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SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake begins its 10th season against the Los Angeles Galaxy in less than two weeks, just a few months before it will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the day the MLS officially announced the team’s inception.
First-year head coach Jeff Cassar earned his first preseason win Wednesday, 3-1, over FC Tucson of the USL-Premier Development League thanks to two goals from RSL all-time leading goal scorer Alvaro Saborio. The squad will conclude preseason action Saturday against Chivas USA at 1 p.m. in the Desert Diamond Cup finale.
Taking a look back at the most memorable moments during the Claret-and-Cobalt’s existence, we start with the day Utah professional soccer was born.
10. RSL becomes 12th MLS franchise
The day after the 2014 World Cup ends, July 14, 10 years will have passed since Dave Checketts and his SCP Worldwide ownership group were officially awarded an MLS expansion team.
Utah fans of the beautiful game had reason to rejoice, but they still had to wait until April 2, 2005, to see the club’s first league game — a scoreless draw with the New York MetroStars.
Without Checketts’ deep pockets, a temporary location to call home (Rice-Eccles Stadium) and a fan base starved for soccer at the highest level, none of the other moments on this list would have been possible.
9. Team trades for Jason Kreis
This deal easily ranks among the best things to ever happen to RSL. On Nov. 17, 2004, Kreis came over in a trade with the Dallas Burn. The first player to ever wear the Claret and Cobalt also scored the club’s first goal and became the first player in MLS history to net 100 goals while playing for RSL.
Even more notably, Kreis was appointed head coach following his retirement as a player four games into the 2007 season and transformed the club into what it is today. Checketts essentially gave the former forward the reins to the franchise, immediately asking for his help in choosing a general manager and heeding that advice in selecting Garth Lagerway.
Kreis is married to the game, and his relentless attention to detail helped mold a talented group of players into champions, putting RSL on a trajectory of consistent success.
8. Inaugural home game
In front of a crowd of 25,287, Kreis and his teammates played the first professional soccer home game in Utah on April 16, 2005, at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Brian Dunseth gave the hosts a 1-0 win over Colorado with his header in the 81st minute. The triumphant night made it apparent RSL would not struggle to sell tickets and instantly owned a home-field advantage.
Scheduling conflicts with the University of Utah and overall logistical issues kept Rice-Eccles from being an ideal location. However, the enthusiasm evident in the attendance figure sent a message that the Claret-and-Cobalt were here to stay unlike two of its Floridian predecessors (Tampa Bay Mutiny, Miami Fusion F.C.) .
7. 2007 acquisitions
In addition to Kreis, there are certain players that have since departed Salt Lake, as well as players still on the roster, who arrived in Utah in 2007 and helped shape RSL into a top-tier MLS club.
Nick Rimando was actually acquired at the end of 2006 but was traded to New York on Feb. 9, 2007, prior to Scott Garlick’s retirement, which left the Claret-and-Cobalt without a starting-caliber backstop. Rimando was re-obtained two weeks later and now holds the team record for most caps, as well as every major goalkeeping statistic.
Other players that came over that year include club assists all-time leader Javier Morales, two of the top three RSL goal scorers — Fabian Espindola and Robbie Findley (both have 35) — defensive staple Chris Wingert and skipper Kyle Beckerman.
6. Rio Tinto Stadium opens
Thanks to Anderson Geneva, a construction company, 30 acres in Sandy were designated as an area where the club could build a stadium free of charge, ending speculation that since a site had not been approved, the franchise would have to eventually relocate.
The stadium opened in 2008 to a sellout crowd and has maintained steady attendance numbers since.
During the initial two seasons in the new venue, RSL went 17-2-11, setting up…
5. First playoff appearance
The core assembled in 2007 was able to gel with newcomers and veterans under Kreis’ watch to avoid a losing mark for the first time, going 10-10-10 to grab a playoff berth.
RSL then bounced Chivas USA from postseason play 3-2 on aggregate, a 1-0 home win in the first leg deciding the first-round matchup. New York ended the run, but not before the Claret-and-Cobalt were playing the brand of soccer Kreis had set out to cultivate.
The team also had a positive goal differential, and with the improvements came increased confidence.
4. 2013 U.S. Open Cup
All of the historic steps forward don’t account for anything special unless they translate to results, and wins have been common since RSL established itself as a perennial postseason qualifier.
The oldest American soccer tradition is the U.S. Open Cup, which offers a large sum of cash and an automatic spot in the CONCACAF Champions League to its winner.
After advancing to the final in 2013, RSL lost to D.C. United 1-0. Still, the club earned $60,000 as a finalist.
3. 2013 MLS Cup
A beautiful Beckerman chip gave Saborio space at the top of the box, and the Costa Rican’s first touch with his chest dropped the ball at his feet, allowing him to wind up and blast it home for the first goal of the 2013 MLS Cup.
But just like their first time in the title game, the Claret-and-Cobalt couldn’t top their opponent in regulation and ultimately had the game decided by a penalty kicks.
RSL had plenty of chances and battered the woodwork; it was the lower half of the crossbar that prevented Lovel Palmer from prolonging the shootout after Findley, Beckerman and Morales had each hit the post in regulation. Sporting Kansas City secured the cup on its own pitch in what was an entertaining back-and-forth affair.
2. 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Run
By going into hostile stadiums in Central America and leaving with positive outcomes, RSL's advance to the champions league in 2011 might be the most significant accomplishment on this list.
MLS produced an all-access documentary of the team on its march to second place, as it was the first time a team from the league had made it to the champions league final.
RSL played the last game at Rio Tinto versus C.F. Monterrey with the aggregate score knotted 2-2. However, Beckerman missed the contest due to a suspension for exceeding the competition’s yellow-card limit.
The visitors emerged triumphant, and RSL was left to wonder what could’ve been, although a thrilling 5-4 defeat to Cruz Azul and the aforementioned tie showed RSL could go into foreign environments and compete.
1. 2009 MLS Cup
The club’s only championship is obviously the best moment in its history. The way RSL snuck into the playoffs as a lowly underdog to beat the Galaxy, who practically invented the Designated Player Rule, is a story fit for the silver screen.
David Beckham and Landon Donovan helped LA dictate everything in the first half, but RSL was much crisper after halftime and Robbie Findley’s equalizer eventually sent the game to extra time, before it concluded in penalties.
Rimando excelled at his specialty of parrying away set tries from 12 yards out, and Robbie Russell stepped up and buried the game-winner in the side netting.
The victory gave the state of Utah a long-awaited professional championship, which was the byproduct of the events that predated it — and has turned into expectation for teams that have followed.
