Missed opportunities had been a recurring theme in Real Salt Lake's first two games of the season. It was hard for RSL to not feel dismayed when seeing shot after shot fail to find a way into their opponent's net. It was hard to convince anyone that things had changed when the same old results kept showing up on the scoreboard.
"We've been trying to send a message all season that we're the new Real Salt Lake," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "When it didn't happen the first two games we were a bit frustrated."
RSL took out its frustrations on D.C. United in a big way, matching a club record for goals scored in a game and setting a new record for margin of victory in a 4-0 rout at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the club's third home victory in three seasons over United and, like in 2007, gave them their first win of the year. Beckerman led the way with two goals while fellow midfielder Dema Kovalenko added a pair of first-half assists.
RSL first struck in the 12th minute when Beckerman took a cross from Kovalenko and slid the ball alongside the near post past D.C. goalkeeper Jose Carvallo from the top of the area.
Then in the 19th minute Kovalenko found Fabian Espindola with a long booming lob which he plunked down inside the box. Espindola controlled the ball and fired at the net from a sideways angle and his shot barreled past both Gonzalo Peralta and Carvallo and created a 2-0 lead for RSL.
Kovalenko's performance seems all the more remarkable considering he was almost scratched from the starting lineup because of back spasms.
"We were quite unsure whether he was going to be able to play tonight," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "He put in a tremendous effort and those two passes were certainly special."
Beckerman also earned praise from his coach for arriving into the box for passes laid back by the forwards and striking on those scoring opportunities.
His second goal of the game -- the one which put RSL ahead 3-0 in the 77th minute -- came about in just that manner. Beckerman took Robbie Findley's pass back to him and, without hesitation, drove the ball behind Carvallo.
"For me, he's your typical box-to-box midfielder," Kreis said. "He's a guy that has the fitness and the ability and the mentality to play over the entire field."
While they didn't necessarily anticipate dropping four goals on United, RSL did feel like it was due for an offensive explosion after producing only one goal of its own in two games. When that eruption finally came, many players felt like it was about time.
"We got the chances and we finished," Beckerman said. "That's what the game is about."
Real's newfound quick-strike ability helped them turn up the heat defensively. United managed two shots on goal in the first half and only one in the second against the RSL defense.
RSL found ways to disrupt United's passing lanes and take them out of their usual offensive rhythm simply because the club took so little time to find its own.
"It makes things easier when you score in the first 15 minutes of a game," Borchers said. "It takes a lot of pressure off the defensive backline. D.C. wasn't on their best game today and, fortunately, we were able to finish our chances."
It didn't help United's cause to have Carvallo struggle in his MLS debut. He seemed lost most of the time while trying to figure out how to fend of RSL's offensive attacks.
RSL converted all but two shots that were on frame against Carvallo. The final goal of the night -- a header by Findley after intercepting a weak header from Peralta intended for Carvallo in the 87th minute -- seemed like an appropriate exclamation point to his night of misery in the net.
"I think their goalkeeper helped us out a little bit today, but we had a good game and a lot of credit (goes) to us," goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "We pressured them and we got our goals that we needed."
Rimando, on the other hand, had no trouble getting saves when RSL needed them. Rimando halted a shot from Devon McTavish in the 25th minute and rebuffed him again in the 33rd minute when Rimando stretched out sideways to yank the ball out of the air after McTavish fired the ball from along the far side of the box.
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
