Just before halftime, Kreis made a switch back to a 4-4-2 formation in hopes of settling the game down a bit, with Dallas outshooting RSL 11-8 in the opening half.

Twelve minutes into the second half, Cooper, Dallas' leading scorer, equalized on a ridiculous shot from an impossible angle — a shot a coach never wants to see a player take. Standing virtually on the endline, and with RSL keeper Nick Rimando hugging the post, Cooper unleashed a shot that crept through the narrowest of openings above Rimando's shoulder to level the score at 1-1.

Salt Lake nearly regained the lead four minutes later as Kovalenko had a shot cleared off the line by Dallas defender Duilio Davino. It merely delayed the heroics for Beckerman, who ran onto Andy Williams' chipped pass over the top of the defense and finished it in the 73rd minute for the 2-1 lead.

With Dallas frantically pushing bodies into the attack in the final 10 minutes for the equalizer, RSL hunkered into its defensive shell and held on despite two quality stoppage time chances for FC Dallas.

ENDLINES: Beckerman now leads the team with three goals ... Morales left the game in the 57th minute with an aggravated groin strain.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com