Citizens of Utah: please rise, stretch, and clap your hands. You are now blessed with a new set of sporting legends that have earned their place among the best in the Beehive State.

I issue this edict, this fatwa of football fanaticism: Real Salt Lake is officially The Real Deal.

Jason Kreis may as well have been Jesus Christ in Seattle on Sunday. His club defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-4 on penalties to lift their first Philip Anschutz Trophy, and their first-ever Major League Soccer championship in the young team's history.

"It's nice to say we're the best team in the league. My honest opinion was that we deserved to win that game, so I'm glad that we did," said Kreis on the victory.

"I was walking down the fish market today and I must have seen a hundred Real Salt Lake fans and maybe five Galaxy fans. So I think that was an indication of how well supported we were tonight.

"I have a feeling that it's a really, really big thing for Utah."

Perhaps some supporters from Real Madrid, the club that has forged a partnership with Real Salt Lake and once had current Galaxy midfielder David Beckham on their team, are also smiling too.

Robbie Russell will go down as a hero among the Loyalists. His decisive spot kick gave the eighth seed the win.

"Playing in front of a crowd like that was great," said RUssell after the match. "It was a lot better than I expected."

Los Angeles got on the board first with a goal by Mike Magee in the 40th minute. On the transition, Landon Donovan delivered a cross that was slotted home to give the Galaxy a 1-0 going into halftime.

Real Salt Lake rebounded through another Robbie.

Robbie Findley made the Galaxy's defensive backline pay for missing their marker with the equalizer in the 64th minute.

Real Salt Lake's Javier Moreno was only able to last 22 minutes. He had to be subbed by Clint Mathis after suffering an LCL sprain by way of a David Beckham foul.

"Javier's been a very, very important player for us. In all of our good moments at Real Salt Lake he's been a central figure. He's our play maker for a reason," explained Kreis.

But Morales's injury didn't faze the underdogs from Utah, and Real Salt Lake's tenacity forced the game to go to penalties.

“Me and all the guys knew, if it came down to penalty kicks, we were confident, just going back to last week we handled business in Chicago,” Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. “But I really think we could have won this in regulation. We were that good in the second half.”

Rimando saved attempts by Jovan Kirovski and Edson Buddle in the shootout while witnessing Donovan's penalty sail high and over the crossbar.

Despite the setback, Bruce Arena was pleased by the turnaround the club made this season.

“Our players, our team, our organization had a great year,” Arena said after the game. “Can’t be disappointed. I think we did a great job in turning our team around.”

Los Angeles finished second overall on the regular season table (12-6-12, 48 points), while winning the Western Conference.

With the win, Real Salt Lake became the second eighth seed to win an MLS crown. The first to do so was the Galaxy in 2005.

Not only that, the championship is Utah's first professional title in any sport in four decades.

"We started with a dream and an idea of what it would look like over time," said Kreis. "We saw at certain times this season what we were capable of.

"We saw that we could be one of the best teams and now we are the best team in the league.”

"It's a Cinderella story," Real Salt Lake midfielder Ned Grabavoy said after the match. "“It really is."



Real Salt Lake (3-0-1) vs. Los Angeles Galaxy (2-1-1)
November 22, 2009—Qwest Field

Scoring Summary:
LA: Mike Magee 2 (Landon Donovan 1, David Beckham 1) 41
RSL: Robbie Findley 3 (unassisted) 64

Penalty-kick shootout:
LA: David Beckham (Goal)
RSL: Clint Mathis (Goal)
LA: Gregg Berhalter (Goal)
RSL: Robbie Findley (Goal)
LA: Jovan Kirovski (Saved)
RSL: Kyle Beckerman (Saved)
LA: Landon Donovan (High)
RSL: Ned Grabavoy (Goal)
LA: Mike Magee (Goal)
RSL: Andy Williams (Saved)
LA: Chris Klein (Goal)
RSL: Chris Wingert (Goal)
LA: Edson Buddle (Saved)
RSL: Robbie Russell (Goal)

Real Salt Lake: Nick Rimando, Robbie Russell, Nat Borchers, Jamison Olave, Chris Wingert, Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales (Clint Mathis 22), Will Johnson (Ned Grabavoy 46), Robbie Findley, Yura Movsisyan (Fabian Espindola 75).

Substitutes Not Used: Jean Alexandre, Tony Beltran, Pablo Campos, Chris Seitz


Los Angeles Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts (Josh Saunders 66), Sean Franklin, Gregg Berhalter, Omar Gonzalez (A.J. DeLaGarza 89), Todd Dunivant, David Beckham, Mike Magee, Chris Birchall (Chris Klein 79), Jovan Kirovski, Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan.

Substitutes Not Used: Alan Gordon, Dema Kovalenko, Eddie Lewis, Yohance Marshall
  
Los Angeles Galaxy    Real Salt Lake
Total Shots:    13    (Landon Donovan 3, Mike Magee 3)     19    (Robbie Findley 5)
Shots On Goal:    3    (3 tied with 1)     4    (Robbie Findley 2)
Fouls:    22    (David Beckham 4, Jovan Kirovski 4)     19    (Fabian Espindola 4)
Offsides:    5    (Edson Buddle 3)     8    (Robbie Findley 6)
Corner Kicks:     7    (David Beckham 7)     4    (Andy Williams 2)
Saves:    3    (Donovan Ricketts 2)     2    (Nick Rimando 2)

Misconduct Summary:
RSL: Will Johnson (caution; Tactical Foul) 14
LA: Chris Birchall (caution; Reckless Tackle) 39

Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee's Assistants: C.J. Morgante; Rob Fereday
Fourth Official: Baldomero Toledo
Time of game: 2:47
Attendance: 46,011
Weather: Cloudy, 45 degrees

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