Real Salt Lake clobbers Sounders 3-0 in first leg of MLS playoffs

SANDY — During the five months Javier Morales was recovering from a broken ankle, there was a feeling around Real Salt Lake that once the all-star returned, everything would be just fine. All of the ups and downs would magically disappear.

When Beckerman was suspended for what amounted to the final the final month of the season because of a silly head butt, those hopes were put on hold.

In the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals against Seattle on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium, the whole gang was back together for the first time since April and it was easy to see why there was five months of optimism.

Alvaro Saborio scored twice and Ned Grabavoy tacked on a late goal of his own as Real Salt Lake dismantled Seattle 3-0 in front of 17,067 raucous fans to take a commanding lead in the series.

"I don't think we've had the ability to pick our absolutely strongest lineup since the first leg of the final in Monterrey, that's a long time. It's pleasing to put that group out there, and they basically picked up where they left off," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

The two-game Western Conference semifinal aggregate series now shifts to Seattle on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Real Salt Lake can advance with a victory, a tie or even a two-goal loss.

"Obviously we're very, very pleased with the result, very, very pleased with what the guys put into the match, but we're also very cognizant of it only being halftime," said Kreis.

It was a chippy match early, with both teams clearly trying to set the tone. What it wasn't was a defensive slugfest, and the first game these two-game series often are.

"I thought our spirit was really, really good, and I'll tell you what that's a credit to the crowd, that's the first time in a long time I can remember the beginning of the match coming out and the stands are almost full," said Kreis. "Typically we have to wait 'til close to halftime to get the stands full."

After the bright start, RSL eventually took the lead in the 42nd minute on a great bit of skill from Javier Morales, a great shot from Chris Wingert and the easiest finish of Saborio's career.

Morales' fancy footwork enabled him to play a ball toward Chris Wingert near the left edge of the penalty area. Wingert tracked it down and made a darting run into the box before curling a shot around Kasey Keller toward the far post. The shot appeared goal-bound, but Saborio tapped it in anyway.