RSL vs. FC Dallas: Three winner, four losers from 2-2 draw

Winner: Rubio Rubin

We’re five games into the season. Rubio Rubin has four goals. They’ve all been fantastic goals. This one was just as good as any, turning and firing inside the box expertly. The angle was difficult. Rubin has surely erased the doubts people had when he arrived at the club. What a magnificent signing.

Winner: Damir Kreilach

Rescuing a draw from the jaws of defeat? There are few better at this club than Damir Kreilach at scoring huge goals, and this one is among them. We were pretty bad on the night, but Kreilach took his chance quite well. I hope he retires a Real Salt Lake player. I also hope he continues playing in a central attacking role this season, because he’s consistently good there.

Loser: Albert Rusnak

I don’t know where to start. Rusnak was indecisive in promising situations, made poor snap decisions in less promising situations, and he could have cost RSL a point late on with a stupid foul on the edge of the box. I know Freddy Juarez has said he’s happy with Rusnak, but I, for one, am not. (And you know this, obviously. I have not been particularly quiet about it.)

Loser: Nick Besler and Pablo Ruiz, as a pair

I don’t think Besler and Ruiz were poor individually, necessarily, but we didn’t deal with Dallas in the middle of the park well at all. We gave up shot after shot after shot, and while we somehow came away with a point, it wasn’t because of these two. (Well, I mean, I guess it could have been. They also prevented a few opportunities — maybe those were ones that would have made their way into the goal. I dunno.)

Really, we faced 29 shots tonight, and part of that is because the midfield was about as effective as a leaky sieve. Could this be a tactical thing? I dunno, maybe.

Loser: Marcelo Silva

Marcelo Silva makes a massive mistake in basically every game he plays. It doesn’t always lead to a conceded goal, but it certainly did tonight.

Winner: David Ochoa

Ochoa gave up two goals — neither of which were really his fault — and faced ten shots on target. He stopped some sure things. Ochoa’s pretty good, even if he occasionally rebounds the ball into the feet of the opposition.