Toronto FC watched an opportunity for a precious away point dissolve with Robbie Findley’s late strike during Major League Soccer’s recent edition of Monday Night Football. While this storyline was important, especially when looking at the crowded Eastern Conference, the most amazing part of the evening was the fact that Real Salt Lake now sits in first place in the Western Conference four points above the Houston Dynamo. With 27 points, RSL has as many points this season in 19 games as the team had from all of last season. That is awesome.
With some savvy scouting of the South American continent as well as the addition of veteran leadership from Europe, Real Salt Lake has given the MLS audience a chance to witness one of the greatest “from bottom dweller to contender” tales in the history of the MLS.
Along with last season’s key trio of Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley, and Nick Rimando, RSL brought in a pair of Argentines in Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola to bolster the attack. Three experienced veterans, who have contributed to the team’s success, were also signed from Europe: Kenny Deuchar via Scotland, Nat Borchers via Norway, and Ian Joy via Germany.
Is RSL going to sustain this pace until the fall? Let’s hope so.
