Real Salt Lake 2 - New England 0 - Thoughts, Facts, and Stats

Kyle Reynish gets the clean sheet, Collen Warner gets two assists, Paulo Jr. gets another goal, Chris Schuler gets his first MLS goal, Arturo Alvarez gets his first MLS start, Jean Alexandre and Rauwshan McKenzie get their first starts of the young 2011 MLS season, not exactly the recipe for 2-0 road win but that is exactly what Real Salt Lake got.  The reward for head coach putting the challenge to some young players of "We believe in you, now go out and get the job done." was that they did just that in a match that RSL dominated for huge stretches and survived once the match got chippy.

When coaches talk about how deep there team is, they usually mean in the case of emergencies we have some guys that we think and step in and play, when the staff at RSL talk about it they honestly mean they have 20 players they feel can play at the first team level in MLS, and Saturday's result showed they may just be right.  After the win, RSL remains the only undefeated team in MLS at 3-0-0, but they will face a tough test on Wednesday as they will host the defending MLS Cup Champions Colorado, who will be looking to rebound from their first loss of the 2011 season.

After the jump the official stuff:

REAL SALT LAKE STAYS PERFECT WITH 2-0 WIN AT NEW ENGLAND

Goals from DF Chris Schuler and FW Paulo Jr. Help Claret-and-Cobalt Remain Lone Undefeated Team in MLS;

Overall Regular Season Undefeated Run Stretched to 17 Games, Road Unbeaten Streak Now at Nine Matches 

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Saturday, April 9, 2011) - While the cast of characters might have been largely different, the result was the same for Real Salt Lake, which utilized the deepest bench in Major League Soccer to power past the New England Revolution 2-0 at Gillette Stadium. With the result, Real Salt Lake (3-0-0, 9 pts.) was the lone of the five undefeated teams in MLS entering Week 4 action to stay that way and pushed the third-longest unbeaten run in MLS regular season history to 17 games (9-0-8).

RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis shuffled his roster following Tuesday's grueling CCL Semifinal contest against Saprissa in Costa Rica, giving several players their first look in the starting XI for 2011. RSL's continuity and possession looked much the same, as the Utah side carried the play out of the gates and put three of its first half shots on frame. One of those came in the 27^th minute, when DF Chris Schuler netted his first career MLS goal, his glancing header of MF Collen Warner's corner kick settling into the upper right corner of goal to give the visitors the lead.

Warner would also help on RSL's second tally of the night, his dirty work to keep possession along the sideline ultimately paying off with his through ball down the right flank for FW Paulo Jr. The Brazilian striker took full advantage of his 1-v-1 chance on Revolution GK Bobby Shuttleworth, coolly slotting just inside the near right post to double the RSL lead and record his second goal of the young season. The match would turn ugly soon after, as red cards issued to New England midfielders Shalrie Joseph and Pat Phelan and RSL's Will Johnson were three of the ten cards issued by referee Jasen Anno on the night. 

