Real Salt Lake has made history, becoming the first Major League Soccer team to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League final with a 3-2 aggregate goal victory over Saprissa in the the semifinals. Saprissa outscored RSL 2-1 on Tuesday, but it wasn't enough to overcome their two-goal deficit. RSL will now face the winner of the Cruz Azul-Monterrey semifinal. The final will start on April 19 and be played in Mexico before returning the Salt Lake on April 26.
CONCACAF Champions League, Semifinal: Real Salt Lake Moves On To Final
RSL entered this leg with a 2-0 lead and their lead was never in serious jeopardy. Saprissa opened the second half with a quick goal to cut the deficit in half, but RSL answered about 15 minutes later on a Jamison Olave goal that essentially put the match out of reach. Alonso Solis was able to pull one goal back on a 87th minute penalty, but it was largely trivial as Saprissa would have still needed two more goals to advance.
The finals appearance gives RSL the chance to become just the second MLS team in history to win a continental championship. The 2000 Los Angeles Galaxy won what was then called the CONCACAF Champions Cup - which was played under a different format - and would have played in the Club World Cup if it had not been canceled that year.
The victory also keeps alive RSL’s dream of accomplishing the unprecedented “Quad,” which would involve them winning the CCL, U.S. Open Cup, Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup. No MLS team has even won three of those championships in the same year. The 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy came closest to accomplishing the Treble, having won the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield and losing in the Open Cup final.
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