MLS Real Salt Lake

Captain Kreis out for remainder of season

Published on September 14, 2005 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SALT LAKE CITY (Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005) - Real Salt Lake General Manager Steve Pastorino and Head Coach John Ellinger announced today that RSL forward and captain Jason Kreis, Major League Soccer's All-Time Leading Scorer and the first and only player in League history to attain the 100-goal threshold, has been placed on the season-ending injury reserve list due to a partial tear of his left knee's Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).

Kreis will travel to Dallas this weekend with Real Salt Lake, attending the expansion team's first-ever game at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, Sunday on ESPN2 at 12:00 p.m. MT. RSL faces FC Dallas, formerly known as the Dallas Burn, Kreis' team during his first nine seasons in MLS. Real Salt Lake was slated to be without Kreis for Sunday's game due to yellow card point accumulation following his caution during the team's 1-0 home loss to New England on September 3, while MF Andy Williams will also miss Sunday's game due to his 92+ minute red card received in the same game.

"While I am extremely disappointed to not be available to my Real Salt Lake teammates as we push for the fourth and final Western Conference playoff spot, I fully expect to come back for the 2006 MLS season quicker and stronger than ever," said Kreis, who re-injured the knee during a practice session last week. "I expect to meet with U.S. Soccer's top surgeon, Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, the week of September 26 to determine my medical course of action."

Dr. Mandelbaum is a world-renowned surgeon based in Los Angeles who has operated on a who's who of professional male and female U.S. soccer players, including Kreis' RSL teammate, Clint Mathis and U.S. Men's National Team standouts Chris Klein, Conor Casey and Joe-Max Moore, among others.

Kreis originally tore his left knee's ACL on August 13, 2003, as a member of the Dallas Burn, an injury which caused him to miss the remainder of the season (11 games). Kreis returned to MLS action on May 8, 2004, Dallas' fifth game of the season, a 1-3 loss to the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy. Kreis then started 19 of the team's next 25 games in 2004, scoring a total of five goals and assisting on two others before becoming the first-ever player in Real Salt Lake history. Ironically, Kreis' record 100th goal, scored during RSL's 2-4 loss at home against the Kansas City Wizards, came on August 13, 2005, exactly two years to the day of his original ACL tear.

"Jason's injury is an unfortunate setback to our captain and leading scorer," says Pastorino. "But if anyone can find the strength within himself to come back stronger in 2006 from an injury like this, it's Jason. We wish him a successful surgery and a speedy recovery."

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN TO DECLARE SEPTEMBER YOUTH SOCCER MONTH: Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. is joining Real Salt Lake and Utah Youth Soccer to officially declare September as "Youth Soccer Month" on Thursday, September 15 at 1:00 p.m. MT. RSL CEO Dean Howes, General Manager Steve Pastorino, RSL players, and UYSA President Leisa Vineyard will be a part of the ceremonial signing of the declaration at the new East State Capitol Complex building located behind the State Capitol. The declaration will be presented to soccer fans across the Wasatch Front during a special pre-game ceremony during the RSL-Columbus Crew game at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, September 24. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. MT.

TARLEY JOINING MINNESOTA THUNDER IN LA: RSL FW Melvin Tarley joined his former team the USL First Division Minnesota Thunder in Los Angeles, Calif. Tuesday to prepare for tonight's 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center at 9:00 p.m. MT. Tarley started and played 88 minutes in Minnesota's 3-1 win over the Kansas City Wizards on August 24, advancing the USL First Division squad to the Open Cup Semifinals. The 22-year old forward who stands at 6-1, 175, found the back of the net twice in the Thunder's 6-4 win over Real Salt Lake on July 13 and tallied all four Thunder goals in the team's 4-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on August 3.

BESAGNO WITH U-17 USMNT AT THE IMG ACADEMY: RSL MF Nikolas Besagno is with the U.S. U-17 Men's National Team in Peru for the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Championship, which begins on Friday, Sept. 16 and ends on Sunday, Oct. 2. The U.S. opens the FIFA U-17 World Championship against North Korea (Korea DPR) on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11:45 a.m. MT, before facing Italy on Tuesday, Sept. 20 (2:30 p.m. MT) and concludes group play on Friday, Sept. 23 (2:30 p.m. MT) against Ivory Coast. The U.S. will play their first two group matches against North Korea and Italy at Elias Aguirre Stadium in Chiclayo, before moving to Lima to face Ivory Coast at Nacional Stadium in their third and final group match. Every U.S. match at the World Youth Championship will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

