Chivas USA did exactly what they needed to do Saturday, beating Real Salt Lake 1-0 on a 72nd minute Alecko Eskandarian goal and moving above their opponents to take second place in the Western Conference.

Somewhat of a comedy routine gave the former Real Salt Lake striker the winner over his old team: Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando and defender Nat Borchers collided and the ball bounced past them to Eskandarian, who gratefully accepted the gift that was his third goal of the season.

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Luis wrote a post-game article that included a Kyle Beckerman quote, but he left out the Nick Rimando cameo.

Luis and I were part of a group of reporters around Kyle in the locker room. Just as Kyle said his bit about Edson taking advantage of an inch of space, Nick walked by.

"He got more than an inch," the goalkeeper asserted. Click to continue reading...

Here we go - a depleted Galaxy team versus Salt Lake's finest.
Luis thinks former Galaxy player Clint Mathis can still do some damage. I'm thinking it might be Robbie Findley who hurts LA, but we'll see.

RSL: Nick Rimando, Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Ian Joy, Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Clint Mathis, Kenny Deuchar, Fabian Espindola

LA: Josh Wicks, Chris Klein, Sean Franklin, Troy Roberts, Mike Randolph, Eduardo Dominguez, Josh Tudela, Greg Vanney, Bryan Jordan, Edson Buddle, Alan Gordon. Click to continue reading...

I have a feeling a good number of our fans - perhaps especially those in Barra Brava? - know who Branden Steineckert is. For those of you that don't, you should know first that he is a United fan. He also happens to play drums in one of the most popular punk rock bands out there, Rancid. He also previously played in The Used, which is a massive rock band as well.

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I know, I know, I skipped last month in the monthly awards here but we are back at it when a new twist. I'm mainly going to concentrate on the Player of the Month and the best XI. In the past I did a bunch of other ones but for right now I just don't [...] Click to continue reading...

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By CASEY CANNON

Hello and Welcome to the Soccer by Ives Fantasy Guide – now with new formulas! Every week I dig through statistics, news, and rumors to provide the reader with the kind of fantasy advice that only someone who is busier than a wombat at a cheese eating contest can provide.

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Toronto FC 1 - Real Salt Lake 2
Real Salt Lake surged four points clear of the rest of the West on Monday night as Robbie Findley netted the tiebreaking goal three minutes from stoppage to lead RSL to a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC in Utah.

Jamison Olave opened the scoring for Real just past an hour, heading home Chris Wingert's service from the right side after finding himself unmarked at the back post. Click to continue reading...

Okay, last week I didn't get these out and I apologize for that. I got overwhelmed with stuff because of Sunday night's SuperLiga match and had to scrap something.

So after a week hiatus, here's the Spotlight for Week 17.

Top XI
G: Joe Cannon
D: Marvell Wynne Bobby Boswell
D: Ryan Cochrane
D: Chris Wingert
M: Jorge Rojas Dave Van den Burgh
M: Christian Gomez
M: Guillermo Barros Schelotto
M: Kurt Morsink
F: Edson Buddle
F: Juan Pablo Angel
F: Kenny Cooper

Coach: Ian Russell, San Jose. Click to continue reading...

A red-hot Real Salt Lake rode its stingy defense to a shutout win against a strong Columbus squad to move into first place in the Western Conference.

Okay, I'll wait while everybody takes in that last sentence. And no, you aren't dreaming.

RSL is enjoying the best run of form in club history (and yes, I know that's not saying a lot) and now sits in first place in the extremely weak Western Conference.

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The day before the transfer window opens, we have a great "only in MLS" story: New England's Chase Hilgenbrinck is giving up soccer to join the priesthood.

In terms of surprise retirements, that ranks alongside Tampa Bay's R.T. Moore, who left the Mutiny to go to dental school.

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Top XI
G: Nick Rimando
D: Bobby Burling
D: Michael Parkhurst
D: Facundo Erpen
D: Chris Wingert
M: Colin Clark
M: Emmanuel Ekpe
M: Guillermo Barros Schelotto
F: Chris Rolfe
F: Ante Razov
F: Adam Cristman

Coach: Sigi Schmid and Schellas Hyndman each went to the right player off the bench as Steven Lenhart and Abe Thompson rewarded their respective coaches' faith with late equalizers as Columbus and FC Dallas rescued home points. Click to continue reading...

