Behind the Shield is on the road this evening to take in the RSL v. Chicago Fire match in Bridgeview, IL. We’ll be liveblogging throughout the night for you here from beautiful Toyota Park where the weather is perfect and we should see a great night of soccer. Remember, you can check out the game on KSL tonight or you can head to one of our two sponsored watch parties at Brewvies or in the Center Court at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley.

Make the jump for all the action…

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With the team on their way to Chicago to defend first place tomorrow night (it really never gets old writing that) we thought we’d touch on a little of the buzz we’re getting from around the league. Check out this week’s episode of Extra Time from MLSnet below and hear what Greg and Shep have to say about RSL, the All-Star teams (more on that in a minute), and more…

That gets us to a topic we haven’t really discussed much here, the All-Star teams. With yesterday’s Olympic Team announcement MLS announced Coach Steve Nicol’s three All-Star replacements as well as 18-man “inactive” All-Star roster for next week’s match. RSL’s only representative on either list was midfielder Kyle Beckerman’s spot on the “inactive” list. No Javi Morales, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Nick Rimando, Chris Wingert, etc. (we really could go on, but we’ll stop there.) From what we’ve heard here, Nicol made his selections based on the team he felt would win the match against West Ham United. What do you think? Do you think the right choices were made?

P.S. All this talk about awards got us thinking… Let’s fire up the Tony Beltran for Rookie of the Year campaign right now! The kid’s been a great addition to our much improved defense and consistent all year long. What do you think of his chances to win the award? Who is his main competition?

Real Salt Lake proudly congratulates its trio of players named to U.S. Soccer’s 2008 Olympic selection announced today by U.S. U-23 manager Piotr Nowak, as GK Chris Seitz and DF Nathan Sturgis are on the 18-man roster and FW Robbie Findley is one of four alternates.

Following Saturday’s RSL game at Chicago against the Fire (6:30 p.m. MT, KSL 5 TV), Seitz and Sturgis head to Olympic camp beginning on Sunday at the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, CA, in preparation for the U.S. group games on August 7, 10 and 13. Findley will remain with RSL unless injury or other circumstances dictate him being called in to join the squad in Palo Alto or Beijing.

Even if the U.S. advances to the Gold Medal Game in Beijing, the RSL reps would miss only three MLS games: Monday, July 28 vs. Toronto; Saturday, August 16 @ Houston; and Saturday, August 23 @ Columbus.

For more information on the entire U.S. Olympic squad and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, check out www.USsoccer.com, www.NBColympics.com or www.KSL.com!

The team’s headed to Chicago this weekend to defend first place (for the first time ever.) The game will be broadcast live locally on KSL (channel 5), but we know that many of you prefer to gather as a group to watch our matches. Well we’ve got a pair of options for you this week.

The support at our past few events at Brewvies has been spectacular so we will be headed back there again. However, due to the theater’s screening schedule and studio obligations, unfortunately we will not have access to either of the big screens this week. The good folks at Brewvies are still going to do everything they can to help us out though, as they’ll have the match playing on the handful of flat screens in the restaurant/bar area. Remember, as with the past viewing parties at Brewvies, on adults will be allowed to attend, so those of you with minors in your party will have to head to our other event…

We’ll also be set up in the Center Circle area at the Valley Fair Mall on Saturday. Our merchandise department will have everything going out at the mall for fans to both check out the game and peruse a selection of official Real Salt Lake and Chicago Fire merchandise for %25 off.

Both places are going to be rocking and should be a blast. Join us down there!

We’re down here in Provo at the newly renovated South Field and it’s a perfect night for soccer. Tonight we’ll see the Real Salt Lake Reserves take on the BYU Cougars in the first game here since they undertook their renovations. We’ve got the starting lineup for your RSL so check it out…

GK - Kyle Reynish; DF - Dustin Kirby, David Horst, Matias Mantilla, Tony Beltran; MF - Kevin Reiman, Nathan Sturgis, Alex Nimo, Kenny Cutler; FW - Robbie Findley, Kenny Deuchar

Bench: Clint Mathis, Adam Acosta, Chris Wingert, Kip Critchlow, Quinny Varela, Aleksey Korol

No, that is not a typo, former RSL star Clint Mathis is on the roster as he is spending some time training with the squad to prep for his upcoming European season. Other than that there are no real surprises. We should see some quality soccer. Stay tuned…

8th minute: Not much going so far, but we have seen our first sub. A hard tackle on Nathan Sturgis sent the RSL midfielder to the ground. Not wanting to take any chances as Nate is coming back from an injury, Head Coach Jason Kreis brings Mathis on to replace him.

