BYU NewsNet - RSL Falls in Tense Match, 2-1

In Wednesday night's Pioneer Day matchup pitting Real Salt Lake against Costan Rican First Division champion Saprissa, emotions ran high and the international game turned anything but friendly in a 2-1 loss for RSL.

Defender Chris Wingert came off the bench for a 91st-minute stoppage-time goal to give RSL its first and only point of the night.

Wingert chased down a pass from forward Tino Nunez that drew Saprissa goalkeeper Keylor Navas too far in front of his posts. The RSL defender, who subbed in for Ian Joy in the 45th minute, took advantage of the opportunity and rolled the ball into the back of the net.

Despite the loss, RSL head coach Jason Kreis and the rest of the team were happy with the performance.

"I think overall it was a better game for us [than the Santos Laguna friendly]," Kreis said. "I thought we created a lot more than we did in that match, and some of the younger players had a better game tonight than they did against Santos. There were some good signs out there."

In the 81st minute, emotions reached a climax when RSL forward Yura Movsisyan got into a shoving match with Saprissa defender Gabriel Badilla near the visiting team's penalty area. After the officials broke up the brawl, both players were given a red card for the scuffle, and the final 10 minutes were played in a 10-on-10.

"The game got pretty heated out there, and that's something you don't want to see in a friendly," RSL midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "But it's tough, when you play a good international team who plays in the heat, on turf, and knows how to pass the ball really well. When you go with a lineup like we did, you just try and get a good training session out of it."

Kreis ended the night playing every one of his players on the roster, save goalkeeper Nick Rimando. Reserve 'keeper Kyle Reynish got the start, with usual backup Chris Seitz preparing for Beijing with the U.S. Olympic team.

Saprissa took advantage of the young keeper's inexperience, however, by scoring on only two shots on goal all night.

After a scoreless first half, Saprissa striker Ronald Gomez picked up a cross from midfielder Walter Centeno in the 58th minute. The shot sailed into the back of the net, just far enough out of Reynish's reach to be called a goal.

Four minutes later, Saprissa's Armando scored the winning goal.

"For some guys, it takes a little while to get used to the pace of the game," RSL's Beckerman said. "But we had a really good chance with [forward] Fabian [Espindola], when he hit the post and cleared the line. If that had gone in, we would've been good; a few minutes later, we scored a goal. But that's how soccer is. We're over it already and now we're looking forward to Monday against Toronto."