prettiest soccer," goalkeeper Nick Rimando acknowledged. "But if we continue to defend as a team, they're not going to score, they're not going to win, and we're going to at least get a point."
The Fire already were playing without injured veteran forward Brian McBride, and they seemed mostly impotent in spite of having designated players Freddie Ljungberg and Nery Castillo on the field.
So once RSL had its lead and an extra man, the result seemed all but assured.
"It's really cool" to have the record, Kreis said. "We put a lot of emphasis in it.
"We haven't shied away from our feelings about how important we think it is for our club, our coaching staff and our players. We've taken a lot of pride in it, we put a lot of weight in it, and now we get to, at least for a few minutes, celebrate it."
Storylines
R IN SHORT • Real Salt Lake claims for itself the league record with its 23-game regular-season home unbeaten streak.
KEY STAT • RSL is 17-0-3 when scoring first at Rio Tinto Stadium.
KEY MOMENT • Alvaro Saborio converts a penalty kick just before halftime, just after Chicago's Wilman Conde is sent off with his second yellow. —
Real Salt Lake's streak began in June 2009
RSL's 23-game regular-season home unbeaten streak:
June 6, 2009 • Colorado Rapids T, 1-1
June 27, 2009 • Toronto FC W, 3-0
July 3, 2009 • San Jose Earthquakes T, 1-1
July 24, 2009 • FC Dallas W, 4-2
Aug. 8, 2009 • Seattle Sounders W, 1-0
Aug. 15, 2009 • Houston Dynamo T, 0-0
Aug. 26, 2009 • Chivas USA W, 4-0
Sept. 12, 2009 • Chicago Fire T, 1-1
Oct. 14, 2009 • New York Red Bulls W, 2-0
Oct. 24, 2009 • Colorado Rapids W, 3-0
April 10, 2010 • Seattle Sounders T, 2-2
May 1, 2010 • Toronto FC W, 2-1
May 8, 2010 • Philadelphia Union W, 3-0
May 13, 2010 • Houston Dynamo W, 3-1
May 29, 2010 • Kansas City Wizards W, 4-1
June 9, 2010 • Los Angeles Galaxy W, 1-0
June 25, 2010 • San Jose Earthquakes T, 0-0
July 2, 2010 • New England RevolutionW, 5-0
July 24, 2010 • Chivas USA T, 1-1
July 31, 2010 • D.C. United W, 3-0
Aug. 14, 2010 • Columbus Crew W, 2-0
Sept. 4, 2010 • New York Red Bulls W, 1-0
Sept. 18, 2010 • Chicago Fire W, 1-0