Real Salt Lake may have lost the battle, but they won the war.
In what was one of the biggest soccer matches in the history of soccer in the United States, Real Salt Lake lost 2-1 to the home club, Deportivo Saprissa, in San Juan, Costa Rica Tuesday night.
Real Salt Lake could not have been happier with the loss because it allows them to move on to the CONCACAF Champions League finals where they will face the winner of the series between Mexican clubs Monterrey and Cruz Azul later this month.
For the casual soccer fan, this score does not make sense. How does a team lose a game in a tournament and move on?
The games are played on a home and home basis and the total number of goals from both games are tallied to determine the winner.
Real Salt Lake won the game at home in Utah by a score of 2-0. That meant that Saprissa would have had to win by at least three goals to make up the difference. The aggregate score for both matches was 3-2 for Real Salt Lake which helped them become the first Major League Soccer team to reach the finals.
The game, which was scoreless ...