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Real Salt Lake-Earthquakes Preview

Mar 26, 2010 - 11:31 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Real Salt Lake (0-0-0) at San Jose (0-0-0), 9:00 p.m. EDT

Thanks to a thrilling run to its first MLS title, the 2009 season was easily Real Salt Lake's most memorable. For the San Jose Earthquakes, it was another forgettable campaign.

Real Salt Lake opens its championship defense Saturday night with a trip to face the Earthquakes, who are trying to avoid a third straight last-place finish in the Western Conference.

Salt Lake was the last team to qualify for the MLS playoffs but became the first to win the league championship after posting a losing regular-season record (11-12-7). Starting in the Eastern Conference side of the bracket, RSL bounced defending champ Columbus in the opening series and beat Chicago on penalty kicks to advance to the MLS Cup.

In title match, it won another shootout with Los Angeles with Robbie Russell netting the winning score.

"There are targets on our backs now, but we try not to concern ourselves with that," coach Jason Kreis told the league's official Web site. "We have the potential to be one of the elite teams in the league. It's time to step forward."

To win another title, Salt Lake has to overcome the loss of a pair of key players - Yura Movsisyan and Clint Mathis.

Movsisyan had eight goals in 2009, ranking second for a club which finished with 43 goals - tied for second in MLS. He signed with Danish Superliga club Randers FC on Jan. 1, however, and RSL dealt Mathis to Los Angeles for draft picks two weeks later.

To help ease those losses, Real Salt Lake got Costa Rican forward Alvaro Saborio on loan from Swiss team FC Sion and acquired 16-year-old midfielder Luis Gil from Kansas City. Gil, a member of the United States' Under-17 national team, had garnered interest from high-profile international clubs including Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Robbie Findley returns after netting a career-best 12 scores - tied for third-most in the league - and the Salt Lake defense remains virtually intact.

San Jose will likely need improved defense to avoid its third last-place in as many years since the franchise's reincarnation in 2008. The Earthquakes gave up a league-worst 50 goals while finishing 7-14-9 last season, and their 30 points were their fewest since a franchise-low 29 in 2000.

San Jose began 2009 a woeful 1-7-2 before beating Salt Lake 2-1 at home May 30. The Earthquakes nearly defeated RSL again July 3, but had to settle for a 1-all tie after an own goal in extra time.

The season remained a struggle overall, though, as injuries forced coach Frank Yallop to use 25 different starting lineups.

Yallop's club sought to upgrade in the offseason, acquiring Brazilian striker Eduardo and selecting defenseman Ike Opara out of Wake Forest with the third overall pick in the SuperDraft.

"For the momentum of the franchise, we need a positive season immediately," goalkeeper Joe Cannon told the league's Web site. "We made the necessary changes, but we can't afford another slow start."

The Earthquakes bring back their top three goal scorers from 2009, including Ryan Johnson, who had a career-best 11.