Real Salt Lake Playoff Tickets

Real Salt Lake Playoff History

Real Salt Lake is an expansion Major League Soccer franchise, and they began play in the 2005 season. They play their home games in Sandy, Utah, a Salt Lake City suburb. Salt Lake are one of the most successful MLS expansion teams and have put in impressive performances in both domestic and continental competitions. The club’s most successful period from 2008-2013 will remain a high point for all Salt Lake sports fans.

MLS veteran Jason Kreis was the first player in RSL history. But, in his three years at the club, RSL failed to qualify for postseason play. Kreis also scored the first goal in Real Salt Lake history, but the team had to wait several games before they won their first match in their home opener. In this three-year dry spell, the club faced one of the worst streaks of play in MLS history when they went 18 games without winning.

Kreis was named the team’s head coach while he was still a player. He immediately retired from play, and his coaching led Salt Lake to some of their biggest achievements. In Kreis’s first full season as a coach, they added a key midfield cog in Kyle Beckerman. Beckerman would become a Real Salt Lake legend in his time at the club. The 2008 season also marked the first playoff appearance for the Utah team. Salt Lake were victorious in their first-ever playoff series and beat Chivas 3-2 over two games. In the 90th minute of their first home playoff game, Armenian forward Yura Movsisyan banged home the winning and decisive goal in the tie. RSL would lose to the New York Red Bulls in the semifinals, but they showed a determination to return stronger next season

In the 2009 season, Real Salt Lake qualified for the playoffs by finishing 5th in their conference. But, they used their playoff experience from the prior season to reach greater heights. Salt Lake breezed to the semifinals with a 4-2 victory over the Columbus Crew. Their semifinal game against the Chicago Fire was a scoreless draw after regular time. In the penalty shootout, keeper Nick Rimando saved three Chicago Fire penalties and put RSL into the MLS Cup Final.

The upstart Salt Lake squad faced the daunting task of playing the star-studded LA Galaxy for the championship. Salt Lake started slow and were punished by a Mike Magee first-half goal. The Utah team responded in the second half and equalized with a Robert Findlay strike. After overtime ended level, Salt Lake entered their second consecutive playoff shootout. Rimando came up big again and saved two penalties to win RSL their first MLS Cup.

In the following years, Salt Lake was a frequent contender in the MLS playoffs and finished runners-up in 2013. Real also finished runners-up in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions’ League.