Real Salt Lake (8-10-5, 29 pts, 5th West) travels to New York this week looking to build on a franchise record four-game winning streak that has catapulted the team right into the middle of the Western Conference playoff race. RSL is unbeaten in their last five MLS contests and currently trail Chivas USA by only two points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West.
KLEIN TOPS CUNNINGHAM FOR PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Real Salt Lake MF Chris Klein scored a goal in each of RSL'S two wins during Week 21 and earned Player of the Week honors for his performance. This marks the first time this season Klein has won the award and the sixth time in his nine-year career. Klein gained more votes in a tight race with teammate FW Jeff Cunningham who was the winner of the previous two Player of the Week awards.
Klein helped lead Real Salt Lake to wins over the Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo in Week 21, which extended the club's wining streak to four games and its unbeaten streak to five games during the regular season. On Wednesday, Aug. 16 against the Crew, Klein scored in the 75th minute on a right-footed blast from 15 yards out that snuck inside of the left goalpost.
On Saturday, Aug. 19 Klein struck again this time in first-half stoppage time. MF Carey Talley and Cunningham provided the assists on Klein's strike from the top of the area. The goal was Klein's fifth this year and the 44th of his career.
This marks the fifth time that an RSL player has captured the player of the week award this season, tops in MLS, with Cunningham taking home the award on four previous occasions (Weeks 7, 10, 18 and 20).
KLEIN NOMINATED FOR SIERRA MIST GOAL OF THE WEEK: In addition to his Player of the Week award, RSL MF Chris Klein has been nominated for the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for his blast from the wing in the 75th minute of RSL'S victory against the Columbus Crew last Wednesday. Fans are encouraged to log onto www.mlsnet.com and vote. Klein will attempt to win the award for the second time this year, his first award coming in Week Two for his blistering free kick against FC Dallas. In addition to Klein, previous 2006 RSL goal of the week winners include Jason Kreis (Week Three) Jeff Cunningham (Week 10) and Carey Talley (Week 18).
BRING ON THE RED BULLS: RSL will visit Bruce Arena's New York Red Bulls this Saturday (6:00 p.m. MT, KSL Ch. 5) looking to extend a franchise record four game winning streak. The Red Bulls are coming off a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Columbus Crew, and sit in fifth place overall in the Eastern Conference. Despite some early season struggles, the Red Bulls have turned it on as of late, posting a 3-2-1 record in their last six games to pull within a single point of Kansas City for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
As recently as one week ago, New York was one of three franchises (along with Columbus and Houston) that RSL had never posted a victory against. But after back-to-back wins against the Crew and the Dynamo last week, New York is the only team left that RSL has never defeated. The two teams have met three times since RSL'S inception into the league last year, with all three games ending in a draw.
New York visited Rice-Eccles Stadium this season on April 15th, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw courtesy of two late goals. MF Amado Guevara slammed home a rebound in the games 76th minute to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead, but that lead was short lived as RSL FW Jason Kreis captured the equalizer in the 89th minute. The goal was Kreis' first of the season and the 101st of his storied MLS career. The tie gave RSL their first point of the 2006 season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE TIGHTENS DOWN THE STRETCH: With only a handful of games remaining, the race for a Western Conference Playoff spot is wide open. Only nine points separate second place Houston (35 pts.) and sixth place LA Galaxy (26 pts.), with Colorado (3rd place, 32 pts.) Chivas USA (4th place, 31 pts.) and RSL (5th place, 29 pts.) in the middle of the pack. FC Dallas currently lead the West with 39 points, but dropped a decision to the Galaxy on Saturday, 2-0. The top four teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs.
RSL OFFENSE KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR: Real Salt Lake's offense has kicked into high gear as of late, scoring 17 goals over a seven game span that has seen the team go 5-1-1. The 17 goals over the seven games matches the total goal output of the team's previous 16 games and RSL'S 34 total goals is good for fourth place in offense in all of MLS.
CUNNINGHAM MOVING UP THE SCORING CHARTS: RSL FW Jeff Cunningham is in the middle of what could turn out to be a career year. Cunningham currently leads the league in goals with 14 and is second in the league in assists with nine, which puts him on pace to close in on his career high in both categories (16 goals, 13 assists). Cunningham's brilliant play mixed with RSL'S recent success makes him a legitimate MVP candidate, and also has seen him rise among the career leaders in All-Time MLS goals scored. He currently sits tied with former MLS FW Roy Lassiter with 88 goals, and is eight goals behind Chivas USA FW Ante Razov (96 goals) for third place overall. RSL FW Jason Kreis (106 goals) is currently clinging to a two-goal lead over DC United's Jamie Moreno (104 goals) in the race for MLS' All-Time goal scoring supremacy.
FIDDLER'S ELBOW/SALT LAKE PIZZA AND PASTA TO HOST AWAY GAME WATCH PARTY: Fans from all across the Wasatch Front are invited to Fiddlers Elbow/Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta (1063 East, 2100 South) for an away game watch party this Saturday, August 26th. Real Salt Lake staff and reserve players will be in attendance to watch as Real Salt Lake continues its push towards the 2006 MLS Playoffs in a critical battle against the New York Red Bulls. The game can be seen on KSL 5 TV starting at 6:30 p.m. MT, and can be heard on Sports Radio 700 AM The Zone. "First Kick", the pre-game show of Real Salt Lake with Spencer Checketts and Brian Dunseth that can be heard on Sports Radio 700 the Zone, will broadcast live from Fiddler's Elbow, starting at 4:30 p.m. MT, while the game itself is set for a 5:30 p.m. MT kick-off time.
REAL SALT LAKE PRACTICE SHCEDULE: 8/21-8/20
DAY/DATE SITE TIME (MT)
Monday, August 21 OFF
Tuesday, August 22 Lakeside Park, Orem 10:00 a.m.
Wednesday, August 23 Rice-Eccles Stadium 9:00 a.m.
Thursday, August 23 TBD (Travel Day)
Friday, August 24 Meadowlands, New Jersey TBD
Saturday, August 25 GAME vs. New York Red Bulls 5:30 p.m.
2006 RSL TICKET PACKAGES ON SALE:
RSL 2006 ticket packages are on sale and fans can now purchase full season, half season, the "High-Five" pack and flex season by visiting the RSL Ticket Office at 515 South 700 East, #2R, SLC, UT 84102, by logging onto www.RealSaltLake.com or by contacting the Real Salt Lake Ticket Office at (866) 9-SOCCER. Fans can also purchase single-game tickets by visiting the Utah Ticket Office at 451 South 1400 East, by logging onto www.UtahTickets.com or by contacting the Ticket Office at (801) 581-UTIX. Finally, fans can purchase The KFC Colonel's Corner $12 ticket voucher, the club's most affordable single-game ticket, by visiting any of the 36 KFC® restaurants in Utah.
MLS CAMPS: The Official Camp and Clinic of Major League Soccer is NOW the Official Camp & Clinic of Real Salt Lake! NEW for 2006, Fantasy Camp and focused Team Training experiences. To find out more about all of RSL's Youth Development Programs, call Scott Reynolds at (801) 924-8575 or by email at SReynolds@RealSaltLake.com. To partner with RSL to host MLS Camps in your community, call us today.
ACCESS REAL: Real fans can now receive up-to-date information on the team by signing up for the RSL Weekly Newsletter at the fans section of RealSaltLake.com.
