sam stejskal
Part I of MLSsoccer.com's "Inside the Mind of Chelis" series dropped earlier today. Despite his earlier comments to the contrary, the bombastic Chivas USA head coach said some very nice things about Real Salt Lake, Rio Tinto Stadium and the Claret-and-Cobalt faithful in the video.
Give the entire piece a watch; It's a truly fascinating look into one of the most unique coaches in all of MLS.
11-year-old Lexi Walker absolutely nailed the National Anthem ahead of RSL's 2-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, hitting all the right notes before getting a huge ovation from the Rio Tinto Stadium crowd.
Players from both sides were clearly feeling the performance, with RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando going as far as to tweet about it after the match.
And how about that little girl singing tonight's national anthem?!?!? Wow! Please come sing again.
— Nick Rimando (@NickRimando) May 5, 2013
A fifth-grader, Lexi beat out 38 other acts in Canyons School District Idol to win the chance to sing the anthem on Saturday. Check out video of her performance above.
Nice video recap of Saturday's Star Wars Day at Rio Tinto Stadium from RSL videographer Nick Lamping. Give it a watch.
And - for the final time - May the 4th be with You.
Real Salt Lake got back on the right track on Saturday night, when it closed out its three-game home stand with a solid 2-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Here are a few interesting numbers from Saturday’s match:
1
19-year-old Real Salt Lake defender Carlos Salcedo became the first RSL-Arizona Academy graduate to play in a MLS match when he came on for forward Joao Plata in the 89th minute of Saturday’s win. Saturday was Salcedo’s first appearance in the 18 since March 16, when he suffered a concussion in the RSL Reserves 2-1 win over Colorado immediately following the first-team game.
4
RSL forward Joao Plata is tied with Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi for the league lead with four assists. The Ecuadorian attacker had two assists in Saturday’s game, crossing to midfielder Luis Gil for the opener before squaring a ball to playmaker Javier Morales for the second goal. The two assist performance was the first time in 2013 that a RSL player has had multiple assists in a game.
7
Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando now has seven career assists after he was credited with one on the Claret-and-Cobalt’s opening goal on Saturday. Saturday’s assist was Rimando’s second in a game in which he also kept a clean sheet, with the first such effort coming in RSL’s 1-0 win over Seattle on Aug. 8, 2009.
90
Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert started and played all 90 minutes on Saturday. It was Wingert’s first MLS appearance of the season; the veteran left back missed RSL’s first seven games while recovering from a right foot fracture suffered in December and did not play in either of the Claret-and-Cobalt’s previous two matches.
8
Saturday’s starting forward pairing of Plata and rookie forward Devon Sandoval is the eighth different starting striker duo RSL has used in 10 games this season. The Plata-Sandoval pair was the seventh different strike combination used by RSL in its last seven games.
Real Salt Lake midfielder Sebastian Velasquez had a nice sitdown interview with David James on CBS 2's Talkin' Sports on Sunday night. The second-year playmaker goes into detail on his early life during the interview, at one point telling James that RSL "saved his life."
Click here to watch the entire interview. Definitely worth the time.
Skip to the 2:30 mark to see Martinez's goal
On-loan Real Salt Lake midfielder Enzo Martinez scored a beauty of an equalizer in his Carolina RailHawks debut on Saturday night, rifling a 30-yard right-footer into the lower left corner in the closing minutes of the NASL side's 2-2 draw at Minnesota United FC.
Martinez, who was sent on a short-term loan to Carolina on Monday, scored just seven minutes after coming on as a 77th minute substitute in the RailHawks away draw.
"It was a great strike," Carolina Manager Colin Clarke said of Martinez's goal. "The kid's got a lot of talent and ability and we're pleased to have him."
ABC4's Dana Greene filed a hilarious report on Thursday night featuring several RSL personalities ahead of Saturday's Star Wars Day at Rio Tinto Stadium. Give it a watch - and May the 4th be with you.
Tony Beltran - RSL's biggest Star Wars fan - with a friendly reminder to dress up in your best Star Wars gear for this Saturday's "May the 4th be with you" 7:00 p.m. kickoff against Vancouver at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Really, really fantastic stuff out of Portland, where the Timbers and the Make-A-Wish Oregon made 8-year-old Atticus Lane-Dupre's dream of playing the MLS side at Jeld-Wen Field come true on Wednesday.
Atticus - who was diagnosed with cancer last fall - and his Green Machine teammates were treated to the full gameday experience on Wednesday, with more than 3,000 rowdy fans cheering them on as they took down Portland 10-9. Atticus scored four goals - nutmegging former RSL midfielder Will Johnson on one - and was named Man of the Match.
Thanks, Portland. And thank you, Atticus.
Known throughout the galaxy for his tactical wisdom and (inter)stellar man-management, Real Salt Lake Head Coach/Jedi Master Jason Kreis is also a gem in the media. Here are a few of his best quotes, as interpreted by Yoda ahead of Saturday's Star Wars Day at Rio Tinto Stadium match between RSL and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Credit to the folks at Yoda Speak for the translations.
Kreis: “The Team is the Star.”
YodaKreis: “The star, the team is. Yes, hmmm.”
@JasonKreis on Twitter: “A thought: adversity always reveals people's character. So why shouldn't we look at it as an opportunity? A chance to show who/what we are!”
YodaKreis: “Adversity always reveals people's character. So look at it as an opportunity why should we not, hmm? Who and what we are, it is a chance to show!”
Kreis: “It’s amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
YodaKreis: "Amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit, it is. Herh herh herh."
Kreis: "Do not bear this great challenge before us as a burden, but rather rejoice in it, soak it up, and know that together we can accomplish anything."
YodaKreis: "Bear this great challenge before us as a burden, do not. But rather, rejoice in it, soak it up and accomplish anything, know that together we can. Yeesssssss."
Kreis: "Professional sports lead to big egos. We do not have room or time for that."
YodaKreis: "To big egos professional sports lead. Room or time for that we have not. Hmmmmmm."
Kreis: "The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of championship character."
YodaKreis: "Merely the demonstration of championship character, the victorious performance itself is. Yes, hmmm."
@JasonKreis on Twitter: “Always striving to give our best.”
YodaKreis: “To give our best always striving. Yeesssss.”
Kreis: “I don’t like it and if I had refereed that I wouldn’t have made that call, but I don’t referee, I coach, and hopefully I’ll stay that way.”
YodaKreis: “I like it not and if I had refereed that I would not have made that call, but referee I not, I coach, and hopefully, stay that way, I will. Yes, hmmm.”