Certainly, RSL would have preferred not to lose a young player as highly regarded as midfielder Nathan Sturgis, whom the Seattle Sounders selected today in the expansion draft.

But compared to the risk of losing goalkeeper Nick Rimando, it's nothing.

Remember, the team suddenly changed its mind after initially leaving Rimando unprotected for the draft, choosing at the last moment to leave Sturgis exposed, out of fear that the Sounders -- despite already having signed veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller -- would select Rimando to use him for trade bait.

And even though the Sounders did not wind up selecting any of the starting goalkeepers that other teams had left exposed, the risk of losing the starting goalkeeper off the first playoff team in franchise history seems just to big to have taken.

Not only would it have looked foolish if it lost Rimando, but RSL also would have faced the prospect of either finding a new goalkeeper (after Rimando had become such an integral part of the team), trading something of value to get him back (something it already had to do after trading him away, to re-acquire him in the wake of Scott Garlick's unexpected retirement), or going into next season with current back-up Chris Seitz, who's highly regarded but still has played only three games in two seasons.

Uncertain options, all.

On top of that, Sturgis has scarcely played for RSL because of injuries since joining the team in a trade midway through the 2007 season. Eight games total, in fact -- and with different injuries that never seem to go away. With that kind of history (and a return to artificial turf in Seattle), it's difficult to bet your top goalkeeper that Sturgis is going to suddenly turn into the kind of regular starter who's going to make a real difference in this league.

Until he proves otherwise -- and good for Sturgis, if he does -- I'm going to say that RSL made the right move.

Nik Besagno never worked out the way Real Salt Lake had hoped. But Jamison Olave? That's another story.

Which is why the team jettisoned Besagno on Monday, nearly four years after making him the oft-ridiculed first draft pick in franchise history, and signed Olave to a new four-year contract as part of its preparations for the upcoming Major League Soccer expansion draft. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"He didn’t come cheap," general manager Garth Lagerwey said. "But he's a very valuable player who definitely helps us."

RSL also left veteran midfielders Andy Williams and Dema Kovalenko unprotected and exposed to the expansion draft Wednesday that will help stock the new Seattle Sounders franchise that begins play in MLS next season. It originally said it planned to leave starting goalkeeper Nick Rimando unprotected, as well, but changed its mind -- after the announced deadline, and not long before the league planned to release every team's list -- and exposed young midfielder Nathan Sturgis, instead.

The team was allowed to protect only 11 players, not counting three who are part of the Generation Adidas program, but can lose no more than one of the unprotected ones to the Sounders.

With the league having eliminated the reserve division and reduced roster sizes from 28 to 24 players for next season, RSL also released midfielder Kenny Cutler and defender Dustin Kirby. Cutler was one of the few remaining original RSL players, but played only 11 games in his career, while Kirby played only briefly in one game.

Coach Jason Kreis knew he was going to risk losing a player he liked "very, very much" in the expansion draft, and the exposure of Rimando would have represented a significant gamble, considering he would have been the most marketable of the unprotected players. Even though the Sounders already have signed veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller, they could have chosen Rimando in order to either trade him elsewhere for a player they wanted, or hold him for ransom from RSL, knowing RSL has only inexperienced Chris Seitz as a back-up. Sturgis, meanwhile, is regarded among the best young American players, but he has strained to stay healthy and played only eight games for RSL in 1 1/2 seasons since joining the team in a trade.

Eight others -- forwards Clint Mathis and Kenny Deuchar, and defender Ian Joy among them -- were left unprotected, too, and defender Robbie Russell had surgery last week to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff in his shoulder. But the big news was the definitive roster moves.

Besagno played only 440 minutes in eight games for RSL since it made him the No. 1 pick of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft at the age of 16, and former coach John Ellinger envisioned him developing into a top player. But that never happened, Ellinger was fired, and Besagno spent much of last season on loan to a lower-division team.

Olave, meanwhile, became an imposing presence on the back line during RSL's run to the MLS Western Conference final after joining the team on loan from Deportivo Cali in his native Colombia. Team officials acquired him outright as part of his new contract, the same way they did with star midfielder Javier Morales during the season.