Real Salt Lake Match Notes

• Real Salt Lake's 17-match undefeated run in regular season action sits just two behind the League record of 19. RSL was responsible for the end of one of those streaks when it defeated FC Dallas late in the 2010 regular season, while the 2004-05 Columbus Crew squads combined for the other record run.
• The current unbeaten streak also includes a nine-match road undefeated run (3-0-6) that is tied for the second longest in MLS annals, even with the 2004 Columbus Crew and 2007-08 Chicago Fire. Tonight's win pushed RSL's career record against the Revs to 6-4-3, including a winning 3-2-2 margin at Gillette Stadium.
• Real Salt Lake is the only MLS squad to gain the full nine points from its first three contests and sits even with its next two opponents in League play - Colorado and Philadelphia - atop the League's overall table. The three teams that Real Salt Lake has defeated in 2011 - San Jose, Los Angeles and New England - have combined to go 6-0-5 in their other contests (San Jose kicks off late against Toronto FC). NOTE (This is actually wrong, Colorado gained 9 points from their first 3 matches before losing to FC Dallas in week 4)
• Five Real Salt Lake players - GK Kyle Reynish, DF Rauwshan McKenzie, MF Jean Alexandre, MF Collen Warner, and FW Arturo Alvarez - got their first starts of the 2011 season, with McKenzie getting his first minutes of the campaign via his full 90-minute effort.
• For Reynish, the three-save performance marked the first win of his MLS career (1-0-3), this after he registered draws in his three League performances last season and a no-record performance in his MLS debut in 2009. The shutout was the second of his career, following up on his clean sheet last Sept. 9 at Seattle (0-0 T).
• The two assists for Collen Warner marked his first two helpers in League play since joining the squad via the MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Portland in 2010. Warner's two-point performance tonight - which broke a 14-game streak without a goal or assist to start his career - was not his first in an RSL uniform, as he helped registered a goal and assist in last October's 3-1 win over Cruz Azul in the CCL Group Stage finale in Sandy.
• With regular captain Kyle Beckerman starting the contest on the substitute's bench, tonight's match marked the first time MF Will Johnson donned the captain's armband for Real Salt Lake in regular season action. The red card awarded to Johnson in the 87^th minute marked the first for RSL in regular season action since Sept., 19, 2009, when DF Jamison Olave was ejected from a 2-3 defeat at Houston (36 games between regular season ejections).
• Real Salt Lake will return to Utah on Sunday to prepare for yet another quick turnaround, this time in advance of the first of two Rocky Mountain Cup series showdowns with the Colorado Rapids (3-1-0, 9 pts.) this Wednesday, April 13 at Rio Tinto Stadium (7:00 p.m. MT kickoff). Tickets for the rivalry contest featuring the last two MLS Cup champions remain available and can be purchased online at RealSaltLake.com, over the phone at 801-727-2700, or in person at the Rio Tinto Stadium Box Office Monday-Tuesday from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. MT and beginning at 10:00 a.m. on gameday. 

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION  0  :  2  REAL SALT LAKE

SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011

GILLETTE STADIUM - FOXBOROUGH, MA

Goals by Period                    1          2          F

New England Revolution        0          0          0

Real Salt Lake                        1          1          2

Scoring Summary:

RSL -- Chris Schuler 1 (Collen Warner 1) 28

RSL -- Paulo Araujo Jr. 2 (Collen Warner 2) 47 

Misconduct Summary:

NE -- Franco Coria (caution; Reckless Foul) 34

RSL -- Jean Alexandre (caution; Persistent Infringement) 37

NE -- Ilija Stolica (caution; Reckless Tackle) 51

NE -- Kevin Alston (caution; Reckless Foul) 60

NE -- Shalrie Joseph (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 71

RSL -- Chris Schuler (caution; Reckless Foul) 74

RSL -- Will Johnson (caution; Reckless Tackle) 84

NE -- Pat Phelan (ejection; Serious Foul Play) 85

RSL -- Will Johnson (ejection; Second Caution) 87

NE -- Didier Domi (caution; Dissent) 89 

Real Salt Lake -- Kyle Reynish, Robbie Russell, Rauwshan McKenzie, Tony Beltran, Chris Schuler, Ned Grabavoy, Collen Warner (Luis Gil 79), Jean Alexandre (Kyle Beckerman 62), Will Johnson, Arturo Alvarez, Paulo Jr.

Substitutes Not Used: Nat Borchers, Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales, Andy Williams, Nick Rimando. 

New England Revolution -- Bobby Shuttleworth, Kevin Alston, Franco Coria, Ryan Cochrane (Darrius Barnes 53), Didier Domi, Marko Perovic, Shalrie Joseph, Pat Phelan, Stephen McCarthy (Ilija Stolica 46), Zack Schilawski (Sainey Nyassi 46), Kenny Mansally. 

Substitutes Not Used: Zak Boggs, Kheli Dube, Chris Tierney, Tim Murray. 

Referee: Jasen Anno

Referee's Assistants: Bill Dittmar; Eric Proctor

4th Official: Niko Bratsis

Attendance: 7,970

Time of Game: 1:55

Weather: Clear-and-50-degrees

There you go, just about everything you could want to know about last nights big road win for RSL.  See you on Wednesday at Rio Tinto.

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