One game in 100 words: The first 45 minutes of the match featured a large bundle of penalty calls from referees, and it was clear Real Salt Lake wasn’t going to gain much attacking momentum. Nonetheless, as the contest persisted, Real dictated the pace and kept the ball away from San Jose. The Royals would eventually be rewarded for their efforts, managing to draw level in the final 20 minutes, the equalizing goal gifted to the home side by San Jose defender Victor Bernardez. Real Salt Lake stays at 9th place in the Western Conference with this result. At 7th place, the Earthquakes now have 10 points.
Goals
Salt Lake: Víctor Bernardez 71' (OG)
San Jose: Chris Wondolowski 19'
Three moments that mattered
19’ — Wondolowski cleans up for first goal — Shea Salinas led the attack forward, juking to his right to get enough space for a long-range effort. His shot hit the leg of RSL defender Jamison Olave before spinning behind the back line right to the feet of striker Chris Wondolowski, a high-quality MLS finisher. Wondo nailed the it with his left foot, and the ball dashed into the back of the net.
67’ — Beckerman zooms it wide — Calling on Kyle Beckerman to spearhead the decisive sequence isn’t a bad idea, considering his ability to bring Real’s offensive ambitions to action. Beckerman advanced the ball to Kenny Mansally on the left wing, and then a weak cross was cleared out to the USMNT notable. He fired a right-footer that careened just wide of the near post and skidded quickly along the turf. Bingham dropped to his knees, looking as if he had it covered.
71’ — Bernardez botches clearance for own goal — The San Jose faithful witnessed a severe moment of deflation when one of their own ultimately cost them an important three points. Tapping forward a nicely weighted through ball, Kyle Beckerman set Alvaro Saborio free, 1-on-1 with goalkeeper David Bingham, who charged out of goal and appeared to have proper positioning for the save. In pursuit, Bernardez simply chipped the ball over his netminder—a majorly botched clearance.
Lineups
Salt Lake: Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Elisa Vasquez, Kenny Mansally; Javier Morales (Jordan Allen 41'), Kyle Beckerman, Luke Mulholland (Sebastian Saucedo 82'); Luis Gil, Alvaro Saborio, Olmes Garcia (Devon Sandoval 63')
San Jose: David Bingham; Marvell Wynne, Victor Bernardez, Clarence Goodson, Cordell Cato; Chris Wondolowski, Fatai Alashe, Matias Perez Garcia (J.J. Koval 85'); Sanna Nyassi (Tommy Thompson 75'), Innocent (Adam Jahn 57'), Shea Salinas