Now, both are under contract through the 2012 season.

We're very glad to have tied that up," Lagerwey said.

It's probably no surprise, judging by what little official credit he has received already, but midfielder Javier Morales was shut out of the MLS Best XI announced today.

Seems a bit strange, doesn't it?

Morales was the most valuable player for a team that made a playoff run into the MLS Western Conference final, and became only the fourth player in the last eight years to dish out 15 regular-season assists. The other three -- Guillermo Barros-Schelloto, Preki and Steve Ralston -- all made the Best XI in their respective standout seasons.

Terrific story today on SoccerByIves.com, detailing the friendship between RSL's Dema Kovalenko and New York's Sinisa Ubiparipovic, his former roommate with the Red Bulls, and the horrifying car crash they survived together last year.

"I remember opening my eyes and I was upside down," Kovalenko said. "I remember getting out of the car and not knowing what happened."

While Kovalenko suffered facial fractures that kept him out awhile, Ubiparipovic was unharmed. Still, it was "tough for both of them," fellow roommate and Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero said. "Dema caught the brunt of the accident ... but I think Sinisa felt bad and was hard on himself early on, especially seeing Dema struggling to get back and frustrated that he wasn't playing."

Now, though, the old friends will square off when RSL meets the Red Bulls in the MLS Western Conference final on Saturday night. That wasn't something anybody could have foreseen, until just last weekend.

Looks like it could be a rough finish for Ian Joy.

The defender who has played such a crucial role for RSL this season has not played in the playoffs because of injuries, and might not be able to rejoin his teammates when they take on New York in the MLS Western Conference final at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday.

Though coach Jason Kreis said Joy could be in the lineup, Joy answered differently when asked -- as he walked off the practice field alone, ahead of his teammates -- whether he expected to play against the Red Bulls.

"No," he said.

RSL obviously has survived well without Joy, with defender Robbie Russell having played well on the back line in the series against Chivas USA. But missing playoff games is an unjust reward for Joy, who started 18 regular-season games, including the final six as RSL made its dramatic drive to the postseason. Maybe he'll see the field again if RSL reaches the MLS Cup championship.

The RSL family was not impressed with ESPN's Alexi Lalas picking Chivas to beat it in the playoffs last week.

Maybe this will make up for it.

The former general manager of the Los Angeles Galaxy predicted tonight that RSL will beat the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Western Conference final at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday -- and he was so sure of himself that he made a daring proposal.

"If New York happens to win and go to MLS Cup," he said, "I will shotgun a can of Red Bull, on set" at the championship game at the Home Depot Center next weekend.

Talented as he was, coach Jason Kreis never enjoyed much opportunity to win a championship as a player. He reached the Major League Soccer conference finals only twice in an 11-year career, losing both times.

The most painful came in 1999, when Kreis scored a career-high 18 goals with 15 assists for a team that finished 19-13 (there were no draws, back then) and became the league's first American-born Most Valuable Player, but lost a deciding game in the conference final to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

"All year long, I felt like that was a special team and that was the team that was going to go the whole way," he recalled. "That was the only team I felt deserved to go all the way. Now, here's only the second opportunity in my entire professional soccer career where I feel like I'm part of a team that deserves to go all the way."

Back when he was a rookie goalkeeper in Major League Soccer's inaugural season, Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey failed to stop a late shot in a crucial playoff game that ultimately kept his team from reaching the MLS Cup championship.

He recalls it now as the "greatest regret" of his career. But at the time, he figured he would have plenty of chances for redemption ahead of him. "I thought, my rookie year, that it was going to be easy," he said, "because it felt that way."

Instead, Lagerwey never played another playoff game.

The painful memory illustrates just how precious an opportunity RSL is facing when it meets the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Western Conference championship at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday. Only two of the 28 players on the roster have won championships in the league -- goalkeeper Nick Rimando and midfielder Dema Kovalenko -- and coach Jason Kreis reached the conference final only twice in his illustrious 11-year playing career, losing both times.

"These chances don't come along very often," Kreis said. "So we really need to relish this opportunity, enjoy this opportunity and take advantage of this opportunity."

