For a brief second Wednesday night, Jason Kreis thought he'd nailed magical goal No. 100.
In the 36th minute of a game Real Salt Lake ultimately lost 4-1, Kreis found a little space about 22 yards from goal and tried bending a ball into the upper left-hand corner of the net.
"When it came off my foot, I thought it was headed toward the corner," said Kreis.
Six minutes earlier he buried his MLS-leading 99th-career goal on a well-struck free kick, but his opportunity at 100 sailed inches by the post.
The near miss may ultimately benefit Real Salt Lake's fans.
When RSL hosts Kansas City today at 7:30 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Kreis is just one opportunistic finish away from turning a seemingly ordinary August night into one of the most memorable moments in league history.
"The past two weeks I've been downplaying it quite a bit, I think because it was out of my reach a little bit in my mind," said Kreis. "But now having the opportunity to go ahead and do it, I'm a little excited about it."
Sure a game-winning 25-yard free kick would be nice, or even bicycle kick strike in the opening moments, but Kreis doesn't really care.
In fact, when he scored his 89th career goal last year to break Roy Lassiter's career record of 88, even he admits it was a "sloppy goal."
Kreis isn't quite sure why scoring No. 100 is more meaningful to him than his record-breaking 89th goal, but it's a moment he's definitely looking forward to.
His teammates are equally as excited.
RSL midfielder Kenny Cutler, who's nearly 10 years younger than Kreis, remembers watching MLS games on television back in his high school and college days, and watching Kreis score several of those 99 goals.
"To be the first person to score 100 goals is a great feat," said Cutler. "I am not the offensive mastermind, but if I could (assist him), that would be an absolute dream."
Standing in Kreis and Real Salt Lake's way is a very formidable opponent in the Kansas City Wizards.
Not only has Kansas City won two straight road games against Eastern Conference foes New England and Chicago, but it's demonstrated a tremendous amount of resiliency in the process. At Chicago Wednesday, the Wizards fell behind 2-0 in the opening seven minutes, but someone battled back to steal the 3-2 win.
"Obviously Kansas City is on a bit of a roll," said RSL coach John Ellinger. "They're playing well. We have our work cut out for us."
When these teams met back on July 16 at Arrowhead Stadium, the Wizards jumped out to a 3-1 lead, and barely hung on for the 3-2 win as Salt Lake made an impressive second-half charge.
That was just one of 10 road losses for Real Salt Lake this year, but everyone, including visiting Kansas City knows that RSL is a different club at home. That's a big reason why the players aren't really dwelling on the 4-1 loss but rather looking forward to the moment of two straight home wins prior to the trip to New England.
"I really feel we're on an upward swing, on a wave of confidence, and a team that's playing with intensity and confidence," said Kreis. "I think we're going to take all of those positives and really forget some of the negatives that happened Wednesday night."
In addition to missing Mathis, who is serving the second of his three-game suspension, RSL will also be without the services of midfielder Seth Trembly — suspended for yellow-card accumulation. Those two absences, along with some tired legs, have Ellinger considering some lineup tinkering.
"I have something in my mind, but I have to talk to the players to make sure they're physically fit to do it," said Ellinger.
One of those options might entail reinserting Nelson Akwari into the starting lineup and then moving one of the four defenders who've started two straight games together into the midfield.
It might seem like an extreme change, but for a team that's utilized a different lineup in every game since Week 2, nothing is a surprise any more.
ENDLINES: The Wizards are tied for third in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5-8 record (35 points), just four points behind front-running New England. RSL, meanwhile, is in fifth place in the West with a 5-12-4 record (19 points) . . . RSL is 5-2-3 at home, while Kansas City is 4-4-4 on the road.
Real Salt Lake on air
Kansas City at Real Salt Lake
at Rice-Eccles Stadium
Today, 7:30 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: AM-1280
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com