Game of the Week

My game of the week for this week is Toronto FC @ Columbus Crew, Saturday at 2:00 PM.  I am excited because this is going to be a game that I will be able to watch because the Real game does not start until 830.  

Well, the things that I will be looking for is to see if Toronto can continue to be impressive against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Columbus.  I was not able to watch a lot of the Toronto game against Kansas City, so I do not know how well the team is playing.  Columbus looked pretty good against Houston, and fought hard to get a point in that game.  

Let me know what you think about this game, and what some other games that interest you are.

Seeing how there are no games on Thursday, tomorrow we will look at some other games in the MLS, because I did not get to that yesterday.

RSL Recap

Well, the preseason ended on a positive note on Saturday, with RSL beating USL-1 Division team Austin Aztex 3-1.  

RSL scored on goals by Jamison Olave, Yura Movsisyan, and Javier Morales.  

RSL took the lead in the 35th minute of play following a header by Olave.  RSL then gave up a goal on a corner kick in the 72 minute, and that tied the game 1-1.

Continuing in their form from last year, RSL waited until the very end to put the game away.  Movsisyan put a beautiful header in the back of the net to give RSL the 2-1, and Morales put the game away in stoppage time on a break away goal, to finalize the score 3-1.

It was a very good game, and it was great that RSL put on this open house for all of the fans to enjoy the new stadium.  

RSL Preview, GotW Recap

Game of the Week Recap

Well, it was a real treat to be able to watch the newest team in the MLS, the Seattle Sounders.  They definitely have a good thing going in Seattle, and the amount of crowd support they had was unreal.  The fans were also treated to a very good game, and it looks like Seattle has worked hard to get a team that compete from day one.

Seattle surprised me and got a 3-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls.  Freddy Montero impressed me the most, as he scored 2 goals for Seattle.  Kasey Keller was strong in goal, getting a couple of pretty good saves, but he was not tested very often.  

Seattle was able to accomplish in one day what it took RSL 3 1/2 years to do, and that is being in first place in the West.  RSL has never won their season opener, which will hopefully change next saturday.

RSL Preview

RSL vs. Austin Aztex

Saturday, March 21, 1:00 PM

Rio Tinto Stadium

Seeing how there are now 15 teams in the MLS this year, one team has a bye each week, and this week it is RSL.  I think this is good because this gives us an extra week to prepare, and we can look at what Seattle did this week.  RSL did a good thing for the fans in giving us a preseason game to go to, so that we can feel like the season is beginning as well.

The game will be played against the Austin Aztex, from the USL-1 division.  Austin is an expansion team to the USL-1, so the only thing I know about them is from preseason play.  In the last game they played, Austin lost to the Columbus Crew 1-0.

Here are some interesting things to look at.  

Kyle Brown, who was a member of RSL in 2007 is currently playing for Austin.  Another player to look out for will be Gifton Noel-Williams, who has had experience playing in Europe for Stoke City.

It will be interesting to see who RSL puts out on the field.  I expect to see depth on the field, but I think that the club will go with the first team to begin the game to get a feel for what they can do together.

Guys, come out to the game.  It is free, and will be a great chance to see our club in action for the first time in 2009

Week 1 Game of the Week

Every week on view from the north goal, we will be looking at a game in the MLS that interests me the most. Keep in mind that this will not be an RSL game, as every time RSL plays is the highlight of the week. This is to help the fans learn a little bit about some of the other games that are being played, and it gives them something to watch out for.
So, here is my game of the week for Week 1


New York Red Bulls @ Seattle Sounders
March 19, 2009 7:00 PM

This is the first game of the 2009 MLS Regular Season. This is going to be the first game for the Seattle Sounders, and we will also get to see the defending "Western Conference Champions" New York Red Bulls.

The New York Red Bulls are lead by Columbian Juan Pablo Angel, who is one of the candidates for MVP this year. Angel is brillian with the ball, as well as with his head. He is the leader of their attack. With the addition of Khano Smith from New England, expect the Red Bulls to have more control in the midfield. It also seems that Danny Cepero will continue in goal in place of Jon Conway, who is still serving his league suspension for performance enhancing drugs. New York was considered to be the "Cinderella Story" in the MLS Playoffs, and it will be interesting to see how they come out to start 2009
For Seattle, this is going to be a great way to see how they have put a team together. They start out strong in net, with U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller in goal. I have heard great things about Forward Freddy Montero, and I an interested to see how he performs in his first game of the MLS. I also heard that DP Fredy Ljunberg can possible play in this match, and I am interested to see what he can bring to this club. Former RSL player Nathan Sturgis is now playing for Seattle. He was a player that had a lot of potential, but was plagued by injuries.
I think this is going to be an exciting game, and I think the crowd in Seattle is going to make this a great experience.
Check back after the game tomorrow to hear my thoughts on the game.

