SALT LAKE CITY - There have been difficult matches before, but Saturday's game against the New England Revolution might be Real Salt Lake's toughest contest yet this season.
Playing in the Revolution's Gillette Stadium home, Salt Lake will have the league's leading scorer in Taylor Twellman, the league's leading assist man in Steve Ralston, and a national team defender in Michael Parkhurst to contend with.
RSL coach Jason Kreis knows what kind of challenge his team is faced with.
"A large one, a very large one," Kreis said. "New England is one of the best teams in the league right now. They are scoring goals pretty much at will."
The Revolution lead the league in scoring with 18 goals in nine games, and are tied with New York for first place. By contrast, Real have not won a game yet this season, and have a minus-7 goal differential.
Still, RSL's players enter the game with a positive attitude.
"The attitude is very, very good," Kreis said. "We have a direction, and we are headed in the right direction. We are glad with what has happened in the past few weeks; everybody feels very good about where we are at and where we are going."
Kreis has been head coach for a little less than a month, and in that time RSL has gone 0-1-3 in league play, earning two ties on the road. Real also have scored five of their seven goals in that stretch.
Doubtless, Real are looking forward to playing at home again; but in the meantime, players know a victory against a team like New England would bring a much-needed confidence boost.
"They've done very well, and they are a team that has been a model of consistency," midfielder Chris Klein said. "A win against New England would be great for this team."
Real's last match ended in a scoreless tie on the road against the Chicago Fire; it was their second defensive shutout of the season. It was also Real's first game with Alecko Eskandarian in the starting lineup.
This time, Real will have another new player available. This week, RSL acquired defender Ritchie Kotschau; the move should bolster the team's strained defensive lineup. Real now have two open roster spots to fill.
"Ritchie is an extremely experienced veteran player," Kreis said. "He brings some experience to the group, and a competitive mentality."
Kotschau has played 18,574 minutes in Major League Soccer contests, starting 202 times.
Klein, for one, feels good about his team's chances against the Revolution. The last time Real played in Gillette Stadium, they earned a 3-1 victory and took the season series from the eventual Eastern Conference champions.
"Last year we played very well in New England, and this is a team that we match up well with," Klein said. "The attitude we bring to this game is we want to go in shooting for three points."
And like his coach, Klein is pleased with the direction RSL are moving in.
"The team is very positive. There is frustration because we haven't gotten a win yet, but we feel that we are a very close team that can get over that point," Klein said. "I always see this as we are building something, and I still think we can put together a very good run this season."
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
