Throughout the second half, both teams gradually utilized its allotted nine substitutions. Santos coach Daniel Guzman used them to put younger players in the match, while Kreis did a little bit of both. In addition to giving a few more youngsters minutes, he also inserted several other first-teamers to keep them sharp for this Saturday's league match.

While Chris Wingert, Javier Morales, Dema Kovalenko and Kyle Beckerman all played in the first half, Andy Williams, Kenny Deuchar, Nat Borchers and Tony Beltran all saw significant minutes in the second half.

Salt Lake successfully pulled a goal back and made it 2-1 in the 70th minute when 18-year-old rookie Alex Nimo, who stands only 5-foot-5, headed in a Williams swerving corner kick.

Any hopes of a comeback, though, were quickly subdued for RSL when Santos' Gregorio Torres scored a beautiful goal in the 73rd minute on an assist from Christian Benitez. Ten minutes later, Santos scored again as Andony Hernandez scored on another assist from Benitez.

Salt Lake's all-time record against international competition now stands at 4-3-2, but 0-2 against teams from Mexico, having lost to Morelia 3-1 in 2006.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com