Nick Rimando makes no secret of the pleasure he felt while guarding the net against Chicago last Saturday. Rimando opened his second season in a Real Salt Lake uniform by seeing only two shots on goal come his direction -- one of which he saved.
If Rimando had it his way, every game would go just as smoothly on defense. After being called on to make one spectacular save after another a year ago, it felt nice to get a break.
"Like I've always said, my best game is when I don't have to make a save," Rimando said.
Rimando didn't get overworked against the Fire because Chicago had trouble finding any rhythm offensively. RSL yielded zero shots on goal and five shots total in the first half and allowed only eight shots over both halves.
With the twist on a 4-4-2 formation that RSL coach Jason Kreis implements, midfielders and defenders could slide in and out of different spots to get at the ball from all angles. Finding a path through the midfield ended up being nearly impossible for Chicago.
"Probably what we did the best is we possessed the ball," defender Nat Borchers said. "They rarely touched the ball and that made it really easy on the back four."
A crucial test for RSL this weekend will be seeing if it can replicate a similar defensive effort against a much more explosive offense. Chivas USA has enough scorers on its roster to make any defense uncomfortable -- led, of course, by striker Ante Razov. Razov scored 11 goals last season to surpass Kreis' mark of 108 MLS career goals.
Kreis sees defensive success at The Home Depot Center coming down to how well his team can control the spots where the ball goes. Chivas enjoys a home field advantage over most of its opponents because they play on such an expansive field and can use its size against an unprepared team.
Failing to win balls and control the midfield can quickly lead to worn-out legs.
"If you don't do a good job of possessing the ball, you're going to be a very tired team," Kreis said. "All you're going to be doing is chasing the ball for 90 minutes."
RSL will look to establish its preferred tempo early like it did against Chicago. The club also wants to avoid another late-game letdown. Experiencing it in the first game out was uncomfortably familiar for a team that dealt with similar situations too often in 2007.
No one is hanging their heads about coming away with a tie instead of a victory, placing blame, or dwelling on any sort of what-if scenarios.
For all the discussion this week on missed scoring chances, RSL sees long-term success coming from stopping teams as much as scoring on them.
"We should only need one goal a game," Borchers said. "We're getting chances, which is good. You always want to create chances in games."
If there is one factor in RSL's favor, it is the injury situations. The club suffered no major or even minor injuries during its season opener.
The same cannot be said for Chivas. Razov is not yet at 100 percent after suffering a calf strain last week versus FC Dallas and is listed as probable going in against RSL on Saturday. Maykel Galindo came off the bench in Dallas as he continues to recover from the sports hernia surgery he had in the offseason.
In addition, ex-RSL forward Alecko Eskandarian will sit while rehabilitating a strained groin and defender Alex Zotinca is also out after undergoing surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament on his right knee.
How Chivas will respond with a thinner lineup remains to be seen. RSL understands it's not a wise idea to count the defending Western Conference champions out but, at the same time, feels confident about having enough guns to match them this time around.
"They have some dangerous guys up front and so do we," Rimando said. "We're dangerous this year -- much more dangerous than last year - and I think everybody that saw the first game knows that."
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