14th minute: Not actually a game update here, but it just came to our attention (sorry, we’re a little slow on the uptake today) that this game is being broadcast live on BYU TV. Check it out!

28th minute: We’re still scoreless down here. Real’s dominated possession but been unable to create any dangerous chances so far. They need to pick the creativity up a bit…

30th minute: Just as we say that, Robbie makes a great run through the heart of the BYU defense and lays off to Tony on his right. Beltran’s first touch was deflected by a Cougar defender, but Robbie was there to clean it up and bury the ball past the onrushing keeper for a 1-0 RSL lead.

32nd minute: Wow, now we can’t even keep up. Off a long clearance from Reynish, the ball finds its way past the defense and at the feet of the speedy Findley. Robbie coolly brings the ball down and easily beats the keeper for his second goal in as many minutes. RSL 2-0.

Halftime: We’ve reached the break with RSL up 2-0. The pace definitely picked up for Real over the last 15 minutes and we could’ve seen a couple more goals, but a big save and a timely offside call left RSL stuck at two.

46th minute: The second half is underway and we’ve got a pair of lineup changes for you, defender Chris Wingert entered for Beltran and Aleksey Korol replaced Robbie up top. We’ve also received word that assists on Findley’s second goal have been credited to both Reynish and midfielder Kevin Reiman.

56th minute: BYU came out firing on all cylinders to start the second stanza, but despite the energy, they couldn’t find that final ball to unlock the defense and create real problems. RSL has picked it up in the last few minutes and nearly added to their lead, but an Alex Nimo blast from the left side of the area rocked the left post.

64th minute: Alex had another golden opportunity there, as he found himself alone on a breakaway. But the young midfielder puled the ball back for just long enough for the defense to catch up and close down his space. We now see another Real sub with guest player, Quinny Varela replacing the Big Scot, Kenny Deuchar, up top.

76th minute: Not much going in the last few minutes. Kreis makes another sub, introducing Adam Acosta for Mathis in the attacking midfield role.

87th minute: Other than another sub (Kip Critchlow for Nimo) and Mantilla drawing the ire of the home crowd for a string of hard challenges, we haven’t seen much for the last 10 minutes.

90th minute: Apparently all we need to do to get some action is tell you nothing’s happening. A beautiful ball from the midfield find Varela in stride behind the defense, and the striker calmly beat the onrushing keeper for a 3-0 RSL lead. As we type that, the official blows the final whistle and we’re done here in Provo. Thanks to BYU for hosting us, it was a fun game in a beautiful new stadium. We look forward to coming back in the future.

As part of Real Salt Lake’s continuing outreach to Utah’s Hispanic community, the MLS side is continuing its Coldwell Banker Summer Soccer Series with a soccer clinic at Riley Elementary School in Salt Lake City (1410 S. 800 West) this Wednesday, July 16, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The Riley Elementary clinic – which will be attended by a pair of Real Salt Lake players (to be named) – is the third in a series of five free Coldwell Banker clinics for children ages 6-17 taking place throughout the summer, with clinics in Provo and West Valley City also scheduled to take place in the upcoming months. Registration for the Coldwell Banker Summer Soccer Series is open to the public and available on-site at all clinics, but a limited number of spots are available. For more information or to register for an upcoming clinic, please contact Juan Maldonado (jmaldonado@realsaltlake.com; 801-924-8592) or Rachel King (rking@realsaltlake.com; 801-924-8586) in the Real Salt Lake front office.

The previous two clinics have been greeted by loads of excited and energetic children and we look forward to another successful event tomorrow. Check out the fun everyone had at our last clinic in Park City…

Well, last week’s exclusive Behind the Shield deal on our green jerseys was a huge hit, so we thought we’d throw another special offer your way. We’ve got 50 2008 adult RSL jerseys for only $50 and 35 youth RSL jerseys for just $35, all you’ve got to do is call our merch folks at 801.924.8572 and mention Behind the Shield. What are you waiting for? You’re not gonna find a better offer than that!

