RSL feels prepared to tackle new MLS playoff format

Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando makes a save against the Vancouver Whitecaps during second-half MLS soccer action in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) Herriman • Prior to the 2019 Major League Soccer season, the playoff format for four years featured a mixture of one-game knockout rounds, and two-leg rounds decided by an aggregate scoring model that gave more weight to goals scored by the road team.

But MLS changed that rule last December, going to an all-knockout-round format that more closely mirrors international soccer tournaments. The league also shortened the season at the time. RSL players and officials said in January…