This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Sandy • Finally, Real Salt Lake scored again on Saturday night.
Unfortunately for the team, however, its first goal in more than three games came as small consolation in a rain-soaked and short-handed 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders that snapped its 29-game regular-season unbeaten streak at Rio Tinto Stadium and sent it spiraling to new depths of discouragement.
"You can try to spin it however you want," midfielder Will Johnson said. "Down a man and all that stuff. But at the end of the season, when you look back, no one's going to remember that, they'll just remember you lost the game."
Suddenly, the team that nearly reached the FIFA Club World Cup a month ago has lost three times in its last six games — counting the CONCACAF Champions League final — and twice at home, where it hadn't fallen in nearly two years.
One big reason?
Defender Jamison Olave was ejected with a red card in the 58th minute for dragging down Seattle's Mike Fucito at the edge of the box to deny a goal-scoring opportunity, leaving RSL down a man for the final half-hour.
Coach Jason Kreis said "there's a case to be made" that referee Mark Kadlecik should not have ejected Olave, because fellow defender Nat Borchers was nearby and in position to make a play. That would have meant that Fucito was not denied a clear scoring chance.
"Different referee tonight, and that's a yellow card," Kreis said.
Nevertheless, the ejection changed everything, and the Sounders punished RSL quickly after what had been its strong start to the second half — effectively plundering any confidence the team might have earned from taking its first point ever at FC Dallas last weekend.
Seattle's Patrick Ianni tapped home a corner kick that took a deflection off teammate Fredy Montero after Nate Jaqua headed it down in the box in the 71st minute, snapping RSL's shutout streak at 409 minutes.
Lamar Neagle then added the insurance goal in the 84th minute a wondrous shot from distance, before RSL's Nelson Gonzalez pulled one back in the 88th to finally snap his team's scoreless streak at 271 minutes. Until then, goalkeeper Kasey Keller had been perfectly positioned to stop every RSL opportunity.
"I'm happy with the fight and the spirit," Kreis said, noting that RSL created plenty of chances and nearly equalized in the dying moments. "Very disappointed with the result."
Yet Kreis also said again that not everybody is pulling his weight.
In praising forward Fabian Espindola, who created several dangerous opportunities for RSL in his first start since the Champions League loss to Monterrey, the coach said "we've got too many guys that are OK with letting somebody else do the job or take the responsibility or have the final pass or take the shot. We need more guys to step up and say, 'I'm going to do it.'"
The sooner the better, too.
The team plays six games in June, when several top players will be gone on international duty at the Gold Cup.
It's so short-handed at forward because of injuries and absences that it started defensive midfielder Jean Alexandre at that position against the Sounders, and still hasn't found a reliable way to play without injured playmaker Javier Morales. It has several games in hand against the other top teams in the MLS Western Conference but has managed just a 1-2-2 record since its 4-0-0 start.
"It kind of feels like we can't get a bounce to go our way," midfielder Ned Grabavoy said.
Storylines
R IN SHORT • The Seattle Sounders snap RSL's 29-game regular-season home unbeaten streak.
KEY STAT • Goalkeeper Kasey Keller saves five of RSL's six shots on goal.
KEY MOMENT • Jamison Olave is ejected with a red card for dragging down Seattle's Mike Fucito in the 58th minute.