This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Portland, Ore. » Don't bother buying plane tickets. Don't even look up ticket prices. Not yet. The Western Conference playoff picture remains as cloudy as a rain-soaked day in Portland. Real Salt Lake will have its say this 2014 MLS Cup postseason. The club assured of that with it 2-0 win over San Jose last weekend at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Where — and against which Western rival — RSL will first face in its playoff opener remains uncertain. Depending on which seed RSL finishes as it could face L.A., Seattle, Vancouver or Portland.
If RSL, currently in the No. 3 seed out West, finishes in that spot, it would face either L.A. or Seattle in the Western Conference semifinals. The two top teams out West play in back-to-back matches to close out the regular season, both knotted at 60 points a piece. RSL wouldn't face the Supporters' Shield winners, rather the No. 2 seed and host the first leg of the semifinals at Rio Tinto likely Saturday, Nov. 1.
Should fourth-place FC Dallas leap RSL over the last nine days of the regular season and finish third, RSL would host the first-round Wild Card match between the No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed — either Vancouver or Portland — likely on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Sandy.
The club is obviously gunning for the third spot to avoid the single-game elimination match and if it cements the No. 3 seed it, RSL would continue on the trend of facing either L.A. or Seattle in the postseason. RSL has faced either L.A. or Seattle in the playoffs every year since 2011.
Gil back in the starting XI
Fresh off his return from U.S. men's national team duty, 20-year-old Luis Gil received a return to the starting XI Friday in Portland. Gil has started 15 matches in 2014, while playing in 24, but has seen first-year midfielder Luke Mulholland assert his position on the outside of the diamond.
Mulholland didn't make the trip to Portland this weekend due to rest from the coaching staff.
He'd started regular-season match for RSL since July 12, starting 23 overall in his first year in Utah.
Mulholland has six goals and seven assists in 30 matches, while Gil has two goals and two assists to his credit this year.
Injury updates
Chris Schuler remains out until the postseason with several facial fractures. The 27-year-old center back suffered a broken nose and three fractures in his eye orbital bone in a collision with fellow center back Nat Borchers in a 1-0 loss at Chivas USA on Oct. 5.
RSL coach Jeff Cassar said Schuler was fitted for a protective mask this week and that his defender will remain in training while the proper course of healing takes place.
Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, who played through a painful ankle injury against San Jose last weekend, is available off the bench as Nick Rimando returns to start after going the full 90 for the USMNT in a 1-1 draw with Honduras Tuesday in Boca Raton, Fla.
Twitter: @chriskamrani