SANDY, Utah -- For the second consecutive week, Real Salt Lake took the game into the 90th minute looking for a goal. For the second consecutive week, Yura Movsisyan answered the call.
In their last game of the regular season RSL needed a draw against the Colorado Rapids to advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history. Already down a goal, in a game where RSL wasn't getting a lot of chances, Movsisyan saved the season by collecting a deflected save from the goalkeeper and putting the ball home.
Now in the playoffs, RSL was in a similar situation where they needed a goal. It wasn't vital, but certainly would help in their quest to advance to the Western Conference Championship. This difference this time was that they were dominating their opponent, but still couldn't find the back of the net.
Enter Movsisyan who, again in the 90th minute, delicately backheeled a cross from Javier Morales, landing it just inside the far post and sending the Rio Tinto Stadium crowd into a state of delirium. The goal was enough to give RSL its first victory in its first postseason game.
After scoring the all-important goal last week, Movsisyan felt that such a chance only came once in a lifetime. He's grateful to be a part of another very special goal in his career.
"I never thought, in my career, that it would ever happen to me," said Movsisyan. "I always thought I was going to earn every goal I scored. You've got to have some luck, too. I think it's the right time to get lucky.
"Last week is never going to repeat again. Just the amount of pressure that was on us, and just the amount of expectations ... but, we exceed everybody's expectations. And now, we're out to do more special things."
Even though he was able to pull off more last-minute heroics, it wasn't that Movsisyan wasn't creating chances earlier in the match. RSL head coach Jason Kreis pointed out that his striker was creating havoc for the Chivas defense all night.
"He really, really worked hard. He made things extremely difficult for their two center backs," said Kreis of Movsisyan. "I thought he got a couple of fouls called against him that would have turned into goals, that I thought were a little bit suspect."
One incident that Kreis was referring to happened around the hour mark with Movsisyan charging into the Chivas penalty area while battling with defender Carey Talley for the ball. Talley ended up on the ground just before Movsisyan fired a shot past Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton.
The crowd erupted, but referee Ricardo Salazar was quick to call the foul on Movsisyan. Whether he agreed with the referee, Movsisyan didn't say.
"It's the ref's job," said Movsisyan. "That's why he has the yellow jersey on, and not us. He makes the calls, and if he decides it's a foul, it's a foul. ... It's his job to call it, and if he calls it then what can we say? He's the boss on the field."
While Kreis rotated through his strikers for much of the season, looking for a solid combination, Movsisyan picked the right time of year to get hot. The RSL frontman scored all of his team-leading seven regular season goals since August, and has now scored in each of RSL's last three games. It's a pace Movsisyan looks to keep going through the postseason.
"Yeah, one day I decided that I wanted to start scoring," he said with a grin. "No, I guess it's just getting repetitions. Getting the games in and getting the minutes. Once you do that as a forward, all you need is confidence. Once you have confidence, you don't think anyone can stop you. Especially as a forward, especially with the team I have behind me -- look at all the guys -- everybody is a great player."
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