Real Salt Lake has one last match to prepare for the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs, one more dress rehearsal to build momentum and rhythm in front of the long-awaited post-season.
That means Wednesday night’s match against Chivas USA serves as a multi-faceted opportunity for RSL, as the Claret-and-Cobalt also look to get its first win of the season against Chivas after dropping both road matches at the StubHub Center.
“We’re using this as a tool. It’s one game away from the playoffs starting and we need to continue building into the playoffs,” defender Tony Beltran said. “Two, they beat us twice this year and the pride aspect comes out. We don’t want to lose to them a third time. We’re not going to lose to them a third time.”
Salt Lake is using those losses as motivation and has taken lessons from both prior losses at the StubHub Center while also knowing that both defeats were the result of correctible mistakes. Head Coach Jeff Cassar has his club primed for the grudge match at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“In this series, we’ve lost two out of two right now, for different reasons. One was we went down a man early on the road. The second was we didn’t play with the type of urgency that we normally do,” Cassar said. “But now we’re at home. We know what we need to play like at home and I’m not worried at all.”
RSL opened the season at an unbeaten clip of 6-0-6 through the first 12 matches. While sporting a record of just 3-4-2 in the last nine matches, defender Chris Wingert said the team remains confident heading into the regular season finale.
“I think we’re still playing pretty good soccer. Sometimes results are tough to come by. We were grinding out results then and I think we’re grinding out results now,” Wingert said.
One reason for Wingert’s optimism has been the play of the RSL defense in the last two matches. After posting consecutive shutouts against the San Jose Earthquakes and Portland Timbers, Real is now back on track after losing two straight matches for just the second time this season.
Carrying that momentum into the postseason is an important component to Wednesday’s match and with the veteran savvy in the RSL locker room, the team is ready for the playoffs to start. However, they know the importance of Wednesday’s match in setting the stage for the playoffs.
“I don’t think it’s a switch we turn on and off. I don’t think anybody’s good enough to quite do that,” Wingert said. “I do think the experience and going through the playoff system and some of the success we’ve had can help us, absolutely. But I think every year is a different year and every game takes on a life of its own.”
Added Cassar, “Experienced players know what’s at stake. It’s a long season. The dog days of summer – you’ve got to grind through those. Then you come out to the end and you’re fighting for positions. Now it’s playoff time and everyone sharpens up their focus and their preparation.”
Kickoff for Wednesday’s match is scheduled for 7:30 pm MT with live coverage on CW30, ESPN 700 and 102.3 La Gran D FM.
