Defense sloppy, but Saborio PK saves draw in RSL's home-opener


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SANDY — Real Salt Lake pulled off a late-game 3-3 draw with the Philadelphia Union on opening night at Rio Tinto Stadium, using an 87th-minute penalty kick from Alvaro Saborio to salvage a point in front of a sold-out crowd.

The 20,281 people in attendance saw RSL concede a lead twice, though, after Javier Morales’ free kick in the 28th minute sailed inside the upper right corner and past Philadelphia goalkeeper Rhais M’bolhi. Union forward Fernando Aristeguieta scored on his team’s seventh and eighth shots of the night to take a 2-1 lead on consecutive chances in the 34th and 38th minute, and Philadelphia took a 2-1 lead into halftime.

RSL tied the game in the 55th minute when Jamison Olave got the final touch on Morales’ pinballing free kick from the edge of the penalty box that nearly caromed off Olmes Garcia as well. But Olave would add one for the Union barely three minutes later, redirecting a cross into RSL’s own net for a goal that put Philadelphia up 3-2 with just over 30 minutes left.

The home side appeared destined for its first home-opening loss in Rio Tinto Stadium history until Luke Mulholland, who came on as a substitution for Luis Gil in the 70th minute, earned a penalty kick for the hosts with five minutes remaining in regulation. Alvaro Saborio stepped up to the spot, striking a clean ball down the middle and past M’bolhi for the equalizer.

Here are three thoughts on RSL’s home-opening draw with its Eastern Conference opponent.

The immortal Morales has some magic left ----------------------------------------

Morales, who turned 35 in January, scored the first goal of the season for RSL when his free kick from one-half yard outside the 18-yard box bent inside the top right corner, past a sprawling M’bolhi. The Argentine veteran would only see his lead stand up for six minutes, though, as the Union countered quickly through Aristeguieta’s brace in the opening 45 minutes.

"It was too close to go over the wall," Morales said of his goal, "and I told (teammate) Kyle (Beckerman) I had pretty good confidence to shoot pretty hard to the goalkeeper's post. It was good."

Defense wins championships — or not

The new center back pairing of Chris Schuler and Jamison Olave was burned on both Aristeguieta goals, but particularly on the first one. After RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando made a diving save at the corner of the net to keep a ball out, the unmarked Aristeguieta found himself with a free header directly in front of goal and inside the 6-yard box. Olave and Schuler are both capable MLS central defenders, but they have never played together before this season — and developing chemistry together is still a focus for the RSL defense, which also added new outside back Demar Phillips into the mix Saturday night.

"I think our shape in the back wasn't particularly good at times as we were going forward," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "There were some weird choices by everyone on the whole field."

RSL struggles in a 4-3-3 (again)

Whether it is the extra forward or additional space in midfield, Real Salt Lake hasn’t quite adapted to its new formation. Cassar has preached patience with new faces and new spaces in 2015, but RSL nearly experienced its first loss in a home opener since moving to Rio Tinto Stadium in 2008, and the team needs to adapt to several new faces in the upcoming off-week before meeting Toronto FC on March 29.

"It's pretty good, but if we play it the right way, then I like it a lot," Morales said of the new formation. "But we can't play crazy like today, with everyone going forward, and we need that balance. I think if we find that balance in the middle, we're going to be pretty good."

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Sean Walker

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