Day Date Matchup Time (MT) TV

Sat. Sept. 17 North Korea 1 p.m.* FSC

Tues. Sept. 20 Italy 2:30 p.m. FSC

Fri. Sept. 23 Ivory Coast 2:30 p.m. FSC

*Tape Delayed

WILLIAMS HOSTS PRIVATE CLINIC COURTESY OF LENNOX: RSL MF Andy Williams hosted a private clinic for five exclusive fans yesterday to complete the Lennox Heating/Cooling promotion. Williams became the first RSL player to score on Rice-Eccles' north goal, also Major League Soccer's historic 5,000th goal, in RSL's 2-1 win over Chivas USA on August 6.

Lennox, Inc., distributors of residential and commercial heating and cooling systems and one of 37 Real Salt Lake corporate partners, declared that it would reward hundreds of lucky fans in attendance at upcoming Rice-Eccles Stadium Major League Soccer games when the first-ever goal is scored in the stadium's north end. During RSL's first nine regular-season and one exhibition home games, all 16 of the team's goals were scored at the "HOT" south goal, with none finding the back of the net at the "COLD" north goal.

2005 MLS PLAYOFF SCENARIOS - WEEK 25: Following last weekend's games, 10 of 12 MLS clubs are still fighting for the seven remaining spots in the 2005 MLS Cup Playoffs. The San Jose Earthquakes already own one of the four berths in the Western Conference and Chivas USA officially eliminated from contention following their 3-0 loss to the Quakes on Saturday, the upcoming weekend could determine other postseason berths.

The Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution (51 points) could become the first Eastern team to lock up their place in an Eastern Conference Semifinal series with a win over the MetroStars (37 points) on Saturday. Expect more shuffling of positions in the East in the coming weeks, as the MetroStars win on Saturday over Kansas City Wizards closed the gap between second and fourth place to only seven points.

In the West, three out of the four spots could be locked up following the games of Week 25. The Los Angeles Galaxy need only a win on Saturday night over Kansas City to reach the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season. The Galaxy would become the only club in MLS history to advance to the postseason in each of the League's 10 seasons. FC Dallas could earn their first playoff appearance in three years with a win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday, Sept 18 at 12:00 p.m. MT, live on ESPN2. What follows are the scenarios in play ahead of weekend action on September 17:

New England Revolution can clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs with:

(a) A win vs. the MetroStars

Los Angeles Galaxy can clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs with:

(a) A win vs. the Kansas City Wizards

(b) Real Salt Lake loss vs. FC Dallas

(c) A tie vs. the Kansas City Wizards and a Real Salt Lake tie against FC Dallas

FC Dallas can clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs with:

(a) A win vs. Real Salt Lake

2005 MLS CUP PLAYOFFS

At the end of the season four teams qualify from each conference and advance to the home-and-home, aggregate goal MLS Cup Conference Semifinals (No. 1 vs. No. 4 and No. 2 vs. No. 3). The two teams left standing in each conference will meet in the single-elimination Conference Championships with the winners advancing to MLS Cup 2005 at Pizza Hut Park on Nov. 13 (live on ABC Sports at 3:30 p.m. ET).

Tickets for MLS Cup 2005 are currently only available through a random computerized drawing on www.MLSnet.com or www.FCDallas.net. Tickets will be made available to the general public in the first week of October.

TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF Sept. 11, 2005:

**All practices are open to Media members. All times and locations are subject to change. Please contact the Real Salt Lake Media Relations Department at 801.924.8584 or 801.924.8579 to confirm times and venues.

DAY/DATE SITE TIME (MT)

Thursday, Sept. 15 Spence Eccles Field House 10:00 a.m.

Friday, Sept. 16 Rice-Eccles Stadium 10:00 a.m.

Saturday, Sept. 17 Travel to Dallas, TX

Training @ Pizza Hut Park 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 18 GAME @ FC Dallas 12:00 p.m.

