From Deseret News archives:
Real Salt Lake: Players try to keep D.C. victory in perspective
Afterward in the locker room, though, the players were handling the win with much more self-restraint.
"We want to make sure we don't let our highs get too high and our lows get too low. We need to use this to propel us," said RSL defender Chris Wingert.
He added that while winning is contagious and obviously the goal, sometimes there's more focus and concentration in practices after a loss compared to a win.
"We need to make sure we don't do that this week," said Wingert.
With midfielder Dema Kovalenko around, a letdown seems highly unlikely. More so than perhaps any player on the roster, it boggles Kovalenko's mind how RSL won only six games last year, and his personal goal is to make sure it doesn't happen again. That's why he's not reading too much into last Saturday's win over his old team.
"They're one of the best teams in the league, and we did well, but it's just one game. This week's going to be a very good test for us," said Kovalenko, whose team makes its lone trip to Toronto FC this Saturday.
It's a new season, however, and Toronto is feeling good about itself after last week's win at the Los Angeles Galaxy. It was just the fourth win by a visiting team in three weeks of MLS play, with home teams now owning a 13-4-4 record.
"The hardest thing to do is win on the road," said Real defender Nat Borchers. "I think you can pick up a lot of points at home during the season, but you make the playoffs and you make your big wins on the road, so it's important for us not to get overconfident."
So while the players downplay Salt Lake's most recent win, it's unrealistic to expect fans to follow suit. For a franchise that posted a 5-22-5 record in 2005, 10-13-9 in 2006 and 6-15-9 in 2007, victories by no means have been regular occurrences, so fans justifiably are going to bask in the glory of any four-goal win regardless of the opponent.
ENDLINES: Real Salt Lake rookie midfielder Alex Nimo is in the midst of a five-day training camp in Portugal with the U.S. Under-20 National Team. The team was slated to play Northern Ireland on Tuesday, Cape Verde Islands today and then Portugal on Friday. Nimo is one of six MLS players on the 21-man roster.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
Recent comments
ha ha, the most boring sport eh? Straight from a typical american...
Re: Perspective | April 17, 2008 at 4:25 p.m.
Just some small facts. MLS attendance is increasing yearly. Soccer...
Intellegence is also important | April 17, 2008 at 1:17 p.m.
Soccer, being the most boring sport, should be portrayed in that...
Perspective is important | April 17, 2008 at 10:58 a.m.
- Chaffetz: Leave Afghanistan 2:37 p.m.
- Mitchell's 'books' are coherent 2:24 p.m.
- Mexican consulate in SLC dies 1:47 p.m.
- eBay fined for selling perfumes 1:46 p.m.
- Debate opens on health care bill 1:44 p.m.
- Man arrested in screwdriver assault 1:42 p.m.
- Police seek man in underwear thefts 1:42 p.m.
- 5 injured in past week near Moab 1:41 p.m.
- Beach dispute heading to high court 1:40 p.m.
- Retrial in paraplegic murder case 1:39 p.m.
- Hall mouths off about hate of Utah
890 - Cougars beat Utes in overtime
480 - Max Hall issues apology
357 - Hall's pain reflects self-betrayal
235 - BYU is champion of the state
140 - Hall reprimanded by MWC
138 - Man trapped in Nutty Putty cave dies
120 - Cave to be sealed with body inside
116 - Utes won't respond to Hall
116 - Rivalry Week is highly profane
91
I know schools sometimes get forced into committing too much to keep...
Once again, the BYU-Utah game lived up to its billing. You could tell it...
We learned a bit more about the basketball team after this weekend.
Max embarrassed BYU and the LDS church. Something must be done to reign in...
Yes, "All Knowing | 12:48 p.m.", I don't see where he's comming from. I...
Shame on you! What Max did was dispicable, extremely selfish, and completely...
We will probably lose. Those are two of the few that play some defense....
as an aside to all of this, some of most dire anti max hall comments that i...
Buy where you get the best price for the quality and service. It keeps...
I am a BYU fan and an alumnus of BYU but was very disappointed on the...
'Because anyone can see that it's a formula that's well worked for the gay...
You can thank God all you want for your success, however it is neither the...
Amy - Very articulate, well written opinion! As an out-of-state BYU fan, I...


