Real Salt Lake

Don't look now RSL fans, but the referee for tonight's pivotal road playoff game against the defending champion Columbus Crew is none other than … Baldomero Toledo.

Gulp.

One of the veteran referees in Major League Soccer, he nevertheless is known for having a quick trigger with red cards and penalty kicks, and has had a rocky history with RSL — including his ejection of defender Jamison Olave with an early red card in a 3-2 loss at Houston earlier this season. Many fans and even some close to the organization worry that Toledo has it out for RSL for some reason, though he has only called three of its games this season.

In those games, RSL has won once and lost twice — beating New York a few weeks ago with little trouble, but losing at Houston and in Seattle in the season-opener. But rest assured, the anxiety is real, particularly with so much on the line and midfielder Kyle Beckerman facing a suspension from the MLS Eastern Conference final, if he picks up another yellow card while helping RSL advance that far.

Another worrisome note?

While RSL has a one-goal advantage going into the second leg of the two-game, aggregate-goals series, higher-seeded teams such as the Crew have bounced back to advance more often after losing the first leg than after tying it. Obviously, RSL hopes it can buck that trend, as well as overcome its 2-11-2 record on the road this season.