When the final whistle sounded, Real Salt Lake forward Luis Silva buried his face in the black long-sleeved shirt he held in his hands, sitting on the bench with his head bowed.
Despite a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City, RSL missed the Major League Soccer playoffs by one point. The team’s midseason turnaround was little consolation for the players, which in and of itself said as much about Real Salt Lake’s new identity.
“If we can keep that team together and improve it, we’ve got a great chance,” RSL owner Dell Loy Hansen said.