In their quest to pick up a second consecutive victory -- and third consecutive home win -- it would appear Real Salt Lake are catching some opponents at just the right time.
Take Kansas City. The Wizards, who travel to meet RSL at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday evening, are coming off a hard-fought U.S. Open Cup victory against Colorado on Wednesday. The 2-2 game finally went Kansas City's way on penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play.
With such little rest time for the Wizards before coming to Utah, a lack of energy could play in favor of the RSL side.
But that doesn't mean RSL is taking anything besides a cautious approach.
"We look back at their last match against L.A," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "They came out in that with a very aggressive mentality and so we expect the same."
RSL hopes to see a similar brand of energy that the club displayed during the second half of its 3-1 victory against San Jose last weekend. After a listless first half, the team roared to life behind a laser Robbie Findley fired into the net during the 48th minute.
Findley assisted on RSL's second goal as well and was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 10 for the pivotal role he played in the victory.
For Findley, it was satisfying to see weeks of progress in practice finally pay off in match time. He has not been getting many minutes in a starting role this season and has been trying to seize every available opportunity to prove himself.
"Whenever I come off the bench, I try and focus on trying to spark up the team a little bit and get a little bit of energy going," Findley said. "I really needed it. It helped my confidence out. I've got to continue doing this. Be consistent."
Findley will likely get a chance to do some damage even quicker this weekend. He will likely slide into the first 11 next to Kenny Deuchar with an assortment of injuries making Fabian Espindola questionable for Saturday.
His teammates credit Findley with orchestrating a complete turnaround against the Earthquakes and think he could prove as valuable against Kansas City.
"Robbie could be a starter on our team every week," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "To get him on the field was good for us. He brought a different energy to the game and it helped us a lot."
RSL has won its last two home matches against the Wizards and the odds to make it three in a row seem good. This is the last leg in a six-game road swing for Kansas City and the road has been anything but kind.
The Wizards have lost three out of their last four road matches. In all three losses, Kansas City allowed each team to rally from behind in the second half.
RSL wants to make sure it doesn't take 45 minutes to get going.
"We're going to try to come out and really put the pressure on them and really get after them and try to get an early goal," Beckerman said. "We feel we're capable of it and so we're looking to do that -- get on them early and often."
If RSL does prevail this weekend, it may be enough to thrust them back into contention for the top spot in the Western Conference. Real are only four points in back of the Rapids. Holding serve at home over the next few weeks can be enough to put them in the lead.
How the club does against the Wizards will tell them much about whether they can stay in contention and progress upward.
"I'm always a guy that believes the proof is in the pudding a little bit," Kreis said. "This weekend will show us."
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
