Ben Cup 2013 Preview

2013 is the year of the one-off Ben Cup match as MLS, in its infinite wisdom, is going more and more towards unbalanced schedules (which I hate in all sports, but that's another topic for another day). What this means is RSL will play certain teams 2 or 3 times, while others just once. By virtue of being across the country, we only get one Ben Cup match this year. I'm guessing it's in DC to give United an advantage, since this is a Cup they've only won once. Nice of the MLS schedulers to do that for them. So that means this Saturday, 5pm (Mtn.) is for all the marbles...er, trophy. Game on channel 4 and 700 AM. Here's a few of the bigger stories for Saturday:

Key Players Missing
RSL will once again be missing Javi, Nat, and Wingert through injury. Grabavoy also expected to miss with a lingering family issue (RR sends its best to him!). For DCU, DeRosario will miss the game through suspension for being a dumbass for headbutting an opponent during a preseason game. Actually, I think I was right the first time...

The K in RFK is for Kurse
RSL has played 7 games at RFK since coming into the league in 2005 (the REAL RSL 1.0). How many have they won? ZERO. Four losses, three ties. While a tie will retain the Cup for RSL for another year, we don't want to do it that way. But to win the trophy properly, they'll have to figure out the "kurse" of RFK.

Home Motivation
This game will be the home opener for DCU which, when combined with their loss last weekend against Houston, should provide the home side a spark. If RSL can find an early break through (or even just weather the early momentum), they should be in a good position to steal at least a point and the Cup!

Something's Fishy
While Ben Olsen straight up admitted he is not near 100% fitness and will not start, I would expect the Fish, Carlos Ruiz to find his way to the bench. If DCU needs a late spark, he could be a huge one, even at less than optimal fitness.

Confidence Issues
While I thought Robbie Findley showed some flashes last week, something did seem a bit off. I mark it down to confidence issues. I think getting little game time while being continually shuffled between managers, teams, and leagues would do that to a person. If he can grab a goal, look for his play to blossom.

Hi!
While we're playing the big Ben Cup match, RR just wants to give a shout out to DCU's Robbie Russell. Thanks for MLS Cup!

Having looked at both rosters on this great game guide produced by the league (although it is missing all the injuries), I like how RSL matches up here. With the exception of maybe Chris Pontius, no one in that starting 11 scares me. The loss of DeRo is a big one for this United squad. Does this mean that I think RSL will just walk all over them? Quite the opposite. There is still quite a bit of talent on that roster and RSL will be playing its second road game in as many weeks (and on the opposite coast). To be honest, while DCU is no San Jose, RSL was second-best for the first 65 minutes of that game last week and was lucky that poor finishing kept the Earthquakes off the board. If RSL's back line shows up that shaky again this week, it could get ugly. That being said, RSL is the better team and should squeak one out to get their first win at RFK. Better yet, the Ben Cup stays in Sandy!

YE OLDE ROYAL PREDICTION: RSL 2 - DCU 1 (goals to Sabo and DJ Robbie F*)

*I have no idea why I called him that, but you must admit it is awesome!


On a side note, in other DC sports news, LET'S GO ORANGE! Take down those GTown bastards!

2013 Offseason Review/Mini Preview

Holy crap! A Royal Review post! I know, I know, I think they found the Lindbergh baby too! Anyway, I'm so glad to have RSL back starting tonight (as I'm sure you are too, if you're reading this) that I decided to actually throw a quick post together.

Mostly, I wanted to run through some of the roster moves and see where I think the team has improved (or gotten worse) from 2012. I'm lazy (and in a hurry) so I won't go through all the roster moves here, I'll assume you're up to date on that by now. And away we go:

Goalkeepers: Improved
While Nick Rimando will remain between the sticks and continue to be one of the league's best, it is behind him that the improvement has come. Yes, I think that Kyle Reynish is a capable backup and thought he did a solid job, however, how often do you get the chance to add last year's championship winning goalie as your #2??? Great (and underrated) move by RSL this offseason.

Defense: Even
Let's get it out of the way, Olave is a huge loss. HUGE. But he is also injury plagued. With how many games he missed last year, we are basically left with the same back line as last year. I actually think unloading Olave was probably the best move RSL made this offseason, at least in the departure category. He will be missed, but it was a good time to cut our losses. The injuries to Borchers and Wingert to start the season are the big worry in my eyes and the defense could be off to a rough start this year.

Midfield: Worsened
The player I think RSL will miss most in 2013 is Will Johnson. He always did a little bit of everything while being a bit unappreciated for it. His impact can be shown by the fact that he's already been named captain at his new club. Luis Gil is extremely talented and will be a great player one day (and I think he'll have a quality 2013), but he does not make up for Will (yet). The other "loss" in midfield is Javi Morales, who has yet to return to his pre-injury form from a couple seasons ago. With him again on the injury list and his increasing age, I have my doubts that he will ever be the regular impact player he once was. I'm hoping that he will prove me wrong, but until he does, I tend to think RSL's centering their off-season around Javi re-signing was kind of a bad idea. (Having said all that, you don't easily just replace Javier Morales. On his game, he is a difference maker.) None of the new signings really get me excited at all (they are not bad signings, just not any that will likely be difference makers) and the over dependence on Ned Grabavoy scares me a little. He's a good role player, but little more, and I think he'll be getting more minutes than I'd like to see this year.

Forward: Improved
This one is easy. I love Fabi, but I think a change of scenery was probably needed for him. On top of that, Robbie Findley > Fabian Espindola. So glad to have Robin Hood back from Sherwood! Joao Plata is an upgrade from Paulo Jr., and with Kreis' insistence on not giving Braun a chance (a bad move both from a marketing standpoint and an on-field standpoint. We weren't scoring either way last year!) made his loss a non-issue. Hopefully, Saborio can learn to be less streaky and to turn it on against better opponents, but even if he doesn't, I think Robbie will be able to pick up some of that slack.

Overall: Slightly Improved
I do think RSL 2013 (sorry Garth, this is not RSL 2.0! Did you forget the Rice-Eccles years? I haven't) is probably better than 2012. Not having CONCACAF play sucks, but I think will be a godsend for a team that seemed to get stretched a bit thin by the end of last year.

Best case scenario for 2013:
Javi comes back strong and the defense holds out until Borchers and Wingert get back. The injury bug stays away. RSL makes an uncharacteristic deep run in the Open Cup and wins it. Takes 3rd in the West and has a magical 2009-ish run to MLS Cup.

Worst case for 2013:
Javi and Nat struggle with injuries all season while Kyle and Nick (and Sabo) take off on international duty. The piecemeal defense struggles. Luis Gil can't take the next step over a whole season. RSL again crashes out of the Open Cup against Amateur FC and finishes in the 6-8 range, missing the playoffs.

Royal Review 2013 prediction:
RSL finally wins a couple Open Cup games, but falls before the final. A streaky season where they go back to winning at home and struggling on the road. Finishes 3rd or 4th in the west behind some combination of San Jose, Seattle, and LA. RSL wins the Rocky Mountain Cup and keeps the Ben Cup based off an early season tie against DCU (their only meeting this year). Falls in the 2nd round of the playoffs. I'll try and keep the blog up and fail (hahaha!).

LET'S GO RSL!!!