If Real Salt Lake's bid for a repeat playoff appearance comes up short, it won't be for a lack of defensive commitment lately.
Since a disastrous opening 21 minutes against FC Dallas on Pioneer Day, a game in which it rallied for a 4-2 victory, Real Salt Lake has given up one goal in the past 349 minutes.
It's an impressive stretch that could have produced three victories, but instead the club's woefully unpredictable finish resulted in a 1-1-1 record.
Despite the frustration with the attack, defensively the team is in good form and the timing couldn't be better with nine games remaining in the season.
"Guys have been a bit more aggressive, more focused in front of our own goal, which is good," Will Johnson said. "Anytime you keep a shutout streak going, it's pretty important; it's something we've failed to do all season. It's something we need to keep doing."
RSL is coming off back-to-back shutouts at home against Seattle and Houston, the first time it has blanked consecutive opponents all season. In a 1-0 win over Seattle two weeks ago, RSL surrendered one shot on goal, and last week Houston didn't register a single shot on goal.
With a similar effort Sunday at New England, another team in the playoff dogfight, the club might be able to steal a few elusive road points.
"I think if we bring the same bite that we've had the last two games and the same willingness to battle in the midfield and all over the field, I think that's going to do it for us on the road," Nick Rimando said.
In many respects, outside of an embarrassing 3-1 loss at Columbus on July 18 and the 4-2 triumph over Dallas, defensively the team has been solid since early June. Even with those matches, Real Salt Lake is a respectable 4-2-4 in its past 10 matches with nine goals surrendered.
It's helped the team climb back to within striking distance in the playoff race.
"It was a rededication to the defensive effort by the entire team. I think we did it quite a while ago," said Kreis.
Rimando believes the defensive improvement has a lot to do with urgency.
"Just the urgency of playing together, and the urgency to get the ball back when we lose it. We know we're going to make mistakes, we know we're not going to score all the time, so we have to get the ball back and play," he said.
Real Salt Lake will be forced to forge ahead without defender Jamison Olave this weekend. The center back is suspended because of an accumulation of yellow cards, his third suspension of the season. It's his fourth missed game this season, and RSL's record without him is 1-1-1.
In his absence, Robbie Russell should get the starting nod alongside Nat Borchers in the middle, with Chris Wingert and Tony Beltran starting on the outside.
e-mail: jedward@desnews.com