Along the way, Kreis's competitiveness has occasionally simmered over. In his first season as coach, he received a red card for yelling at a ref and was suspended. This year he was suspended and fined for criticizing officials in the media.

After losing RSL's home opener in stoppage this year — similar to the 2007 opener — Kreis opened the press conference by cutting off a reporter's question.

"You're going to ask me what?" he said. "You're gonna ask me, 'Just like last year, right?"'

Probably not the best way to start out a season.

But Kreis quickly explained the adrenaline was still flowing.

When Thursday's match appeared to have been halted after 2 1/2 stoppage minutes, rather than four minutes — which had been announced by officials — Kreis was clearly upset, but joked to reporters afterward, "If you guys want to chip in on my fine, go ahead."

So he's finding when and where to unleash the emotion that drove him as a player.

"I'm still learning, as witnessed by my ejections and emotional outbursts on the sidelines," he said, earlier this week. "But you know, I watch the best coaches in the world and there's plenty of emotion on the sidelines — and that's just me. I'm a competitor and I'm passionate about this game. I love it, and I love it deep down, and that's just not going to change."

That's not necessarily bad news. While his predecessor, John Ellinger, was calm and measured, Kreis is edgy and enigmatic. Even so, this year he has carefully avoided making predictions.

Thus, when asked this week about the possibility of being in first place, he answered cautiously.

"I hate to put too much weight where we're at in the standings, or how many points we have right now," he said.

It's a long season.

And building a franchise is a long process.

Meanwhile, Kreis keeps working on patience and timing, while maintaining the attitude that made him a fearsome player.

"It's been trying and difficult and an extremely huge challenge — and I've liked every part of it," said Kreis. "When I look back at it, I think I've come a long way and learned a lot. ... So it's been fun. But it's been very, very difficult. I would never downplay that at all."

Besides, who knows.

Graduation day could be right around the corner.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com