PROBABLE: MF Kyle Beckerman (L knee effusion); FW Robbie Findley (R shoulder sprain); MF Nelson González (L ankle sprain); MF Ned Grabavoy (illness) ... COLUMBUS CREW -- OUT: GK Andy Gruenebaum (R hip impingement); PROBABLE: DF Chad Marshall (L knee MCL sprain)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS: none
REAL: A year ago, Real Salt Lake qualified in dramatic fashion on the season's final day -- then went on to a stirring run that ended in a home game in the Western Conference Championship. RSL coach Jason Kreis said he hopes his team takes a similar approach to the postseason this year, and does not sit back after a remarkable qualification on the league's final weekend. "Our guys have to truly believe right now," Kreis said. "I feel like it has been such an effort to make it to the playoffs, what I'm wary of is kind of everybody taking a breath and going, 'Ahh, we're here.' For me, that's not good enough, because honestly, in my mind -- and I'm not just saying this to say it -- I feel like we have a team that can beat anybody on a given day. So we have to believe." ... Owner of the league's best home record (9-1-5, with a plus-23 goal differential), RSL is hoping to use their advantage well in the first leg. "It's nice to have the comfort of our own home in the first game," Kreis said. "Hopefully, we'll get out there and put a marker out there to show Columbus what it's going to take when we go back to their place." ... RSL scored four or more goals in four games at Rio Tinto this season -- including a 4-1 drubbing of Columbus on April 2. "We always want to be a dominant team at home," forward Yura Movsisyan said. "We always want to be a team where people don't want to come play us -- especially at our house. I think we've kind of accomplished that this year and we'd like to continue it." ... Regardless of the result, the first leg however will be the final game in Sandy this year. If Real do eliminate the Crew with a second-leg result -- RSL is 2-11-2 on the road this year and scored just nine goals -- they would also have to travel for the Eastern Conference Championship. "Fundamentally there's nothing that we lack that prevents us from winning road games. It's all in our heads," said GM Garth Lagerwey.
CREW: In their run-in to the MLS Cup Playoffs a year ago, the Crew had lost just once in 11 games. This year, however, they come into the postseason off back-to-back losses and back-to-back home losses (both by shutout), and just one goal in the last four games -- that from a defender on a strange free kick. "It's not panic mode or anything," forward Steven Lenhart said. "We have a ton of experienced guys. It's good to get it out of our system now." ... The Crew's last four losses have been by a 1-0 scoreline, and the desire to monitor the workload of Guillermo Barros Schelotto over the second half of the season -- when the Crew also faced a busy CONCACAF Champions League campaign -- has meant he has scored just two of his 12 goals since mid-June. Schelotto's rotation has meant Lenhart, Jason Garey, Alejandro Moreno and Emilio Renteria have all figured in a striking role." Between the five guys we have to choose the right mix and see what happens," Warzycha said. ... The Crew also went 3-4-1 over the final quarter of the season, scoring seven goals in that stretch, with two of those coming from the penalty spot. "We're not taking the momentum into the playoffs that we'd like to, but we're capable of beating anyone," Crew midfielder Adam Moffat said. ... Over the past four matches, Warzycha has used 18 different players in his first XI, and every position on the field has seen different starters -- again, a different proposition from a year ago when Sigi Schmid basically ran out the same starting group for the final two months of the league campaign. "I don't know who that 11 are going to be," Warzycha said. "Hopefully, everyone gets a chance in the playoffs but the best thing would be to have one team. Knowing life, it's not going to be possible." ... Named the club's MVP for the season was a surprise -- Danny O'Rourke, who has returned to a midfield role after beginning the season as a converted center back. "He has all the physical tools, but in the past he was doing too much," Warzycha said. "Sometimes you have to play a different way in different places on the field. He has learned and he has become more effective. It's not only tackling or winning the ball anymore. He's passing and playing intelligent."
