MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Kyle Beckerman didn't have a whole lot of fun during the 2015 MLS campaign as Real Salt Lake, a league power for more than a half a decade, skidded to a ninth-place finish in the Western Conference, 10 points out of a playoff spot.
RSL had averaged 15.6 wins, 55.6 points and a plus-15 goal difference over five seasons following their stunning playoff run to win the MLS Cup title in 2009, but they struggled after the departures after the 2014 season of three pivotal on-field figures and general manager Garth Lagerwey.
Too much changed too quickly, RSL's captain says, and he's hoping things will return to normal this year.
“It was a frustrating time [last year] with Salt Lake, because we made some mistakes,” Beckerman, who joined the club in 2007, said during last week's MLS media roundtable in Southern California. “It was just tough from being a team that was constantly competing for, you know, pretty much everything – we'd been in the Supporters' Shield talk and then we'd make the playoffs – and then all of a sudden kind of abandon that and then not get the results.
“It was tough. ... Hopefully, we can learn from those mistakes we made and get better from it for this year.”
Former head coach Jason Kreis and Lagerwey had built RSL into a powerhouse by amassing an impressive array of talent, with more than a dozen players playing key roles for most or all of the 2009-14 run. Kreis departed after the 2013 season to become New York City FC's first manager and Lagerwey left the following year to take on the GM role with Seattle Sounders.
Jeff Cassar, the longtime assistant who succeeded Kreis, guided the Utahns to a 15-win season and a playoff appearance in 2014. The departures the following offseason by defender Nat Borchers, who was traded to Portland, and midfielder Ned Grabavoy and defender Chris Wingert, who went to NYCFC in the expansion draft, left big holes, in terms of leadership and how the team played.
RSL also traded forward Alvaro Saborio, RSL's career scoring leader, to D.C. United last July.
“We got extremely lucky with being able to get some of the guys here [under Kreis],” Beckerman said. “And it just kind of reinforces what we were doing last year with the moves that we made. I think we made the moves so we wouldn't have a year like last year, and then we had a year like last year.
“So we've got to learn from it, we've got to get better from it, and, hopefully, we will. We can, hopefully, make this past year a fluke, and we can get back to where we can be.”
RSL's fine run preceding last year had been a blast. They finished second or third in the West for five years running, reached the CONCACAF Champions League final and came within inches of another MLS Cup title, falling on penalty kicks to Sporting Kansas City in the 2013 final.
- Get more Real Salt Lake news at RSL.com
“It would have been nice to win another championship or get another trophy, but when I look back on it, it was a good team ...,” Beckerman said. “I just wish we could have lasted longer.”
A handful of important figures remain, including Beckerman, goalkeeper Nick Rimando and playmaking midfielder Javier Morales. Defender Jamison Olave was back last year after two seasons with the New York Red Bulls. They've brought back forward Yura Movsisyan, who left for Europe following the 2009 MLS Cup triumph, and signed Nigerian midfielder Sunny Obayan this year.
“We've got to find ourselves again,” Beckerman said. “We've got to get back and we have to put in the work, get back to a team that can be consistent and compete for things.”
