VANCOUVER, British Columbia — First, Real Salt Lake lost their coach. Then, just over an hour later, they lost the game, as RSL head coach Jeff Cassar was ejected in the first half while watching a side missing most of their stars in what became a 4-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night at BC Place.

Following a mid-week CONCACAF Champions League victory in Guatemala and with an eye toward the U.S. Open semifinal Wednesday, a number of regular starters were rested, including goalkeeper Nick Rimando, defender Tony Beltran, and midfielders Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales and Luke Mulholland. And the team put out by Cassar was thoroughly outplayed by the Western Conference-leading Whitecaps in front of a crowd of 20,638.

"I have to be mindful of them," Cassar said when asked about his lineup selection. "This is what we chose. We have to live with it and move on from it fast."

RSL put itself in a hole early when Elias Vasquez was judged to have fouled Whitecaps striker Octavio Rivero inside the box, and the Whitecaps were awarded a penalty. Rivero stepped to the spot and coolly slotted the PK into the bottom left corner of the net, well out of the reach of goalie Jeff Attinella.

Just like that, seven minutes in, the visitors were down 1-0.

The penalty decision was just one of the reasons Cassar was unhappy with referee Chris Penso through the game's first 30 minutes. Feeling that his team was being called for fouls they didn't deserve while Vancouver was being allowed to play a little too physically, Cassar was ejected following a lengthy and animated sideline chat with Penso. Cassar initially refused to leave his technical area, but eventually stomped off to the locker room after Penso signaled for him to leave the field again.

"[It was] totally uncalled for. I didn't do anything wrong," said Cassar. "I was just trying to protect my players who had been getting kicked. [Penso] gave a soft PK that I disagreed with. If I can say anything to him, it's ridiculous."

With its head coach sent off, Salt Lake was looking for a spark. Devon Sandoval tried to split two Whitecaps defenders and went down looking for a penalty, but his appeal for a call was waved off. That was as creative as RSL would get in the attacking third, though, and it wouldn't be long before the game completely got away.

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Pa-Modou Kah made it 2-0 for the home team in the 40th minute, tapping in from just in front of goal after speedster Kekuta Manneh danced through the RSL defense and threaded a pass to Kah who was left wide open. The second half consisted of much of the same, with the Whitecaps continuing their assault on the RSL goal without much resistance. Cristian Techera scored twice for Vancouver, the second goal being a long-distance rocket, which was the exclamation point on a miserable outing for Salt Lake.

RSL's frustrations came out in the closing minutes of the match. Abdoulie Mansally was shown a red card for a rash two-footed challenge on Kendall Waston, leaving RSL to play with 10 men for about five minutes before hearing the final whistle. Mansally receives an automatic one-game suspension for his red card. Cassar is also slated to be punished for his dismissal — he would have to sit out Real's next MLS game — but he's considering an appeal.

"It was a tough night for everyone. Tough circumstances against a first-place team," said Cassar. "I thought there was a period of time in the first half where we settled down a little bit and played some good soccer, but the second goal was really the one that put our heads down a little bit."

The loss drops Salt Lake to 7-9-8 on the season and they remain three points back of Seattle for the sixth and final playoff spot in the West. Real closes its four-game road spell with a U.S. Open Cup semifinal matchup Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City before returning to Rio Tinto Stadium next Saturday to host the Portland Timbers in MLS action.

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