RSL ends preseason tourney a champion

CHARLESTON, S.C. — In its second-to-last tune-up before the MLS regular season gets under way, Real Salt Lake came up with a big victory Saturday afternoon in the Carolina Challenge Cup.

RSL scored twice in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC, finishing the tournament with a sparkling 3-0-0 record.

Real Salt Lake is hoping to follow in the footsteps of past champions of the preseason competition. Four of the previous five winners of the Carolina Challenge Cup have either gone on to win the MLS Supporters Shield for the best-regular season record or have won the MLS Cup.

Both trophies are a long way off, but coach Jason Kreis' team appears to be taking steps in the right direction.

Yura Movsisyan opened the scoring Saturday in the sixth minute on an assist from Javier Morales, with Clint Mathis doubling the advantage in the 20th minute when he slammed home a cross from the Robbie Findley.

Two minutes after Mathis' tally, Toronto defender Kevin Harmse was slapped with his second yellow card of the match, reducing his team to 10 men the rest of the way. Despite surrendering a rebound goal to Toronto newcomer Dwayne DeRosario in the 36th minute, RSL capitalized on the man-advantage to hold on for the victory.

RSL returns home today and will spend the next two weeks training in Utah in preparation for its season-opener at Seattle on Saturday, March 28. The club's final exhibition will be this Saturday against the USL-1 Austin Aztecs at Rio Tinto Stadium. Admission is free to the public.