RSL can't maximize chances

Danny Torres' costly giveaway in Real Salt Lake's loss Monday isn't his first and probably won't be his last mistake this year. In soccer, mistakes are inevitable. It's how a lot of goals are scored.

Exactly how teams capitalize on those opportunities often determines who wins and loses. Two moments in particular helped determine the outcome of Monday's game with Colorado.

Long before Roberto Brown pounced on Torres' mistake in the 71st minute to give the Rapids the 1-0 lead, RSL failed to convert on a similar opportunity when the chance presented itself early in the game.

In the 15th minute, Colorado defender Pablo Mastroeni made a poor decision not to simply clear the ball when being pressured by RSL striker Jeff Cunningham at the back. Cunningham easily dispossessed the usually reliable Mastroeni, and he quickly dribbled toward the endline to survey his options.

Just before Mastroeni was about to close him down from behind, Cunningham dropped the ball back toward the middle of the box where teammate Mehdi Ballouchy was in a perfect position to unspool the first-time shot. Ballouchy, though, didn't get the 10-yard shot wide enough to beat Colorado keeper Bouna Coundoul, who made a fantastic diving save on the low-driven ball.

That Mastroeni mistake represented Salt Lake's best scoring opportunity of the match.

When the Rapids were presented with a similar opportunity nearly an hour later, they didn't squander the chance.

"We need to play better for longer stretches, keep possession better for longer stretches, and obviously defend better. I think we do it well in spots, but we certainly get punished when we don't do it well," said RSL defender Eddie Pope. "Having said that, when other teams don't do it well, we need to punish them also. We had opportunities to do that, but we didn't do that either."

Torres' mistake represented the third time in four games this year that Real's opponent capitalized on an obvious mistake. The first two were largely the fault of RSL keeper Nick Rimando, which contributed largely to his benching.

It's highly unlikely that Torres will find himself on the bench for this Saturday's game with New York, but you can bet Torres might approach a similar moment differently if the opportunity arises.