Five winners, one loser from RSL’s 3-1 win over Colorado Rapids

Winner: Damir Kreilach

We keep running out of superlatives for Kreilach. He lifted the team to victory, playing a role in each of the three goals. The first, his header, was classic Kreilach. The second contribution was an assist for Rubio Rubin — a beautifully smart pass. The final was a flicked-on header that he sent for Anderson Julio’s last-second run. It was a performance to remember for Kreilach.

Winner: Aaron Herrera

There’s no other choice here, really. He’s hit ten assists on the year, joining rare territory for Real Salt Lake in double-digits. That assist mark is remarkable for plenty of reasons, and he’s fully joined the RSL history books now. Also, I’ve nearly written Herrera in the winner column twice now, so it’s nice to see him continuing to impress. It should of course be noted that he played in a slightly odd right-center-back-right-back hybrid role, and he managed that quite well.

Winner: Anderson Julio

Julio coming on late and scoring — or at least stretching the game — is becoming a pattern. Giving him the chance to do that from a forward position rather than one on the wings has made a tremendous difference, as he’s been lifted out of defensive responsibility.

Loser: Albert Rusnak

Not to dwell on the negatives too much here, but Rusnak was slow, ponderous, and sloppy in his passing. It’s an easy one to forgive, of course — he’s just come back from a grueling international break, and even if he didn’t play significant minutes for Slovakia, it surely made a difference. We can eagerly await a return to form.

Winner: Everton Luiz

This was Everton Luiz at his hard-tackling best, and it’s remarkable to see him back operating at that level after some really troublesome performances. I’m still not sure what he’s being asked to do positionally, but his recovery runs were precisely what RSL needed.

Winner: David Ochoa

Heroics. I don’t want him to have to be tasked with heroics game-after-game, but that’s certainly not Ochoa’s fault.