Real Salt Lake goes from win to tie in a flash

SANDY — Fortunes can change quickly in MLS.

Just a few weeks removed from playing some of the best soccer in the league, Real Salt Lake suddenly can't buy a result.

On what should've been a spectacular night in front of a sell-out holiday crowd at Rio Tinto Stadium against the worst team in the Western Conference, RSL wasn't clinical enough in the offensive third and dropped valuable points for the second straight game in settling for a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA on a night Kyle Beckerman made his long-awaited return.

On the heels of a 10-game unbeaten streak, RSL is suddenly winless in two straight.

"Disappointed we didn't get a result cause I thought we did everything necessary to get it," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "I was really pleased with the guys effort, energy, mentality. Everything they did to the best of their abilities. I can't ask for anything more. I think it's a game where you just say that's gonna happen, it's soccer."

Even though the draw in front of a sell-out crowd of 19,469 extended its home unbeaten straight to 19 straight — three shy of the MLS record — giving away two points to the Goats won't help in RSL's pursuit of first-place Los Angeles.

RSL's record now stands at 9-4-4, and it trails the Galaxy by nine points.

A rare blunder by All-Star keeper Nick Rimando contributed to the disappointing result.

Just three minutes after a scintillating strike by second-half substitute Ned Grabavoy put Real Salt Lake in front 1-0, Rimando misjudged a shot by Jesus Padilla and let in the equalizer.

The movement on the driven shot seemed to surprise Rimando, who redirected the shot down through his legs and into the back of the net.

"I gotta do better on that. I know these balls move. He hit it right at me. I thought I had it, and next thing I know the ball goes right between my legs and into the net. It's one of those funny bounces, I've gotta put my hand up for sure and take care of that," said Rimando.

The mistake spoiled a brilliant strike from Grabavoy.

Kreis, a former striker, was quick to come to the defense of Rimando.

"It would be easy to stand here and say I can't believe Nick Rimando makes that kind of mistake, but the converse of that is I would say, 'I can't believe a few of our players didn't put more goals in,'" said Kreis.

Considering the way his team dominated a defensive-minded Chivas squad outshooting them 20-5, it's easy to see why he believed more goals should've been scored.

Chivas keeper Dan Kennedy deserves some of the credit with seven saves, but Real Salt Lake's attack wasn't crisp enough at times.

"The quality was lacking just a little bit for us. There were a couple opportunities I thought we could've done better and probably should've done better," said Kreis.