Stewart shines for RSL

For Real Salt Lake's sake, it was a shame defender Jack Stewart was slapped with a red card so early in last Saturday's debacle back east against the Red Bulls. He's been one of the key elements to RSL's revival, and with Stewart watching the final 81 minutes from the locker room, his short-handed teammates never really stood a chance.

The reality of his absence will be compounded further Wednesday when RSL hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy and he serves his automatic one-game suspension for receiving the red card.

Despite the predicament, acquiring Stewart in a late July trade was one of the best moves in franchise history, and probably helped save RSL's season.

"He's brought some stability as far as being able to work with anyone put in beside him," said Real coach John Ellinger. "He's good with both feet, and tactically he's very smart and he's good in the air. And he's a tough cookie to boot."

Those assets would still be sitting on the bench in Chicago if it weren't for a fluke couple of injuries to Salt Lake defenders Daniel Torres and Nelson Akwari during the busiest stretch of the summer schedule. As reluctant as the coaching staff was to trade away rookie Ryan Johnson, they were desperate for defensive help and didn't have much of a choice.

Stewart wasn't unhappy in Chicago by any means, but with spotty playing time throughout his second MLS season, he was excited about a change in scenery.

"Things in Chicago weren't going in my direction for whatever reason, but I'm just glad to get here and make a fresh start," said the 23-year-old Stewart. "(I'm) coming here expected to help out, and that's a good feeling as a professional. You want to be on a team where you can help."

His contributions have been immeasurable.

In his first start in a Real uniform, Stewart's new club upset D.C. United, 2-1. He followed that evening up with three more starts against Colorado, Columbus and Houston, all RSL victories as well.

"There's 11 guys out there doing their job," said the reluctant Stewart. "We just found a system that worked for us, and luckily I fit in pretty good in the situation."

Like any young defender in this country, Stewart was thrilled about the prospects of playing alongside Eddie Pope when he first heard of the trade.

"He's a world-class defender, his reputation speaks for itself," said Stewart.

A few weeks ago, as Stewart returned to Chicago to take care of personal matters during the all-star break, he happened to be on the same flight as Ellinger who was heading to Chicago to watch the all-star game. Among the things the coach and player chatted about were Pope, and how much Stewart was looking forward to the opportunity.