SALT LAKE CITY -- A major reason Real Salt Lake have risen to contender status in the Western Conference is a defense that simply refuses to make things easy for an opposing offenses. RSL already set a new club record shutout streak earlier this season and generally have made Rice-Eccles a nightmare venue for opponents.
From the moment Mexican Primera Division side Santos Laguna took to the turf, however, RSL's defense suddenly had more holes in it than Swiss cheese.
Real could not slow down the speedy Santos attack in a 4-1 defeat on Wednesday night. RSL yielded three goals in its half -- the fourth being an own goal courtesy of rookie David Horst -- and generally seemed to struggle with corralling a much faster and more athletic Mexican club.
"We knew they were going to possess the ball," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "That's one of their main things Mexico is known for."
RSL withstood a flurry of shots from Santos in the opening minutes, but seemed to buckle when Horst accidently flicked the ball backward into his own net in the 12th minute when he attempted to clear it out.
Santos staked out a 2-0 lead in the 34th minute when Agustin Herrera crossed to fellow forward Oribe Peralta and he uncorked a bullet that sailed right over the head of goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
RSL looked like it might mount a second half comeback when Alex Nimo delivered his first professional goal in the 70th minute. Nimo was on the receiving end of a cross from Andy Williams deep into the six-yard box and the rookie made it count with a powerful header that made it 2-1.
But whatever positive momentum generated by that play was quickly washed away down the stretch.
Santos midfielder Gregorio Torres popped the ball up and over Seitz as he dived forward to make it 3-1 in the 74th minute. Andony Hernandez delivered the capper in the 85th minute when he spotted up in front of the goal area and threaded the ball past Seitz for another easy goal.
It wasn't necessarily a catastrophe that RSL fell apart so quickly en route to losing the third annual XanGo Cup. With a key home match against Columbus on tap for Saturday, this friendly was more about giving some younger players experience and working out kinks in a game that did not count for anything in the standings.
But for Real coach Jason Kreis, it proved that his players cannot afford to take a night off against any opponent.
"We're not good enough to go into games and relax and think we're going to go out and have some fun and knock the ball around and be successful," Kreis said.
Kreis wasn't too hard on his club after the match, despite the lopsided nature of the loss. The focus on this exhibition match was different than at times in the past because of where it came in the schedule.
RSL did better in its XanGo Cup matches a year ago -- when the club beat Everton FC and tied Boca Juniors -- simply because those matches came during a lengthy break in MLS action.
"For us right now, we're in a very important stretch in our season and so the focus had to be completely different tonight than it has been for prior international games," Kreis said.
Beckerman and other veterans saw this as a good training situation for the team on how to handle itself in a hostile environment. The home advantage that RSL normally enjoys in its home stadium was washed away by a throng of Mexican fans who showed up to root for one of Mexico's premier clubs.
By the end of the match, the cheers from Santos Laguna fans reverberated throughout Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"That's the way it is when you play a Mexican team," Beckerman said. "It's going to be an away game in America right now. That's just the way it is. Even when the national team plays Mexico in America, that's the way it is."
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