That's the message that team officials and veterans are emphasizing, with the Red Bulls coming to town for 90 minutes of soccer to determine who will advance to the MLS Cup at the Home Depot Center on Nov. 23. Rimando and Kovalenko both did their part during a press conference, recalling their championship season together with D.C. United in 2004 and wondering whether they'll ever get another chance as good as this one.

"I'm 31 years old, going to be 32," Kovalenko said. "I don't know if it's going to happen again."

Even just two months ago, surely nobody would have wagered on RSL to earn the opportunity. In the middle of September, it was 8-10-7 and coming off a home loss to Chivas that appeared to signal the beginning of the end for their slim playoff chances.

But the team has responded with a franchise-record seven-game unbeaten streak -- three wins, four draws -- reaching the playoffs of a 90th-minute miracle goal in the regular-season finale, then effectively winning its first-round playoff series against Chivas on another last-minute shocker in the first game of the two-game aggregate-goal series. It tied the second game, on the road, to advance.

"We've been improving every facet, all season long," Kreis said. "Now, we're a championship-caliber team."

Rimando agreed.

He compared his championship team at United to RSL, noting its late run to cap a mostly average regular-season -- United entered the playoffs 11-10-9, while RSL was 11-10-9 -- its legendary-player-turned-coach (Peter Nowak) and the way "we came together, just like this team did."

"And we're not done yet," he added.

Raise your hand if you thought RSL would be the only MLS Western Conference team to reach the Final Four.

That's what we thought.

Surely nobody expected such a stunning late-season run from a team that was one loss away from last place, two months into the season. But RSL is 9-5-9 since that point, riding a franchise-record seven-game unbeaten streak and now has even the skeptics apologizing for underestimating it (along with its upcoming opponent, New York).

"Even last week, after the first legs of their playoff series, I was convinced that neither of these teams had the necessary gumption, steel, tactical awareness and, let's be honest, luck to ensure their passage into the conference finals," wrote Greg Lalas of SI.com. "But today, I must apologize to both of these teams for my lack of faith."

Suddenly, Real Salt Lake is catching all the breaks.

Not only did the team once again score crucial goals when it needed them to win the first Major League Soccer playoff series its history and extend its unbeaten streak to a franchise record seven games, but now it will play the MLS Western Conference final at home in Rio Tinto Stadium after one of the biggest upsets in league playoff history.

RSL will meet the New York Red Bulls in the conference final — kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. — after the Red Bulls shocked the league and eliminated two-time defending champion Houston Dynamo with a 3-0 victory on the road Sunday. That assured the RSL would be the higher-seeded team in the conference final, and entitled to home-field advantage.

Had Houston won, RSL would have traveled to play the Dynamo.

But the Red Bulls -- who backed into the league's final playoff spot on the last day of the season, after a crushing loss in their regular-season finale -- stunned the Dynamo with two first-half goals in the second leg of their first-round series at Robertson Stadium in Houston.

That made happy all of the RSL players who acknowledged after their 2-2 draw at Chivas USA on Saturday that they wanted New York to win so they could play another home game. The teams played to a 1-1 tie in the inaugural game at Rio Tinto Stadium last month.

"Somebody's got to get to the finals, and somebody's got to win the whole thing," RSL's Kyle Beckerman said. "Why not us?"

Tickets already are on sale over the phone, the team said, and will be available all week at the team offices at Trolley Corners in downtown Salt Lake City and the east side box office at Rio Tinto Stadium. Call 801-924-8585 for more information.

All that's left now is waiting to see who RSL will play.

Having advanced to the MLS Western Conference final for the first time in its four-year history, thanks to an exhilarating 2-2 draw against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center tonight, the team is pulling for New York to upset Houston today to ensure the game will be played at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Of course, a Red Bulls victory would be -- in the expert opinion of RSL's "crack media relations squad" -- the biggest upset in league playoff history. But still, several of the players acknowledged they will be pulling for the Red Bulls to pull off the stunner.

Speaking of stunners, imagine how RSL won this game.

It fell behind early against a team to which it had not won its first seven road games until earlier this season -- and that, on a questionable penalty -- but then came roaring back with two goals, one by midfielder Dema Kovalenko on a header off a cross by midfielder Javier Morales, then on Morales’ stunning rip between the legs of defender Shavar Thomas in the 77th minute.