MLS Week 1

Thursday March 19

New York Red Bulls @ Seattle Sounders FC  7:00 PM

Saturday March 21

Columbus Crew @ Houston Dynamo  6 PM

Chicago Fire @ FC Dallas  6:30 Pm

Toronto Fire FC @ Kansas City Wizards  6:30 PM

Colorado Rapids @ Chivas USA  8:30 Pm

New England Revolution @ San Jose Earthquakes  8:30 PM

Sunday March 22

D.C. United @ Los Angeles Galaxy  1PM

(All Times Mountain Time)

Also on Saturday, March 21 RSL will play an exhibition game vs Austin from the USL-1 league.  The game will be at Rio Tinto Stadium.  Admission is free to the public, gates open at 11 am, kick off is at 1 pm.

This first week of games is a pretty interesting week.  We get to see the New expansion club Seattle Sounders kick off the season on Thursday night(ESPN).  Seeing how RSL will be in Seattle the following week, that is going to be an interesting match to watch.  On Saturday, we get to see the defending MLS Champions Columbus Crew take on the Western powerhouse Houston Dynamo(Fox Soccer Channel). We will see how the Dynamo can play without Dwayne DeRosario.  The other match on Saturday that intrigues me is to see Colorado and Chivas play(Fox Soccer Channel).  Those will be two teams that we will be competing with for a playoff spot this year.  On Sunday, we get to see two fallen clubs of the MLS, as D.C. United takes on the Los Angeles Galaxy(TeleFutura).  LA will be without David Beckham until July, so we can see how that will affect the club.  Will DC United be able to become one of the premier clubs of the MLS? 

Check back tomorrow as we will look at the MLS Game of the Week.

MLS 2009 Season

Well everybody, the 2009 MLS Season is here.  I cannot believe it has finally come.  Well, this year promises to be a good year, and I believe that we have a pretty good team to compete for the MLS Cup.

Well, now that there are going to be games being played, here is how the blog will look on a week to week basis.

Monday- List of all the MLS games, what to watch for

Tuesday- Game of the Week (Other than RSL Game)

Wednesday- Preview of MLS Primetime Thursday

Thursday- Recap of the MLS Primetime Thursday Game

Friday- RSL Preview

Saturday- Recap of all the games, standings, etc.

Now, this schedule is subject to change as the games will not always land on these dates.  As the games change dates, I will make adjustments to the schedule.

Top 10 COUNTDOWN: #1

Well, we are at number 1 in the Top 10 Countdown, which means that the 2009 MLS Season is next weekend.  I cannot wait, and I will have a full preview coming up.

RSl @ Colorado Rapids

October 25, 2008

RSL 1-1 Colorado

Well, even though I was not at the game, this has to be number one on this years list, and I think that it is possibly number 1 in the history of Real games.  Now, this was not the best game that RSL played, but it is one of the few games that sticks into my memory.

First of all, the instances surrounding the game were huge.  RSL needed only a tie, and they were in the playoffs for the first time in their history.  Colorado needed a win in order to make the playoffs.  As if that wasn't enough, the Rocky Mountain Cup was also on the line.

We went over to our friends house, Tim and Nikki, in order to watch the game.  It was great watching it with other people. 

RSL played very poorly.  You could tell that they were pretty much playing for a tie throughout the game.  Colorado scored in about the 25th minute, a Conner Casey goal, that put Colorado ahead 1-0.  Well, we all thought, there is still plenty of time left to go.  

Well, the time kept ticking away, and the dream of making the playoffs were slipping.  I could not believe it.  We were so close this year to making it.  Well, after some good play by RSL, Yura Movsisyan scored a goal in the 90th minute, and that send the whole room into chaos.  I was screaming and jumping up and down.  I couldn't sit for the last 4 minutes of stoppage time, and when the final whistle blew, I could not believe it.  We were in the playoffs! What a great game, with a great finish.  

Well, lets hope that 2009 brings us some great RSL games, and lets continue or winning ways.  See you on Saturday.

