RSL Roundup: Big win over Seattle answers some defense questions

Trying to keep up on this week's Real Salt Lake news and opinion? After a big win against Seattle, there's been a lot of discussion ranging from finding positives in RSL's defense to wondering what's next for the team.

(Editor's note: A previous version of this story said "in Seattle," which is probably due to some sleeplessness. I'll show myself out.)

We've added quite a few writers to the RSL Soapbox team in the last few weeks (and we'd love it if you joined, too), and we're featuring some of their analysis here.

News

• Jamison Olave and Javier Morales are both "probable" for Saturday's match against Portland. Morales is dealing with a rib injury and a quad strain, and Olave is dealing with a quad strain of his own. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Jeff Cassar praised Real Salt Lake for playing until the final whistle against Seattle: "What I do like is we went all the way to the end," Cassar said. "It wasn't pretty. We'll take three points." (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Sunny's foul-exaggeration against Seattle got some scrutiny from Brian Dunseth in his new role on MLS's Instant Replay feature. (Sounder at Heart)

Opinion

• Think Jamison Olave's been poor? I posit that he's actually been playing reasonably well and that he certainly isn't. (RSL Soapbox)
• From the other side of the aisle, Ryan Cowper writes about Tony Beltran, Sunny, and Chris Wingert making Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey irrelevant. (Sounder at Heart)
• Daniel Cross broke down RSL's defensive efforts against Seattle: "Aaron Maund and Jamison Olave, especially, must have been feeling the pressure at the Rio Tinto before the game, but should be applauded for not letting this affect them too much." (RSL Soapbox)
• Weston Jenson thinks RSL is on the right track to rebuild a fortress at Rio Tinto Stadium (RSL Soapbox)
• Gordon Monson touches on optimism and skepticism around Real Salt Lake (Salt Lake Tribune)

"Real's partisans aren't so much a tough crowd as much as they are an educated one, a group that knows what it's like to watch smart, crisp soccer, winning soccer, soccer that eventually leads to a playoff run and, before that, to the hope that builds over a nine-month-long journey, especially when it is played at Rio Tinto.

Not sure that's what they got, not even the early rudiments of it." — Gordon Monson

• Randal Serr handed best-of-team marks to Sunny for his performance and goal against Seattle Sounders (RSL Soapbox)
• And Junior Matos is right there, too, praising Sunny for making the difference against a difficult team (RSL Soapbox)

Quote of the week

"I thought he did great. Stepping in for (Javier Morales) in a season opener against Seattle - that's no easy feat. Especially for a young man trying a different position than usual. I thought he did a great job. I thought him and Yura defensively worked well together and that's what you always look for is what kind of partnerships they will have. I thought Jordan was finding good spots on the field. He was also able to open up some channels playing behind the right and left back. Obviously there are still some areas for him to grow and mature into that position, but I was really happy for him. It was wonderful that I saw Javi talking to him before the game, helping him out on a few things and that's why I really think something special is going on. Because guys are helping each other and they're really coming together. Soccer wasn't great but you saw 11 guys working for the same cause and that's what I'm really proud of."

— Jeff Cassar, post-game quote sheet via RSL Communications

Stat of the week

Here are Kyle Beckerman's touches against Seattle Sounders. He had 58 of those, two behind team leader, Burrito Martinez. (Source: WhoScored match report)