We’re not where we want to be. Where we’ve been in the past seven years or so building that foundation to get us to be an elite team in this league took a lot of hard work. Now our fans have those expectations, that’s where we want to be – Kyle Beckerman
SANDY — Watching the standings is nothing new for Real Salt Lake, especially with summer coming to a close. The difference this year, however, is the view.
Over the past five years, RSL has watched the standings from the front of the pack, always in the race for the MLS Supporters Shield and never finishing worse than third in the Western Conference.
This year the view has been far less cozy, always on the outside the playoff picture looking in and consistently in eighth or ninth place.
So while matches this time of year have always had an added importance for Real Salt Lake, this year there’s much more desperation.
“We’re not where we want to be. Where we’ve been in the past seven years or so building that foundation to get us to be an elite team in this league took a lot of hard work. Now our fans have those expectations, that’s where we want to be,” said RSL captain Kyle Beckerman.
“We don’t want to make this familiar, being where we are in the table, we have to try and get out of that as quick as possible.”
It had a fantastic opportunity to kick start a turnaround last week against Portland, but it squandered scoring opportunities in the first half which left the door open for the Timbers to escape with a late winner by Nat Borchers.
And while Real Salt Lake’s playoffs hopes were dimmed by the loss, there’s still a glimmer of hope.
It starts this Saturday with a visit from Seattle (8 p.m., KMYU). The Sounders occupy the sixth and final playoff position with 35 points, a safe six points ahead of ninth-place Real Salt Lake. A victory for coach Jeff Cassar’s team would close that gap and vault it back into contention.
“They’re all big (games) right now, we’re trying to shorten the distance between us and them and they’re trying to create a bigger gap. Obviously this is huge, we all know it is. But we really have to concentrate on how we play and the results will come,” said Cassar.
For the most part, Cassar was pleased with Real Salt Lake’s performance against Portland, but not the finish. After the match, he lamented his players inability to hit the target and force the keeper into making saves.
Beckerman said that with so much still to play for this season, it’s important to stay keep positive and keep working.
“We’ve got to continue to do a lot of things we did last game, a lot of positive things, if we can finish those chances we’ll be in a much better position in the game,” he said.
RSL’s opponent this Saturday has endured a train wreck of a summer that coincided with players away for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Prior to a 4-0 win over Orlando City last weekend, the Sounders had posted a dismal 1-8-0 record dating back to June 20.
Prior to the tailspin, Seattle sat atop the MLS table with 29 points. Now it’s fighting for its playoff life.
“The losing that they went through is not a true identity of Seattle,” said Beckerman. “They helped themselves by getting early wins. When you get those early wins, going into such a streak like they did losing isn’t as big a deal because you’re still right in the thick of things.”
Cassar said he expects to have a full complement of healthy players to choose from on Saturday, except for defender Chris Schuler.
Getting the full three points is a must for Real Salt Lake because after this weekend it travels to Dallas and Houston for consecutive road games and getting results in Texas has been virtually impossible throughout the club’s history.
Deseret News prep editor and Real Salt Lake beat writer.