3 Points: #Scordova, Assassin Brody help RSL take shock road win from Seattle
3 Points: #Scordova, Assassin Brody help RSL take shock road win from Seattle
Sergio Cordova scored the opener, Albert Rusnak equalized but refused to celebrate, and Andrew Brody scored his second goal in dramatic fashion to lift Real Salt Lake to a 2-1 win at Seattle
Thank you for spending part of your day with 3 Points, the official post-match newsletter of the Salt City FC podcast. We’re back from the MLS All-Star break, and ready for the playoff push.
Apparently, so is Real Salt Lake.
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For now, let’s take a look back at a surprising road win.
What a difference a week can make.
At this time last week, Real Salt Lake was coming off a humbling 4-1 loss to LAFC — which, to be fair, looks like a team on another level from most of Major League Soccer. Things didn’t look so pretty with Salt Lake hitting the road for Seattle after the all-star break, either.
And yet, here the club stands — on top of a 2-1 win in the Emerald City that wasn’t always pretty but did feel at least relieving when the final whistle sounded on the Sounders’ sixth loss in eight matches.
Sergio Cordova gave RSL a 1-0 lead that stood until halftime with a goal in his second consecutive start, but Albert Rusnak leveled in the 62nd minute with his second goal in a Sounders uniform — a goal he classily declined to celebrate against his former team, one with friends and ex-teammates, some of whom (looking at you, Justin Meram) he FaceTimed as recently as last Tuesday.
But one minute after Rusnak’s goal, Andrew Brody broke through the back line unmarked and slid home to redirect a cross from Jefferson Savarino for the 2-1 advantage.
It was Savarino’s second assist of the match, or at least, it should have been — Opta will only give him one. Still, that’s four assists on the season to go along with five goals for the Venezuelan international.
Savarino has “transformed our group,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. He’s second on the team in scoring, second in assists, and yet he’s probably still “underrated” by most — if not all — of the league.
A week after the MLS All-Star Game that featured no players from RSL’s first team, Mastroeni had some things to say about his Designated Player who won “just about everything” in Brazil before returning to Salt Lake.
“He’s a fantastic player for us,” Mastroeni said. “Watching him at training and seeing the final pass, it’s something he can really bring to the group. He’s a goal scorer, he’s a good facilitator of goals … and we need him heading down the final stretch.”
VAR giveth, VAR taketh away
Yes, we know; RSL fans have a complicated relationship with the video assistant referee, which allows a fourth official to call for the head official to review a play on video to make sure the correct call was made.
But as usually happens, what comes around goes around. A complicated that has scrubbed goals, fouls and penalties from Rio Tinto Stadium went dramatically in the favor of RSL on Sunday.
That’s because Seattle seemed to take a lead on what may have been an own goal, or Raul Ruidiaz’s banger that caromed off Zac MacMath in the 14th minute. But wait … why is the head official headed to the sideline?
Oh, because there was something on tape. And that something was determined to be Cristian Roldan caught offside by the slimmest of margins.
Seattle fans were irate. Salt Lake fans, bemused.
Either way, no goal.
“When we do our video review, it’s really pointing out how close we are to getting results,” Mastroeni said. “There are so many variables that go into results, and tonight was a mentality game.
“The guys stood arm in arm and did whatever’s necessary to get three points.”
Arm in arm, Sergio Cordova happened next …
#Scordova, again
For the second consecutive match, Cordova scored from in front of goal, taking a perfect through-ball from Jefferson Savarino in the 32nd minute and putting a ball past a prone goalkeeper Stefan Frei and as many as four defenders to give RSL a 1-0 lead.
The advantage stood up until halftime, despite the visitors’ lowly 32% of possession. But the Sounders also didn’t put one of their five shots on target, and Salt Lake took advantage of its limited possession with two cracks at the goalmouth.
One of them happened to go in. So even if RSL was “out-played” the CONCACAF champions, the scoreboard pointed in favor of the visitors.
“I thought Sergio was really bright today,” Mastroeni said. “That movement was something we’ve been talking about, and Sava following was great. But I saw some really good reactions from Serge tonight, and he was ready for it.
“He’s really growing at the perfect time of the season for us.”
It was the fifth goal in 23 appearances for Cordova, the FC Augsburg loanee from Venezuela who is rounding into form for Real Salt Lake with its playoff hopes beginning to teeter. And in the post-all star break era, every goal matters as RSL moves four points clear of the playoff line with nine matches remaining.
Andrew Brody, offensive threat
It’s no secret that Real Salt Lake has made a habit of getting goals from some, ummm… unlikely places. The club has normalized a little bit, with Cordova and Savarino leading the pack with five-plus goals each.
But after that drop-off comes a group of three-goal scorers that include Justin Meram, Bobby Wood …and Justen Glad. Yes, the center back is a hat trick away from leading the team in goals.
This is fine, really.
But with Brody’s second goal of the season in Seattle, the game-winning goal-scorer moved within one of his defensive partner. That’s not a surprise, with Brody leading all field players with 2,163 minutes 24 starts in 25 appearances and four assists.
When the outside back is involved in the attack it bodes well for RSL, too.
“It’s incredible,” said Glad, jokingly laughing off any suggestion that he feels ‘threatened’ as a goal-scorer by Brody. “Obviously, he’s playing on the left and can cut inside. He’s a shifty player. He’s tough to defend, he takes a touch, and he’s by you. We’ve seen it game after game, the threat he poses.
“He got on the end of one tonight. He’s been huge for us.”
Extra Time
Normally, we end this newsletter here. But there’s one more thing that happened Sunday night that maybe ruffled a few feathers.
After Rusnak scored the equalizer for Seattle, the former RSL midfielder spun around, ran back toward midfield, and seemingly refused to celebrate against his former club. He did gave a high five and maybe a fist bump to a couple of players — but there was no emotional outburst, no wild fist swing, no rush to the corner with a knee slide or a shirt removal.
“To be honest, I didn’t really notice it,” Glad said of his former teammate’s actions, or lack therein. “But Albert’s a class act.”
But after the game, a pivotal road win that lifted RSL to 37 points and just one point off Minnesota United for the fourth spot in the Western Conference (and a home game in the playoffs, if the season ended today, which it famously does not), Real Salt Lake’s social media account posted a typical trollish video of the win, featuring everybody’s favorite ex-RSL man and current Sounders role player.
You’ve probably seen this one before, but it included the famous clip from “10 things I hate about you,” where Kat is reciting poetry in Patrick’s class about a love unrequited. The tweet was deleted by the time Mastroeni addressed the local media after his broadcast hit.
We get it, social team; those graphics and videos take a while to create. Rusnak’s actions were much more recent, and his relationship with the fanbase was, at the very least, complicated.
But love him or hate him, the Sounders designated player tried hard not to do his former club dirty. That deserves resect. Make fun of Seattle. Do dirty by the rivalry, because, yes, this is still a rivalry even if not the rivalry for both teams.
It’s probably best to keep that tweet in the drafts folder, though.