What separates good teams from bad ones in Major League Soccer this season will likely come down to how well each team defends its home field. In the case of Real Salt Lake, they do not want to see opponents taking away any sort of pleasant feelings for the plane ride home.
RSL is determined to carve out home stadium supremacy early in the season, starting Saturday when the club plays host to D.C. United.
"We want to make it a fortress here," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "It's a bit hard on the turf. But we're playing on it, we should be used to it."
It hasn't been exactly hard for teams to storm the castle in the past three seasons. RSL posted its only wining home record in 2006, finishing with 6-4-6 mark. Real Salt Lake took a step backward last year, however, with a 4-7-4 home record that featured the fewest number of victories at Rice-Eccles Stadium in the club's short history.
The most natural step toward becoming a contender is quite simple: win at home. A loss or tie cannot suffice for a team looking to carve out a winning identity in 2008.
"We need to handle this game as we would any home game," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "We need to get three points. That's our objective. Nothing else will be satisfactory."
RSL certainly picked a good opponent to start with for reaching such a goal. United has taken home a defeat in their last two trips to Salt Lake City.
A 2007 visit from D.C. ended in a 2-1 victory for RSL -- its first of that season. Going to the Wasatch Front in 2006 ended a 14-game unbeaten streak for United after they again fell by a 2-1 margin.
Earning a third consecutive home victory against D.C. might be a little more complicated for RSL than it looked just a few days ago. United finally shook off the cobwebs from their offense with a 4-1 pounding of Toronto FC last weekend.
United followed with a 2-1 win against Pachuca CF of Mexico in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup on Wednesday. D.C. lost the series on aggregate, but there is no denying that United look sharp right now.
For RSL to be successful, it will need to put two halves together. The club enjoyed a strong first half against Chicago and put out its best effort in the final 30 minutes at Chivas USA.
And, with United's offense revived, RSL must put a greater urgency on finding the net as well.
Finishing early chances was a concern in both previous games. Only three of 11 shots were on frame against Chivas. With the Fire, RSL came up with 17 shots and eight were on target. But the only score came on an own goal when a cross was deflected in by Chicago defender Bakary Soumare.
"We are having a lot of possession of the ball and we are creating good chances," defender Ian Joy said. "It shows you that our attack is there. We really do a good job in there. However we need to be sticking the ball in the back of the net. Punish people. Make them pay."
A victory against United seems crucial, even at this early juncture, simply because of the momentum boost it will create for an upcoming two-game road trip. The last thing RSL wants to take into Toronto next weekend is a loss or tie.
"This will be a big thing to win at home to send us on this road trip," Beckerman said. "It's always tough to win on the road. If we can get a win, the maybe (we can) try and make a little run here."
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