RSL Carolina Cup Champions

Well, RSL played Toronto FC for the Carolina Cup, and I was able to see RSL play for the first time, although it was only for about 30 minutes.  RSL looked great, and I am so excited for the season to get under way.  

RSL scored in the 5th minute, as Yura Movsisyan scored after a beautiful long ball by Javi Morales.  RSL continued to score in the 20th minute, as Clint Mathis scored following a lot of hard work by Robbie Findly.  

RSL did concede a goal to Toronto before the half, but they stayed strong, and prevailed 2-1 to take home the Carolina Cup.  

Out of 4 possible trophies this year (Carolina Cup, Rocky Mountain Cup, U.S. Open Cup, and MLS Cup) we are 1 for 1.  Lets continue the winning ways.

Top 10 COUNTDOWN: #2

RSL vs. Chivas USA

November 1, 2008

RSL 1-0 Chivas

Well, you might think what could have been better than going to the Western Conference Finals, which was number 3 on our countdown.  Well, I don't think that I was more excited to go to any game than I was to go to the very first playoff game for RSL.  I remember buying my tickets for this game, and my friend and I decided to splurge a little bit and get us some tickets on the sideline for this historic game.  We bought the tickets right after we had beaten FC Dallas at home.  We still had to go to Colorado, but we were pretty confident we could get a result there.  

Well, this was a great game to be at.  There were plenty of Chivas USA fans there, and they came with their fireworks and smoke bombs, ready to have a good time.  I do think though that a lot of fans cheering for Chivas USA were actually Chivas Mexico fans, they just like anything that has Chivas in it.

Well, the first half had a couple of chances, with no goals, and that was the same situation for pretty much most of the second half.  Now this was the first game of a two game series, where the two teams play a home and home series, and they go on aggregate goals, meaning they combine the two games.  Seeing how we started at home, we really wanted to have an advantage going to Chivas next week.  Well, in the 90th minute, we had our miracle worker (read more about him next week) Yura Movsisyan put a ball in the back of the net to give RSL the 1-0 advantage.  I remember that I just lost it when Yura scored.  We had been standing for the last 15 minutes or so, and the stadium erupted with the goal.  The unbelievable was happening for us again.  It was one of my greatest moments as a Real Salt Lake fan.

While the second leg of this series did not make the top ten, Real went to play chivas in the second leg, where they tied 2-2, and RSL won the series 3-2 on aggregate to go to the Western Conference Finals.

RSL vs. DC United Recap

Well, RSL kicked of the Carolina Challenge Cup in a good way, beating DC United 3-0 on Saturday.  While I was only able to follow live updates from the RSL blog, it seemed the RSL was the better of the two sides, but they went into the half tied 0-0.  RSL then saw goals in the 49th minute by Escalada, the 76th minute by Movsisyan, and the 89th minute by Andy Williams.  

In the other game, Toronto FC beat the host club Charleston Battery by a score of 2-1.

Standings

                      PTS   W   L   D   GF   GA   GD

RSL                    3     1    0    0    3       0      3

Toronto             3     1    0    0    2       1       1 

Charleston        0     0    1    0    1       2      -1

DC United        0     0    1    0     0      3      -3

RSL vs. DC United

RSL take on their first MLS opponent in MLS Preseason action as they take on DC United tonight at 3:00 MST.  You can check out live updates on www.rsltothecore.com  This is the first match as part of the Carolina Cup.  Check back later for an update on the game.

RSL Watch Party

Hey there everybody. I am getting the MLS Direct Kick package this year. I think Aubrey is finally sick of me whining about the quality of the computer screen, as well as me always being up in the office on game days instead of down socializing with her.
Well, on Saturday, March 28th, I will be having a watch party to kick off the first RSL game of the season. The game will be at 8:30 PM, as Real will be taking on the new expansion team, Seattle Sounders.
Let me know if you want information on coming. Hope to see as many people there as we can.

