Well, these Lumpys watch parties have been a good place to gather and watch matches, but they certainly have killed our blogging efforts. For the second straight trip we were unable to get any connection and get our live-blog on. It’s unfortunate too, because this week’s game may have been the most exciting of the season.

In a must-win match to keep pace in the chase for the playoffs RSL brought the fireworks tonight. It all started in the third minute when Javi dropped a beautiful long ball to a streaking Yura Movsisyan. The young striker pulled the ball in, faked a right footed shot, pulled the ball to his left, and buried it past a diving Joe Cannon for a 1-0 RSL lead.

The red-hot San Jose Earthquakes (riding a 9-match unbeaten streak to the middle of the playoff hunt) had something to say, however, as midseason acquisition Darren Huckerby found himself behind the Real defense and alone on goal. Huckerby made no mistake as he slipped the ball past a sliding Nick Rimando to level the score.

The rest of the first half saw each team squander some good chances and they headed to the break level.

The start of the second stanza looked like things were going to follow the same script as too many other road matches this season. Just two minutes after the break, on a quick counter-attack, Huckerby found himself at the top of the area and the talented winger fired a low shot past a diving Rimando to give his team a big 2-1 lead.

This is where things took a different turn for the guys in white. Before the streamers could even hit the pitch, Kyle Beckerman found Yura behind the defense once again and, after pulling the ball down off his chest, Yura showed his form and took a perfect touch before Cannon could get there. The resulting goal leveled the score once again and seemed to spark some life into the RSL attack.

As the offenses went back-and-forth it was RSL who found the next big chance when midfielder Robbie Russell was taken out just outside the Earthquakes’ penalty area. Up stepped Javier Morales and the newly resigned RSL playmaker showed his worth, slipping a beautiful free kick just over the wall and past Cannon to give Real the big road lead.

After the Javi tally, all RSL needed to do was stave off the last of the San Jose attack to pick up their first road victory in several months. Well, they were up to the task and as Nick Rimando collapsed on the final chance, the whistle blew and RSL had pumped new life into their playoff chase.