That never would have happened in seasons past, and that final goal gave RSL the cushion it would need to survive the Goats’ withering four-striker attack over the final half-hour. Both teams manufactured some spectacular scoring chances and Chivas actually pulled one back on striker Justin Braun's shot in the 83rd minute.

But Chivas' Sacha Kjlestan fired high on a terrific opportunity near the end of regulation, and goalkeeper Nick Rimando easily corralled Alecko Eskandarian's last-ditch roller for the Goats.

"We just kind of believe," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. “Somebody's got to get to the finals, and somebody's got to win the whole thing. Why not us?"

We're just hours away from the make-or-break playoff game now, and RSL needs only a draw at Chivas to advance into the MLS Western Conference final.

But just as striker Yura Movsisyan has saved RSL the past two weeks, the Goats are hoping their own Armenian -- and RSL castoff -- can help rescue them to finally advance for the first time.

Striker Alecko Eskandarian is expected back after missing the first leg of the two-game series with a knee injury, and coach Preki hopes "he can gives us something" in the game tonight at the Home Depot Center.

Eskandarian already has scored twice against RSL this season -- the Goats won both times -- among the five goals he has scored in 11 games of an injury-shortened season.

Oh, and it's certain now that even if RSL beats Chivas USA to advance to the MLS Western Conference final, it will not play a home playoff game on Thursday night.

The possibility had existed if New England and Kansas City had advanced into the MLS Eastern Conference final at the same time RSL advanced to the MLS Western Conference final against New York. In that case, ESPN wanted RSL and the Red Bulls for its Thursday night spot next week.

But the Revs were eliminated with 3-0 blowout loss at Chicago last night, meaning that possibility no longer exists. So even if RSL earns another home game against the Red Bulls, it would be played Nov. 15 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

All right, so this season isn't even finished yet. But that doesn't mean it's too early to start thinking about next year.

Commissioner Don Garber, speaking at RSL's first playoff game last weekend, said Major League Soccer "probably" will wind up with a balanced schedule next season -- meaning that every team will play each of the other 14 teams (including expansion Seattle) home and away.

That would mean a 28-game schedule -- instead of 30 -- and potentially a little more wiggle room when trying to accommodate it among all of the international competitions expected next summer, such as World Cup qualifying and the Gold Cup.

Meanwhile, RSL owner Dave Checketts was asked about whether he intends to finally pursue a designated player. "I said we'd look at it when we got into a new stadium," he replied. "We are and will."

Here's a little something to help guide your rooting interests this weekend.

Presuming RSL wins or draws at Chivas USA to advance to the MLS Western Conference final, it will play either Houston or New York -- depending on which team wins their second-leg playoff game Sunday. If it's Houston, RSL would play the conference final on the road Nov. 16.

But if the Red Bulls pull the upset, RSL would host the conference final, because it would be the higher seed. And if Kansas City winds up meeting New England in the MLS Eastern Conference final -- both teams are tied on aggregate, going into second-leg road games at Columbus and Chicago, respectively -- ESPN would take the RSL home game for its Thursday night broadcast next week, Nov. 13.

Otherwise, RSL and the Red Bulls would play at Rio Tinto Stadium on Nov. 15.

Look who's back.

It's striker Alecko Eskandarian, the former RSL castoff who plays for Chivas USA and expects to return to the lineup against his former team in a must-win game on Saturday, after missing the first game of the teams’ playoff series last weekend because of a knee injury.

Eskandarian said he wanted to play that game, but ultimately did not even make the trip to Utah.

"Taking the extra couple of days to just do rehab and treatment and rest it a little bit has really helped out a lot and I'm looking forward to playing on Saturday," he said.

All this rain and snow isn't really helping.

The rotten weather disrupted RSL's training for the second leg of its Major League Soccer playoff series against Chivas USA on Saturday -- leading the team to consider canceling training Thursday after having to adjust its schedule the past two days.

"It has made things a little bit imperfect, not ideal," coach Jason Kreis said. "But at the end of the day, the guys have put in good effort as we've asked them to. ... It's still a testament to our guys' work and their mentality."

