Real Salt Lake hopes to stay hot and burn the Fire

SANDY — Like all MLS coaches, Jason Kreis does his due diligence and homework when scouting out opponents each weekend.

Unlike most, though, the Real Salt Lake coach tries to avoid letting an opponent dictate how his team plays.

Kreis wants RSL to play an attacking brand of soccer every match, and he has enough faith in the talent on his team to allow the players to do so.

Lately it's paid off in a big way, as RSL takes a nine-game unbeaten streak into tonight's match at Chicago. The rematch of last year's conference final kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

"The interesting thing now with our team is that we evaluate and judge ourselves based on ourselves. It's no longer about how we stack up against this team or that team. It's how do we stack up against ourselves," Kreis said. "We try to get ourselves to play close to our potential every match. That's a message that's been hammered away since the beginning of the preseason."

Real Salt Lake may not tweak its game plan, but it will be mindful of what figures to be a motivated Fire squad.

Last November, these two teams played to a 0-0 draw in the Eastern Conference final, but RSL advanced to the MLS championship by winning the shootout 5-4. Most of Chicago's players are back from that team, and they'll be itching to hand the visitors their first loss in a while.

RSL hasn't lost since a 1-0 setback Columbus on April 24, and its 7-0-2 record during that stretch has vaulted the club into second place in the West.

Chicago, meanwhile, has been floating around .500 all season and brings a 4-4-5 record into the match.

"They're a solid side that's looking for a breakout. They've kind of been up and down, up and down, and they're kind of looking for that one big result and they'll try and get it against us," said midfielder Will Johnson.

Tonight marks the start of a tough stretch for RSL, as it plays four of its next six matches on the road. It owns a 2-3-1 record away from Rio Tinto Stadium this year, and Kreis is anxious for the challenge that awaits his team.

"For me, when I look at this team, this represents one of the best challenges we've had in a very long time. It's an away game, in a hard place to play, and they have some very, very good attacking dynamic midfielders that's going to cause us concerns," Kreis said.

The most dangerous of the two are Marco Pappa and Patrick Nyarko. The wingers are very fast, and they'll present problems for RSL's diamond midfield.

"They play in a formation that can be very difficult to deal with," Kreis said.

Real Salt Lake has shut out four straight opponents and hasn't surrendered a goal in 408 straight minutes. The Fire haven't been shut out at home all year.

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com