It is safe to say Real Salt Lake are making a strong case for possessing the best home-field advantage among MLS teams. The New England Revolution certainly would offer no arguments after becoming the latest team to fall inside Rio Tinto Stadium.
RSL scored two goals off corner kicks in a three-minute span in the second half to fuel a 6-0 victory against the Revolution on Saturday night. Jamison Olave converted the first corner kick into a goal and Clint Mathis followed suit to come up with the team's second goal.
Yura Movsisyan, Luis Miguel Escalada, Andy Williams and Robbie Findley also scored as the six goals set a record for most goals scored in a game by RSL in club history. Real also set a record for shots with 29, 12 of those on goal.
The 6-0 defeat was the heaviest suffered in a league match by the Revolution in their 14-year history. They had lost three previous league games by five goals, though they did suffer a 6-0 loss to Chicago in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
RSL worked to establish an attacking presence in the first few minutes. It paid off in the form of multiple scoring chances for the Utah side.
Movsisyan nearly struck first in the opening minute when he tried to thread a ball between a pair of New England defenders. Movsisyan's shot was on frame, but lacked enough power to have a reasonable chance of making it past the hands of Revs 'keeper Brad Knighton.
In the seventh minute, Chris Wingert tracked the ball down in the corner and crossed it over to Findley, who was stationed mid-area. Findley headed the ball at the goal but did not get a good first touch on it. The end result: a shot that sailed high over the crossbar.
RSL came back again in the ninth minute with one of their best scoring chances yet. A shot by Movsisyan was redirected toward Robbie Russell and he tracked it down around the near side of the area. Russell latched onto the ball and attempted to curl a shot around the right post. Instead, he hooked it at an awkward angle and the ball sailed outside the post.
Another Real shot sailed off frame in the 13th minute when Movsisyan hooked a bullet wide of the left post.
After going quiet for a sizeable chunk of the half, RSL amped up its attack again in the final 15 minutes. Will Johnson had a clean look at the net in the 34th minute. The Canadian midfielder unleashed a rocket at Knighton. His shot proved to be high as the ball sailed over the crossbar and bounced on top of the netting.
RSL had its best chance yet in the 37th minute when Morales lobbed a through ball down to Movsisyan. With no one to contain him except Knighton, Movsisyan uncorked a laser on the break. His shot was deflected by the Revs 'keeper and Real could not convert on the rebound.
New England nearly punched it in themselves just a minute later. Sainey Nyassi created space for himself in the area and got a good look at the net. His shot was low and on frame, but RSL 'keeper Nick Rimando came through in time to secure the ball.
Much as they did in the first half, Real opened the second half by attacking New England at will.
Kyle Beckerman drilled a long-range strike just outside the box in the 47th minute. Knighton managed to rip the ball out of the air, but it squirted out of his hands as he covered up. Movsisyan could not get to the ball before it went over the endline.
Russell then attempted to bend it around the right post on a sliding kick in the 52nd minute. Once again, Knighton was there to deflect it away and he set up a corner kick for Real that went nowhere.
Corner kicks eventually became the thing that broke the Revolution defense. RSL went up 1-0 in the 53rd minute when Morales hooked a corner kick to Olave and he headed the ball home.
Real tacked on their second goal, making it 2-0, two minutes later when Morales swung a corner kick out to Mathis outside the top of the 6-yard box. Mathis hammered a wicked first-time volley that slotted perfectly inside the upper left corner.
Morales nearly scored himself on a direct free kick in the 59th minute. He lobbed the ball over the defensive wall, but his shot barely scooted wide of the left post.
RSL tacked on a third goal soon enough. Mathis threaded the ball between two defenders in the 70th minute and got it ahead to Movsisyan. Once he penetrated the area, Movsisyan unleashed a rocket that zipped past Knighton and found its landing spot in the corner of the net.
Escalada poured salt into New England's wounds in the 81st minute when he took a flick from Ned Grabavoy and slotted it into the corner of the net to make it 4-0. It was the first points in an RSL uniform for either player.
Andy Williams added the cherry on top for RSL when he punched in a goal off a direct free kick from the left flank to make it 5-0 in the 85th minute.
Williams then fed Findley for a one-on-one opportunity in the 89th minute which ended in Findley slotting home Real's sixth and final goal of the night. The last time a game ended 6-0 in MLS, RSL was on the losing end, Aug. 26, 2006 when the New York Red Bulls also scored six goals in the second half.
John Coon is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
