Real Salt Lake worked wonders Wednesday night with a new starting line-up as they beat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-0 in front of nearly 11,000 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium for their first U.S. Open Cup win of the season.

Head Coach Jason Kreis planned for two matches this week, and was hesitant to play all of his starters Wednesday, when results aren't scored for the Major League Soccer point system.

"We had a very set idea of how we were going to handle this game and Saturday night's game [against the Galaxy] compared to each other," Kreis said, "and, yes, it was a bit of a trial for some of the guys."

Because of Saturday's game, Goal keeper and team leader Nick Rimando was held from the starting line-up and replaced by back-up GK Chris Seitz, who had four crucial saves against the San Jose offense.

Seitz didn't mind the lack of action in the RSL backfield.

"That's the position," Seitz said, "Any goalkeeper might not see a shot for 60 or 70 minutes, but when the ball comes in you've got to be ready. You've got to stay warm; you've got to stay in the game as much as possible."

RSL ended the night with four goals, three of which came during the first half, a time when the team has historically been off to a slower start. Midfielder Kyle Beckerman, one of RSL's few veteran starters, scored his first goal in the 21st minute, then followed with a 33rd minute blast behind San Jose GK Preston Burpo.

"We had them on the ropes," Beckerman said, "we knocked them down with the goal and then got one after that and it was no turning back for us after that. They were just chasing the game."

Real benefited from two serious injuries to San Jose's defense in the first half. San Jose's only veteran players, Defenders Ryan Cochrane and Jay Ayres, were going up for a loose ball in the first half, when the two collided and lay on the ground for several minutes. Both players were rushed to the hospital, the first two casualties in the Earthquakes' loss.

"It was a pretty bad collision, to be honest," San Jose head coach Frank Yallop said. "I think Jay Ayres is worse off than Ryan Cochrane, but they're both pretty concussed and in the hospital at the moment, so hopefully they'll be okay."

Kreis also held usual starter Forward Kenny Duechar, and opted instead for Yura Movsisyan, who has seen some generous playing time. The move paid off, as Movsisyan followed up Beckerman's 33rd minute goal with a point of his a minute later.

"I was like, Whoa, hey man, we're about to score again,'" Beckerman recalled after the game, "We were just focused and we made sure that after we scored the second one we were right on top of them again and not giving them any breath, so it was good to get a third."

Team veteran Andy Williams, one of only three current RSL players who played on the team during their first season, also added a goal in the 90th minute to seal the deal and push RSL one step closer to entering the U.S. Open Cup tournament.

RSL's next Open Cup qualifier will be played May 27 against the Columbus Crew.

Saturday, David Beckham, Landon Donovan and the rest of the Los Angeles Galaxy arrive for the only game in Salt Lake City of the year. While Beckham remains the more popular player with the public, Donovan is currently leading the MLS attack column with eight goals and two assists in the first five games of the season.

Copyright Brigham Young University 2 May 2008