RSL shortened its workout amid blustery conditions at Xango Field in Lehi on Tuesday as the storm front moved in, then moved its workout indoors Wednesday to the Eccles Field House at the University of Utah. It's traveling to Los Angeles on Thursday, however, and hoping to get in at least one regular training session before the game.

"That's showing up to be a good decision," defender Chris Wingert said.

Probably a little late getting this up, but RSL's Yura Movsisyan has been named the MLS Player of the Week, after scoring his second straight 90th-minute goal and giving RSL a 1-0 victory over Chivas in the first playoff game in franchise history last weekend.

Speaking of Chivas, though, the team has announced it is canceling its planned bus trip to the return leg of the playoff series on Saturday. Not enough people had signed up, evidently, though that seems understandable, given the length of the drive. Still, some decent airfares are said to remain, for those interested ...

Midway through its historic playoff victory over the weekend -- the team now needs just a draw to advance -- RSL announced its award winners for the season.

Based on voting among coaches and management, the team named midfielder Javier Morales its most valuable player, having set a franchise season record with 15 assists while playing 2,511 minutes in 29 of 30 regular-season games.

Meanwhile, defender Nat Borchers was named defensive player of the year as well as humanitarian of the year, for solidifying RSL's back line by starting 29 games in central defense and participating in numerous clinics and appearances -- including a local awareness campaign on behalf of patients suffering from spinal muscular atrophy.

And of course, striker Yura Movsisyan won the Golden Boot as the team's leading scorer, having scored six of his seven regular-season goals in the final eight games -- then striking for the game-winner in the team's first playoff game.

On his way out of the locker room following RSL's exhilarating 1-0 playoff victory over Chivas, midfielder Javier Morales spotted teammate Yura Movsisyan across the room, just finishing yet another interview with reporters.

He shouted Movsisyan's name, and when the striker looked over, Morales gave him a knowing smile. "Simple," he said with a shrug.

Certainly, the players made it look easy.

It was Morales' pinpoint pass out of a Chivas double-team along the end line -- between one defender's legs, in fact -- that allowed Movsisyan to spectacularly use the back heel of his right foot behind his body to flick the ball to the far post and far away from helpless goalkeeper Zach Thornton for the 90th-minute game-winner.

"The only thing I could have done was control it or back-heel it," Movsisyan said. "And I think I did the right thing."

Nobody in Utah would disagree.

It was the seventh goal in the last nine games for Movsisyan, and -- unbelievably -- the second straight 90th-minute miracle to save the day, after his playoff-clinching strike at Colorado last weekend. And though he again deflected credit to his teammates and acknowledged that he was lucky rather than good, his coach provided much more praise.

"He really, really worked hard," coach Jason Kreis said. "He made things extremely difficult for their two center-backs. I thought he actually got a couple of fouls judged against him that would have turned into goals that I thought were a little bit suspect. So he's a guy right now who's feeling good about himself, as we are feeling good about him and it's good to see that he’s rewarded in the end, for all his hard work."

Talking to Andy and Marcia Williams for today's article about her fight against leukemia, it was impossible not to appreciate the challenge of what they're up against.

"Obviously, we talk about it every night," she said, "because we pray. So it's brought up, every single night -- but on a positive note."

Marcia Williams said she's enormously proud of her husband for maintaining a focus on the field that not only has impressed his teammates, but helped them reach the playoffs for the first time today against Chivas USA at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Part of that is because Marcia wanted to keep things as normal as possible after learning her diagnosis four months ago, which she feels also has helped keep her two daughters from having to confront reality too harshly.

Mostly, though, Marcia has been overwhelmed by the response from family, friends and the community.

Having once been wary of giving an interview, she wound up cheerful and charming, and wanting to thank far more people than were able to fit into the article -- from her friend Deb Harper who organized Soccer Unites Utah to Ashley Johnson, the wife of assistant coach B.J. Johnson, who raised money for meals for the family for the times that Marcia is too fatigued to cook. She also praised coach Jason Kreis and his wife, Kim, who have been instrumental in setting a positive tone from the organization, which Marcia once feared might release her husband for fear he wouldn’t be able to focus on the game.

"It's just been overwhelming," she said.