SALT LAKE CITY -- Confidence is the buzzword associated with Real Salt Lake these days. They appeared to have one of those turn-the-corner wins over the weekend when they broke through for their first ever road victory at Chivas USA with a 1-0 victory against the Red-and-White.
The triumph against Chivas was also the first for Real away from the confines of Rice-Eccles Stadium. Now with two consecutive home matches lying ahead, breaking the road jinx could signal the beginning of even bigger and better things.
If RSL can nab three points from the San Jose Earthquakes and the New England Revolution in rapid succession this week, it would be more than enough to vault the club into contention for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Now that his players have eliminated one obstacle to prolonged success, RSL coach Jason Kreis is looking for them to take the next step -- by putting together a winning streak.
"We've talked about all the things we're trying to learn and trying to get better at as we go along this season," Kreis said. "This is an opportunity for us to put two good results in a row together."
For Real, good results in recent weeks have started and ended with a radically improved defense. The club has blanked two opponents in a row and has yielded only one goal in its last three matches.
And it hasn't been just the back four doing all the work either. RSL has done a better job in recent weeks of asserting control over the midfield. Everyone is doing what they can to not just set up attacks, but repel them as well.
"It puts a smile on your face," said defender Nat Borchers. "I love to see guys who are honest in their effort and aren't just going forward every single play. They're realizing this is a team game. You got to fight and help everybody out in whatever position we're in."
The fight has been most evident in goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who came up with one incredible save after another to preserve the one-goal advantage over Chivas.
In the 56th minute, Ante Razov lined up a 30-yard free kick and drove it toward the left post, forcing Rimando into a diving save along the goal line. He came up big again in the 63rd minute when Justin Braun entered the penalty area on a breakaway and rifled the ball right at Rimando. The RSL 'keeper positioned himself perfectly to preserve the lead.
"We knew they were going to come at us because they were down," Rimando said. "But we gave them just a little bit (of space) and they didn't have room to play. We made it frustrating for them and pretty good for us."
In a lot of ways, it held a lot of extra meaning for RSL to claim its first road victory of the season against Chivas. Real had been winless in seven prior matches at The Home Depot Center -- with many results being of the blowout loss variety. Chivas USA, more than any other club, seemed to personify RSL's road struggles.
Still, the club wasn't as concerned about getting revenge against Chivas per se as it was about just finding the win column.
"It doesn't matter who the win came against," forward Kenny Deuchar said. "I think it was (more) important to get that monkey off our back and get those first points on the road."
Now that the monkey has been relegated back its digs in the jungle, RSL sees the week ahead as an excellent chance to use its home advantage to continue its climb up the MLS table.
"We're confident," Rimando said. "We're confident at home right now. We're undefeated and looking to continue that."
Russ doubtful for final stretch
Arminia Bielefeld: home form the key to survival
Chivas hope to use win as springboard