Pizza Hut Park

RSL INJURY REPORT / INTERNATIONAL DUTY / SUSPENSIONS:

PLAYER STATUS INJURY

DF Rusty Pierce QUESTIONABLE R hamstring strain

DF Nelson Akwari PROBABLE L groin strain

MF Chris Brown PROBABLE R hamstring strain

DF Eddie Pope PROBABLE L ankle sprain

FW Dante Washington PROBABLE R ankle sprain

MF Nikolas Besagno OUT United States U-17 Camp

FW Jason Kreis OUT Points accumulation

MF Andy Williams OUT Red card suspension

VOTE FOR THE RADIOSHACK MLS ALL-TIME BEST XI: Fans can now cast their votes for the election of the RadioShack MLS All-Time Best XI as part of Major League Soccer's 10th Season celebrations, with DF Eddie Pope, FW Jason Kreis and MF Clint Mathis as the three RSL players under consideration for this honor. Fans can vote by logging onto the League's official web site at www.MLSnet.com and the following link contains the voting application: http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/mls/events/season_10/best_11.jsp.

Fan balloting, which accounts for 50 percent of the final vote total, began Tuesday and will conclude on October 16, the final day of the 2005 regular season. Media and MLS coaches and general managers will also participate in the other half of the voting process.

The 78 player pool is formed by players who were Best XI selections or named to at least three All-Star Games since the 1996 Inaugural Season. One goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards will form the RadioShack MLS All-Time Best XI squad which will be announced during the MLS Cup Playoffs. The field is divided as follows: 9 goalkeepers, 21 defenders, 27 midfielders and 21 forwards. Of the 78 players, 38 are currently playing with MLS clubs.

¡FUTBOLITO! COMING TO SLC IN FIVE DAYS: MLS ¡Futbolito!, the official 4v4 tournament of Major League Soccer arrives to Utah on Saturday, September 17, at Fairmont Park in Salt Lake City (2361 South 900 East). There are three divisions: Premier Adult, Adult Recreational and Youth age groups from Under-8 to Under-17. Each participant will receive one ticket to a Real Salt Lake game, an authentic MLS ¡Futbolito! t-shirt and the opportunity to win Panasonic and/or RadioShack prizes. There will be prize money given away to the first and second place teams in the Premier Adult division with the winners receiving $2,000 and the runner-ups receiving $1,000. Former LA Galaxy player (1996-2003) and El Salvadoran national team member Mauricio Cienfuegos is scheduled to a guest appearance as the official spokesperson for MLS Futbolito and will be on hand to sign autographs and to meet participants. Advanced registration ends on Wednesday, September 14. To register and for more information, call (866) 965.7484, log onto www.mlsfutbolito.com or email info@MLSFutbolito.com.

RSL SUPPORTING FIESTA MEXICANA: Real Salt Lake will be participating in Mexican Independence Day Celebration known as Fiesta Mexicana 2005 which takes place at Washington & Library Square (200 East 400 South) in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. MT. RSL players will make scheduled appearances and an inflatable RSL Goal Kick will be located in the kids' area. The Mission of Fiesta Mexicana is to celebrate the traditions of the Mexican culture and heritage with all of the community of the Salt Lake area in order to promote tolerance, integration and community development while giving all the Mexican community the benefit of enjoying an Independence Day Celebration which includes Mexican regional folk dances and performers, regional traditional Mexican foods, the shout of Independence of the Mexican people, artisan workshops, artisan art work, artisan exhibits, and musical performances. For the past three years, Fiesta Mexicana has been successful in bringing people from many walks of life, not only Latino, to this city-wide event.

JOIN THE JUNIOR LOYALISTS: RSL invites local youth fans ages 14 and under to join the RSL Kids Club, known as the Chevron Junior Loyalists! The next replica giveaway will be on Saturday, Sept. 24 where registered Jr. Loyalist members will receive a FREE replica Real Salt Lake uniform bag! Kids 14 and under can sign-up to be a Jr. Loyalist at more than 90 participating Chevron locations along the Wasatch Front. The Columbus Crew game represents the final Junior Loyalist "build-a-uniform" date. Pick up a registration form at any of the more than 90 Wasatch Front Chevron locations!

SINGLE-GAME TICKETS ON SALE: Real Salt Lake single-game tickets for its inaugural 2005 season at Rice-Eccles Stadium continue to be on sale both online and at the University of Utah Ticket Office, located at the Stadium's south end. Individual game prices are $14 for north goal, $18 for corner flag, $25 for premier east and $32 for VIP west. Individual game tickets can be purchased by visiting the Utah Ticket Office at 451 South 1400 East, by logging onto www.utahtickets.com or by contacting the Ticket Office at (801) 581-UTIX. Fans are continued to be encouraged to purchase in advance.

ACCESS REAL: Real fans can now receive up-to-date information on the team by signing up for the RSL Weekly Newsletter on our website at http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/MLS/rsl/fans/.

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Major League Soccer Stories from September 14, 2005


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