Great Night at Rio Tinto

We are almost embarrassed to admit it, but we finally made our way out to Rio Tinto Stadium last night for the first time...we got a chance to see ReAL Salt Lake take on the Los Angeles Galaxy. It was a fantastic night of soccer in a tremendous environment.

The stadium is gorgeous and provides great sights and sounds. The crowd (over 16,000) was very good for a weeknight and very enthusiastic.




The game was a very controlled affair until deep into injury time, when things got crazy...RSL went up 1-0 in the first half on an acrobatic header from a corner kick by Robbie Findley. The match stayed that way until 2nd half injury time. Then the Galaxy were awarded a PK...Landon Donovan squeaked it by RSL 'keeper Chris Seitz...1-1...just one minute later RSL gets a PK...Will Johnson drills it past LA goalie...Donovan Ricketts...2-1...then after a scramble in the box, Mike Magee hits a shot between Seitz' legs for the 2-2...VERY dramatic (and maddening for RSL supporters).

We loved the stadium...and we loved watching Greg Berhalter (smart center back) and Landon Donovan (got into some great spots on offense)...we also noticed that the Galaxy goal keeper, Donovan Ricketts is a GIANT of a man. Mostly we loved the Real team...Robbie Findley is FAST and dangerous. Kyle Beckerman holds down the middle of the field...and the outside backs, Tony Beltran and Chris Wingert fly up and down the flanks.




We look forward to seeing RSL again. And we will be back at Rio Tinto on May 23 to watch the USA vs. Japan women's game....also, we may have some exciting news in the fall about Rio Tinto...stay tuned!

Mathis Goal Highlights Great Weekend

Well, there was a lot of great sports stuff going on in Salt Lake City last weekend. On Saturday alone, we had a triathlon on campus...the Ute baseball team taking on #1 ranked UC Irvine...the Jazz-Lakers playoff game going on down town at the Energy Solutions Arena...the NFL draft going on with two Ute players, Paul Kruger and Sean Smith drafted on the first day...and the Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution match down at Rio Tinto Stadium... what a great day for a fan...

But the highlight of the day might have been this sweet strike by RSL midfielder, Clint Mathis.


Watch it here....a direct volley from a corner kick...incredible!

Coach Manning to Play for REAL Salt Lake

Well, to the players of the Utah women's soccer program, this is no surprise. But maybe to some others...

Real Salt Lake will announce today that they will sign Utah head coach, Rich Manning, to a 1 month contract to play for the MLS team. Real has been looking for some midfield help with some of their players having visa problems getting back into the U.S. Coach Manning will provide some much-needed creativity to the RSL attack.

How did this come about? With the volatile weather the past few weeks here in Utah, RSL has been training indoors at the Spence Eccles Fieldhouse at the U. Several times they have trained right after the Utah women's team...while waiting to start training, Real head coach, Jason Kreis, was shocked by the skills and quick feet displayed by Coach Manning at his Ute training. (You can see some of the moves here as Coach Manning executes a very complex country line dancing maneuver).

After inquiring some more, Jason learned about Coach Manning's legendary playing days at Santa Clara University...where he was called "The Maestro". Coach Kreis was elated to see that such a talented player was available right in his own backyard. And things progressed from there.

Coach Manning will become the oldest player in MLS at 44 years young. His new wife Sue is nervous but very proud! Coach Manning will continue to coach the Utes while under contract. Assistant Coach Laurel Roderick will take over when there are conflicts. Roderick is 8 months pregnant....however, the Utah training staff will have a table and equipment ready should they need to deliver the baby during practice. Stay tuned for more details as the situation unfolds.