Historical Moments:
2005: One of two new teams in MLS, Real Salt Lake playing homage to European Soccer with
its name and logo will be begin playing at legendary Rice-Eccles Stadium, home
of University of Utah football and the 2002 Winter Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
On April 16, in front of a capacity crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Real Salt Lake
played their inaugural home game against rival Colorado Rapids. The game would
be held scoreless until Brian Dunseth sent fans wild with a goal in the 81st
minute to beat their rivals in their first home game. That would be the lone
bright spot for RSL as the rest of the season was filled with losses and some ties,
including a 10 game losing streak through the summer. RSL, with a record of
5-22-5, finished in fifth place in the West in front of expansion counterparts
Chivas USA. The talent on the team is deep with Clint Mathis, Eddie Pope, Jason
Kreis, Andy Williams and Scott Garlick.
2006: A cloud of uncertainty hung over real Salt Lake in their second year. In July, the
State of Utah and the club were at a standstill as to whether or not a new stadium
should be built. An agreement was eventually reached, and helped secure the
team's future in the state. Despite the distractions, Real Salt Lake played
well, even finding themselves in position to make the playoffs in September. But
it was not to be, finishing with a record of 10-13-9, missing the postseason
by two points.
2007: With the knowledge that he was eligible to be transferred after turning 18, RSL acquired
Freddy Adu and then allowed him to go overseas and play for SL Benfica
in Portugal. This brought transfer money to the club and they used in to invest
in young developing talent. Also, Jason Kreis was brought in as coach mid-season
to help turn the team around. The results would not come immediately and RSL
limped to a record of 6-15-9 and again sat in last place in the West.
2008: After failing to qualify for the playoffs in each of their first three seasons, Real
Salt Lake finally broke through on a dramatic goal by forward Yura Movsisyan,
who scored an equalizing goal against the rival Colorado Rapids in the final
game of the season with the postseason on the line. Late in the season Real Salt
Lake took a step toward the future as Rio Tinto Stadium opened with a 1-1 tie
against Red Bull New York. At 10-10-10 third place Real Salt Lake faced Chivas
USA in the playoffs winning the first game of an aggregate score two game series
1-0. In Game 2 they would forge a 2-2 tie to advance to the semifinals with
a 3-2 total score. However, down 1-0 several shots went were turned away as Real
Salt Lake was knocked out by Red Bull New York with a trip to the MLS Cup on
the line.
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