2010 Real Salt Lake season

Overview

March

Real Salt Lake opened the season with a 3–0 road victory against San Jose.

MLS: 1-0-0, 3 points, 3 goals for, 0 goals against

April

RSL began April with a 2–1 loss to Houston, losing after the Dynamo earned two penalty kicks just a minute apart. Upon heading back to Sandy, they played to a 2–2 draw against Seattle, with Álvaro Saborío scoring the equalizer in second half stoppage time, in front of a full stadium with a crowd over 20,000. A week later, they headed to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy, the team they had defeated on penalty kicks to win MLS Cup 2009. Despite losing 2–1, Real became the first team to score on the Galaxy in the 2010 Season, as Los Angeles had shut out their first three opponents. RSL finished April with a 1–0 loss to the reigning Supporters' Shield winners, the Columbus Crew.

MLS: 0-3-1, 1 point, 4 goals for, 7 goals against

May

RSL began with a hard-fought 2–1 home victory over Toronto. They then hosted for the first time the new expansion team, Philadelphia, winning 3–0. The next week, they defeated Houston, who had beaten them at home in Houston in April, with a decisive 3–1 win. Going on the road to Los Angeles to face expansion partners Chivas USA, RSL found victory when Fabián Espíndola scored in the 89th minute for the game-winner in the 2–1 win. RSL finished the month with a close 4–1 win over Kansas City in Sandy. Both the five-game win streak and the 15-game home unbeaten streak held by RSL at the end of May are franchise-highs.

MLS: 5-0-0, 15 points, 14 goals for, 4 goals against

June

After a disappointing scoreless draw on the road against D.C. United, RSL returned home to hand Los Angeles their first loss of the season by a score of 1–0 on a controversial Javier Morales goal. After a two-week hiatus due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, RSL drew San Jose 0-0.

MLS: 1-0-2, 5 points, 1 goal for, 0 goals against

July

July saw Robbie Findley return from World Cup play for Nick Rimando's 100th MLS win – a 5–0 drubbing of New England. They took their aggressive playing style on the road, beating the Chicago Fire 1–0. Their 10-game unbeaten streak came to an end against FC Dallas at Dallas, followed by a disappointing home draw against Chivas USA. They were back in form against D.C. United, and came away with a 3–0 win.

MLS: 3-1-1, 10 points, 10 goals for, 3 goals against

August

RSL's good fortunes continued in August, as the team went undefeated in league play. The month opened with four games in twelve days – three league games and RSL's first CONCACAF Champions League game. After playing to a 1–1 draw with Kansas City at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, RSL paid its first visit to Philadelphia's new PPL Park, earning a point in a 1–1 draw with the Union. RSL headed back to Rio Tinto Stadium to face its 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals nemesis Columbus. RSL won the game 2–0 on a Morales brace. The team then geared up to begin Group A play in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. RSL defeated Panamanian champions Árabe Unido in Sandy by a score of 2–1 in a wild match that featured over eight minutes of second-half stoppage time. A week later, the team traveled to Estadio Azul to play Mexico's Cruz Azul. Though RSL led 3–2 after 87 minutes, a crazy finish left Real empty-handed, falling 5–4. The team finished the month with an MLS scoreless affair at BMO Field in Toronto, leaving the team in third place on the table at 40 points with eight league games remaining.

MLS: 1-0-3, 6 points, 4 goals for, 2 goals against; CCL: 1-1-0, 3 points, 6 goals for, 6 goals against

September

September was another spectacular run for RSL, culminating in qualifying for the MLS Playoffs and the CONCACAF Champion's League quarterfinals.

October

Squad

2010 roster

-- Do NOT add new players before their signing is officially announced by the club -- and do NOT assign unreferenced jersey numbers as well. -- Do NOT create articles for new draft picks until they make either their MLS or U.S. Open Cup debut, and do not add red wikilinks to these players as it prevents the creation of articles by people who don't understand the WP:FOOTY notability guidelines -- Players with international caps should NOT be bolded - as per Wikipedia:WikiProject_Football/Clubs -- This is Wikipedia, not a football gazette. -- Any unconfirmed and unsourced signing/transfer will be reverted at sight. -- Thanks in advance.

(captain)

Reserves

Transfers

In

Out

Loan

Statistics

Appearances and goals

:Last updated on 17 November 2010. |}

Top scorers

Disciplinary

Formation

Starting XI vs. Colorado on Oct. 23:

Overall

Results summary

Match results

Olave Williams Saborío Wingert Carroll Rodríguez Cooper Calderón Justavino Caesar Santamaría Biancucchi Cervantes Villa Giménez González Espíndola Findley Johnson Olave
Beckerman
Saborío Araujo Martin Šarić Caroll Angulo De La Cruz Saborío González Espíndola Usanov Beckerman Morales Alexandre Araujo Warner Villaluz Gimenez

Notes

References

1. (18 January 2010). "D.C. United Signs Australian Striker". Washington Post.
2. (14 January 2010). "Metro acquires Chris Albright for two draft picks". MetroFanatic.com.
3. (14 March 2010). "Real Salt Lake signs striker Alvaro Saborio". Yahoo! Sports.
4. (21 January 2010). "D.C. United signs Floribert N'Galula". D.C. United.
5. [http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/rsl-get-d2-star-paulo-jr-loan-miami] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-10-18 – MLSSoccer.com)
6. (11 January 2010). "D.C. United resigns Emilio". Yahoo! Sports.
7. (13 January 2010). "D.C United Sends Fred to Philadelphia, Reacquires Goalie Troy Perkins". CSNWashington.com.
8. PR Islanders FC. (2010-04-01). "En realidad, es Real el acuerdo". Puerto RIco Islanders FC.
9. PR Islanders FC. (2010-04-02). "El defensa David Horst a los Islanders". Puerto RIco Islanders FC.
10. "Real Salt Lake 2009 {{!".
11. Mayers, Joshua. (October 14, 2010). "Convoluted MLS postseason confuses even Sounders FC". The Seattle Times.
12. "Kreis: When it counted, RSL played scared to lose | Major League Soccer".
13. (2010-04-07). "2010–2011 CONCACAF Champions League Schedule". CONCACAF.
14. [http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter-recap/rsl-push-past-wounded-tfc-share-group-top-spot RSL push past TFC for share of Group A top spot]