Five best moments against LA Galaxy, from Cup to Dunny

Real Salt Lake has seen plenty of great moments against their Los Angeles rivals — that's why we've taken five of the best and given you some highlights to relive. To say these matches were enjoyable ignores the magnitude of some of them, and it ignores the raw emotions most of us still feel.

Here are my top five moments — what would you have done differently?

5. March 26, 2011: RSL puts up four early before big CCL match

Photo by George Frey/Getty Images

Between the first and second legs of Real Salt Lake's CONCACAF Champions League semifinal against Saprissa, RSL faced LA Galaxy — and they creamed them, winning 4-1. That win helped propel them forward to a near-CCL title.

4. March 10, 2012: RSL opens the season with a big win

Although it took a minor miracle for RSL to end the first half without conceding a goal, and despite LA's going up 1-0 in the 72nd minute, this is an incredibly memorable game. About 60 seconds after conceding, RSL drew level when Sebastian Velasquez flung a cross along the face of goal, and Sean Franklin (yes, LA Galaxy defender Sean Franklin) kindly put it away for him. A few minutes later, Javier Morales put RSL in front. A few minutes after that, Fabian Espindola sealed the deal on a memorable comeback, scoring RSL's third of the game.

3. November 7, 2013: RSL grinds out a second-leg playoff win

Down a goal on aggregate, RSL fans had plenty of reasons to be less than hopeful when the two teams faced off in November. Enter Sebastian Velasquez: 35 minutes in to the second leg, he put home his first professional goal. It's hard to have a bigger first-goal than that one. In the 85th, a potential winner was called back for some sort of offsides call — and so it went to extra time. 102 minutes, Chris Schuler scored the best goal you'll see. Rio Tinto Stadium was dizzy with excitement.

2. April 16, 2005: RSL wins their first-ever home match over the Rapids

Editor's note: Due to a real lapse in concentration, I've somehow bungled this one entirely. It was not against the Galaxy; it was against the Rapids. Let's leave that for posterity, because it's rather embarrassing. I've adjusted it to be accurate.

Of RSL's five wins in 2005, two were against the Galaxy. But the first one? That was against Colorado Rapids, not the Galaxy. It featured the first-ever home goal for Real Salt Lake. They played at Rice Eccles Stadium (the University of Utah's football stadium), and it featured Brian Dunseth scoring the sole goal of the match. Not only was that a great goal, but it also featured one of the greatest goal celebrations conceivable: Dunny picks up the corner flag and plants it in the fertile (er...) ground at Rice Eccles. He's been a legend since.

Editor's note, again: Please accept this bit about RSL's first home win over LA Galaxy as tribute.

A 2-1 win on paper is nice. But a comeback win to beat the LA Galaxy? That's even better. Eddie Pope scored the first one, and — who else — Jason Kreis scored the winner. That guy.

1. RSL wins the 2009 MLS Cup

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

Seriously. You didn't think it would be anything but this, right? In 2009, Real Salt Lake was anything but a sure thing. They snuck into the playoffs, then they won the Eastern Conference semifinals, then they won the Eastern Conference finals, and then they won the whole thing — against LA Galaxy.