Real Salt Lake: Victory would go a long way toward securing playoff berth

SANDY — Real Salt Lake has been on the playoff bubble for months now, and consequently each weekend along the way, the team has discussed how its next match is the biggest of the season.

Win or lose, though, there has always been a bigger match on the horizon.

Predictably, the entire organization is talking about how tonight's match against visiting FC Dallas is the biggest of the season, but there's indeed something different about this one.

Even though RSL can't officially pop the champagne tonight, it can take a monumental step toward securing the franchise's first playoff berth with a victory — a dream that could be fully realized if Colorado doesn't win on Sunday.

"It's obviously hugely important because we want to get there so badly and feel like this is a squad that deserves to be in the playoffs," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, RSL is still in control of its own playoff destiny despite last weekend's disappointing draw against New York in the grand opening of Rio Tinto Stadium. Even if the club doesn't clinch this weekend, the most important thing for the players and coaches is to maintain control of their fate.

Two years ago, Real Salt Lake went into the final weekend of the season still in the hunt for an MLS playoff spot, but the team wasn't in control of its own destiny. It needed Colorado to lose at Houston, but then-Rapids player Kyle Beckerman and his teammates pulled out a 3-3 draw, rendering RSL's game the next day meaningless.

Real Salt Lake ends the season at Colorado next weekend, but the significance of that match depends entirely on tonight.

"The point needs to be emphasized as well that four points over the two games gets us in, so even if we get one point (tonight) we still have three points out there to get," Kreis said. "So I don't think we want to throw everything at it. We'll hold the kitchen sink back."

Regardless of how much porcelain the team tosses around, pinning its hopes on a road victory on the final day of the season is a risky proposition. RSL has won just twice away from home this year, which makes its home finale at Rio Tinto Stadium tonight at 7 all the more important.

FC Dallas faces just as much urgency. It trails RSL by just one point in the Western Conference standings heading into tonight's match, and a victory would be a huge boost to its playoff chances.