I said it before and I'll say it again. A win is a win. That's three points, and if I'm not mistaken, at least remaining within a shouting distance of sixth place. Not an ideal position on the table when you are nearing the midway point of the season, but with only 11 goals to their name, it could be worse.

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Yes, it was an own goal, yes one of our players still haven't scored since Claudio Lopez against LA, but all that will matter in the end is that the scoreline says 1-0 with KC being on top. In a game that KC had the better of possession and the more dangerous of play, they could only manage 1 goal.

Winning the toss, KC made Salt Lake go into the sun in the first half, which helped to negate much of Salt Lake's offense in the first half. Click to continue reading...

For doing something no Wizards player could do today - but the ball past Nick Rimando. Ok, so this post is meant to be laced with sarcasm, but obviously it's much more difficult to accomplish that than I thought.

A win is a win. The 409 minutes without a goal is snapped. Would have been nicer if the credit had gone to one of the forwards.

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Back at the CAB this weekend, with a winnable game on the schedule. Real Salt Lake is coming to KC, bringing their not-so-impressive road record of 1-5 into this game. What's misleading about is the fact that RSL hasn't lost in five games - including a 0-0 draw three weeks ago against KC. And while the Wizards haven't won in the league in what seems like forever (last win on April 20), there will be no better time than this.

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Real Salt Lake can't lose.

Stop rubbing your eyes. You really did just read that first sentence correctly. Real Salt Lake is unbeaten in five games and looking like a real challenger for a playoff spot in the wide-open Western Conference.

If RSL needed a signature win to show it is for real, that win came on Saturday against a New England team that hadn't lost in seven matches.

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Top XI

G: Kevin Hartman Brad Guzan

D: Hunter Freeman Tony Beltran
D: Claudio Suarez

D: Gonzalo Martinez
M: Carlos Mendes
M: Clyde Simms
M: Sacha Kljestan
M: Marcelo Gallardo
M: Guillermo Barros Schelotto
F: Ante Razov
F: Landon Donovan Edson Buddle

Coach: Sigi Schmid. Click to continue reading...

For as long as they have been in MLS, there has never been a D in Real Salt Lake. Not literally or figuratively. Things seem to be changing.

RSL has posted three straight shutouts and has allowed just one goal in four matches, the kind of stingy defending we're not used to seeing from the boys from Utah.

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Been a while since we had multiple matches on a Wednesday, but we do tonight. As previously mentioned RBNY will be catching hell up in New England. Also on the docket is San Jose's visit to Salt Lake City so listen to what RSL's Tino Nunez and a newly mall-punk Nick Rimando have to say about it. Click to continue reading...

What happened to Chivas USA? After rattling off three straight wins, the Goats had the look of the team that finished first in the regular season. Now, after two straight shutout losses, Chivas USA is reeling again.

Real Salt Lake knows all about bad streaks, but RSL is currently riding a pretty good one.

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Top XI
G: Matt Reis Steve Cronin Ok, he only made one good save, but the way the Galaxy defense has given up goals, a shutout is notable. For Reis, its par.
D: Chris Wingert Ante Jazic - Passing is usually rusty after a long injury layoff, but Jazic was pinpoint
D: Chad Marshall
D: Drew Moor
M: Rohan Ricketts
M: Andre Rocha Guillermo Barros Schelotto
M: Steve Ralston Clyde Simms
M: Robbie Findley
F: Alejandro Moreno Kenny Cooper
F: Edson Buddle
F: Luciano Emilio

Coach: Jason Kreis, Real Salt Lake. Click to continue reading...

(Clever sub-titles seem in order here...perhaps even too-clever ones; I mean, is RSL really a riddle?) Real Salt Lake Record (W-L-T): 6-15-9, 31 GF; 45 GA Source Material: Schedule/match reports Overview Real Salt Lake's (RSL) past two seasons have followed the Riddle of the Sphinx made famous by the story of Oedipus: "What goes on four legs in the morning, [. Click to continue reading...

Ok, at last Real Salt Lake looked like a threat in front of goal, the three amigo's have made a huge difference to the team, the squad, the coach and to the fans, they brought us some excitement. Click to continue reading...