BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — A month removed from bleak hopes at best of simply making the playoffs, Real Salt Lake is now one win away from the MLS Cup championship.
Following 120 minutes of scoreless, yet entertaining soccer in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at Toyota Park on Saturday night, Nick Rimando came up with three huge saves in the penalty kick shootout as Real Salt Lake edged Chicago 5-4 to claim the Eastern Conference championship.
"Obviously I would've liked it to come a lot earlier than it did and with a lot less drama," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "But a truly special night and special moment for this club and everyone involved."
With the victory Real Salt Lake advances to the MLS Cup next Sunday in Seattle where it will face the Los Angeles Galaxy at 6:30 p.m.
"Once we knew we were in the playoffs we knew we were a good enough team to make it to the final," said Rimando. "We're not done yet, we have one more game. We're not happy enough with this win."
Clint Mathis, Robbie Findley, Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and Ned Grabavoy all converted their kicks in the shootout, with Rimando coming up with three big saves as the shootout went to the seventh kicker. Those three saves came on Chicago's last four penalty kicks with Grabavoy clinching the victory by burying the final kick.
"It was more of a good nervous feeling," said Grabavoy. "Being in that moment, after it went in it was a great moment for our team."
Chicago seized momentum early in the shootout after Javier Morales hit his attempt over the crossbar, but Rimando put the teams back on even terms with a big save on John Thorrington in the fourth round.
With the shootout level at 4-4 following five kicks, Rimando stoned Chicago's Logan Pause with a diving save but Fabian Espindola failed to capitalize by shanking his attempt badly. It merely delayed the inevitable as Rimando came up with another big save enabling RSL to celebrate a conference championship on someone else's field just like New York did at Rio Tinto Stadium last year.
Much like that conference final in 2008, RSL enjoyed the better of the play for long stretches. The Fire seemed content to play low pressure soccer and allow RSL to control possession while it conserved energy and waited for counter attacks.
"I was surprised with the way they played to be honest. I thought they've be possessing the ball more to be honest," said Kreis.
The approach seemed to work for both teams as each had plenty of chances, particularly in the wide-open first half.
Chicago keeper Jon Busch came up with two huge saves in the first half, denying Findley one-on-one in the 17th minute and then smothering a point blank Yura Movsisyan shot in first-half stoppage time.
The Fire were unlucky not to score in the 27th minute as Brian McBride headed a corner kick off the cross bar on a cheeky little near post run.
Chicago was dangerous on several other set pieces in the first half, in addition to nearly capitalizing on a pair of Robbie Russell slips in the opening five minutes.
The second half was much of the same as the Fire sat back like a road team typically does and picked its chances to attack. The strategy nearly paid off in the final 10 minutes of regulation as fatigue set in for RSL, which the Fire compounded by inserting speedy striker Patrick Nyarko in the 77th minute.
Throughout the game the visitors were quick to foul to quell dangerous moments as it committed 23 fouls to Chicago's eight.
"I felt every time we had a chance to go and break they committed a foul and I don't think that the ref did a very good job of dealing with it," said Chicago coach Denis Hamlett.
The pace slowed down in the final 30 minutes with both teams tiring, but there were still opportunities on a night when Real Salt Lake outshot Chicago 17-15.
"We were able to maintain possession better than they did, but whatever they played a tough game and they gave everything they had, and then when it comes down to PKs it's a coin flip," said Kyle Beckerman.
With the victory, the road team is now 8-6 in conference final games in the current MLS playoff format.
e-mail: jedward@desnews.com