With last night’s victory over Columbus, Real Salt Lake took sole possession of first place in the tight Western Conference. There’s no time to relax though, as the guys will be headed to Chicago later this week for a huge matchup with the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

The highlight of the training week will be Tuesday night’s reserve match vs. the BYU Men’s Soccer team. It will be a very special night in Provo as BYU unveils it’s brand new soccer stadium. Tickets for the game are available for $5 for students, $6 for adults, and $10 for reserved midfield seats, with the first 2200 fans receiving a free Stadium Grand Opening t-shirt. Tickets are available by calling 801.422.2981 or visiting www.byutickets.com. The gates will open at 6:00 p.m. and the match will kick off at 7:00 p.m. so make sure to join us out there. (For directions to the new stadium at South Field make the jump below.)

Check out the rest of the week’s schedule after the break. (Please note that tomorrow morning’s training session will be closed to the public)

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How does it feel?

We’re about an hour short of kick off up here on the hill and we’ve got the lineup sheets in front of us as we speak. So without further ado here they are…

Real Salt Lake: GK - Nick Rimando; DF - Ian Joy, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Tony Beltran; MF - Kyle Beckerman, Dema Kovalenko, Javier Morales, Andy Williams; FW - Yura Movsisyan, Tino Nunez

Bench: Chris Seitz, Matias Mantilla, Nathan Sturgis, Alex Nimo, Kenny Cutler, Robbie Findley, Kenny Deuchar

Columbus Crew: GK - Will Hesmer; DF - Danny O’Rourke, Ryan Junge, Chad Marshall, Frankie Hejduk; MF - Robbie Rogers, Brian Carroll, Brad Evans, Emmanuel Ekpo; FW - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Alejandro Moreno

Bench: Andy Gruenebaum, Andy Iro, Jason Garey, Stefani Miglioranzi, Jed Zayner, Steven Lenhart, Duncan Oughton

There are some definite surprises in there on the RSL side, with Tino and Yura starting together up top being the biggest. The two young strikers will look to bring the potency they showed in last week’s reserve match (when the pair combined for five goals) to break Real out of their scoring doldrums. It also sets up to allow Coach Kreis to bring his regular starters (Robbie Findley and Kenny Deuchar) off the bench to provide an offensive spark. We also see midfielder Nathan Sturgis in the 18 man roster for the first time since his injury against Toronto almost three months ago. It’s definitely good to see him back.

Stay tuned, this one’s going to be fun.

4th minute: We’ve barely hit the 4th minute and RSL is already on top. Yura is taken down just outside the box and Javi makes no mistake as he buries the resulting free kick past a diving Will Hesmer. The home side looks aggressive and sharp so far, let’s hope they can keep it up!

33rd minute: This one’s been really exciting. Each team has had some dangerous opportunities, but RSL has definitely been the better team. Hesmer’s come up big a few times to keep the scoreline where it is, and the RSL defense has bent but not broken as Columbus has pushed forward.

Halftime: And we’ve reached the break with RSL leading 1-0. Columbus really picked it up in the last 15 minutes though, as they created a handful of dangerous chances. They have a potent attack with a lot of dangerous weapons so the Real defense needs to stay strong to hold onto this one.

71st minute: Sorry folks, double duty again, let’s get you caught up. The second half has been pretty back-and-forth, though Columbus has had a few more dangerous chances (highlighted by a long range rip from Schelotto that caromed off the left post.) We’ve seen both of RSL’s normal starting strikers introduced as Robbie came on for Yura and Kenny for Tino. The Crew are pushing hard for the equalizer, can RSL stay strong and earn the three points?

78th minute: RSL strikes again! Robbie pounces on an error by the Crew backline and gives the home side a huge 2-0 lead. Great stuff by Robbie. Give the assist to the Good Doctor (his first in MLS play.)

End of Match: It was all RSL the rest of the way, as the defense held strong and the guys pulled out a massive 2-0 victory to jump to the top of the Western Conference. It was a solid game all around, everyone came out to play tonight. The squad is next in action on Saturday as they make their yearly trip to Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Fire. We’re checking out for the night, thanks for reading and we’ll see you soon.