Champions League Recap

Well, the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Leage wrapped up yesterday, and there were definately some suprises in the games.
The all mexican quartefinal between Cruz Azul and Pumas ended with Cruz Azul winning 2-0 with the goal aggregate.
The lone MLS squad, Houston, lost to Atlante 3-0 in the second leg after drawing in Houston, and they were eliminated 4-1.
USL squad Puerto Rico Islanders continued their suprise run in the Champions League by knocking of Maraton to advance to the semis
The game that I want to talk about was between the Montreal Impact and Santos Laguna. Montreal had a great home game, winning 2-0, and putting themselves in a great position to advance to the semi-finals. In Mexico, they gave up a quick goal in the 15th minute, but they still led 2-1 in goal aggregate. Following a huge defensive mistake by Santos, Montreal was able to equalize, and go up 3-1 aggregate, and they got an away goal. (With away goals, even if the game is tied at the end of the two games, whoever scores the most away goals will win.) This meant that Santos had to win this game, as a tie would cause them to lose on away goals. Well, Montreal bettered their position by scoring another goal before the half, leading 4-1 on aggregate. All they needed to do was not allow Santos to score 4 goals in the second half, and they would be in the Semis.
Well, Santos was able to get two goals back to make it 4-3 going into the 90th minute. They continued to press, and scored the two goals they needed, winning the series 5-4 on aggregate, and shocking the Montreal Impact.
Now, being an RSL fan, I have had many let downs as our team has given away leads late in the game, but I have never seen anything like this, and I cannot imagine what the fans and players must have felt like following the loss.

RSL Preaseason

For those of you who have been wondering about what has been happening with RSL in the preseason, sorry that I have failed to post.  RSL has completed their second trip for training, and are getting ready to go to Charleston, South Carolina, as they will be playing in the Carolina Challenge cup, with DC United, Toronto FC, and the USL's Charleston Battery.

Here is a recap of the RSL preseason so far:

RSL 0-0 Ventura County Fusion

RSL 8-0 Shandon Lueng Taishan (China)

RSL 2-0 University of South Florida

RSL 4-0 University of Tampa

RSL 1-2 BK Hacken (Sweeden)

So, RSL has a preseason record of 3-1-1, and have outscored opponents 15-2

The leading goal scorers for RSL throughout the preseason are 

Yura Movsisyan 3

Tino Nunez 2

Will Johnson 2

Alex Nimo 2

Luis Miguel Escalada 2

Arthur Aghasyan 1

Clint Mathis 1

I will provide game to game updates from here on out, as we get ready to open up the regular season.  So, the next preseason game is Saturday, March 7th against DC United.  Kickoff will be at 3:00 Mountain Time.  Go RSL

Top 10 COUNTDOWN: #3

RSL vs. New York Red Bulls

November 15, 2008

RSL 0-1 NYRB

Well, this is the only game on the countdown where RSL lost, but this was a great game, and a great experience.  This was the Western Conference Finals, which RSL was able to host.  The atmosphere at the stadium was unbelievable.  It was a sold-out crowd, with the fans standing on their feet for the entire second half, chanting and rooting for the goal that never came.

Emotions were high, as well as the possible dream of actually making it to the MLS Cup.  Aubrey was just about ready to give birth, which she did the following monday.  I was praying leading up to this game that they baby would wait just a little longer to come (sorry Aubrey).  

New York jumped into the lead, with another goal by Dave Van De Berg (He is currently the all time leading goal scorer at Rio Tinto Stadium with 2 goals).  

In the second half, RSL pressed looking for the tying goal, but they just could not find the back of the net.  It was agonizing to watch, but following the defeat, and the trophy presentation to the NY Red Bulls for being the Western Conference Champs, we cheered our team on, chanting RSL, RSL.

It was a great event to be a part of, and I hope that in 2009, we can do it again.

Top 10 COUNTDOWN: #4

RSL vs. New York Red Bulls

October 9, 2009

RSL 1-1 NY Red Bulls

As the season began, this was the game that I was most looking forward to.  This was the first game that RSL played in their new stadium, Rio Tinto Stadium.  I had been looking forward to this day ever since talks began about Real getting their own place, and the day had finally come.  We got to the stadium pretty early, and we took in the sights, and Aubrey humored me as I walked around and took pictures from almost every angle of the stadium, inside and out.  White rally towels were given to everybody, and I remember when RSL took the field, everybody was waving their towels.  I had always seen this done on tv, and now I was able to do it myself, and it was very exciting.  As the game began, I couldn't believe that this day had come.

Well, the party was short lived, as New York opened the game with a Dave Van De Berg goal.  That was in the 20+ minute of the game.  However, the party began soon later with a goal by Jamison Olave off of a corner kick, and the emotions of everybody, players and fans alike, was unreal.  Towels were waving, streamers were flying, and everybody was screaming.  It was great.  Nobody was able to break the deadlock, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie, which was a little disappointing, but at least it wasn't a loss.