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Utah Travel Headlines

Monday, November 23, 2009

Real Salt Lake Takes MLS Title

Utah is celebrating today, after the Real Salt Lake Major League Soccer Team won the league championship yesterday in Seattle.

Below are excerpts from this ESPN report on the game.

But it all worked out splendidly for Real Salt Lake, which took down the glamour guys from the Galaxy in the second MLS Cup final decided by penalty kicks.

The overachievers from one of the league's smallest markets overcame ample hardship thanks to superior fitness and, even more, to a goalkeeper who specializes in turning away spot shots. The Utah side also had just enough shooters able to be calm under pressure, as a blue-collar club with no real front-line international stars claimed a 5-4 edge in a tiebreaker that went seven shooters deep.

This Salt Lake Tribune article gives a local angle. Below are excerpts.

When Russell fired home the penalty kick that delivered Real Salt Lake its first Major League Soccer championship on Sunday night, he spun around and saw five years of faith and perseverance charging right at him -- in the form of three dozen joyous coaches and teammates roaring in celebration of a shootout victory over the star-studded Los Angeles Galaxy that a month ago nobody could have seen coming.

"Nothing in the world can describe it," Russell recalled. "There are no words that can describe it. It's just utter elation. Just pure ... you turn around and you see those guys running at you ... there's just no way to describe it."

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