Union continue to falter in Salt Lake

Sandy, Utah (September 3, 2011) – Missing starters Brian Carroll and Carlos Valdes, Philadelphia Union fell 2-1 to Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Sebastien Le Toux scored for the Union after Kyle Beckerman and Chris Schuler tallied for the home side, but Philadelphia were ultimately unable to find an equalizer.

Real Salt Lake appeared to be headed towards an easy victory after jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the opening 26 minutes, but the Union fought back and applied pressure throughout the match.

The first goal came after a corner kick by Beckerman in the 18th minute. The defensive midfielder played it to Paulo Jr., took the return pass, and fired a shot into the upper right corner for a 1-0 lead.

Eight minutes later, Beckerman's corner found the head of Schuler, who directed the ball past Faryd Mondragón for a 2-0 advantage.

The Union refused to go down without a fight and Le Toux cut the deficit in half in the 30th minute. Justin Mapp broke free down the left side of the field and delivered a perfectly-weighted cross to the Frenchman, who finished a one-time volley past RSL goalie Nick Rimando.

Salt Lake nearly took a 3-1 lead in the 38th minute when Fabián Espíndola picked off a pass, sped towards the goal, and chipped Mondragón, but Stefani Miglioranzi managed to track back and clear danger.

The Union’s best chance to equalize came in the middle of the second half when Mapp beat defender Tony Beltran to a loose ball in the box, but his shot lacked sufficient pace to beat Rimando.

In the 68th minute, Espíndola nearly scored off a rebound after Union ‘keeper Zac MacMath  — who made his first MLS appearance after Mondragón left at the break with a finger injury  — denied Espíndola’s first attempt. The RSL striker's second attempt, however, was blocked by Danny Califf to preserve the 2-1 scoreline.

Philadelphia will return to action this Wednesday against New England at PPL Park. Kick off is scheduled for 8 pm ET on The Comcast Network.

Scoring Summary:

RSL -- Kyle Beckerman 3 (Paulo Araujo Jr. 3) 18 RSL -- Chris Schuler 2 (Kyle Beckerman 8) 26 PHI -- Sebastien Le Toux 4 (Justin Mapp 3) 30

Misconduct Summary:

RSL -- Robbie Russell (caution; Reckless Foul) 35 PHI -- Danny Califf (caution; Tactical Foul) 67

Philadelphia Union -- Faryd Mondragon (Zac MacMath 46), Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Stefani Miglioranzi, Michael Farfan, Justin Mapp (Roger Torres 68), Sebastien Le Toux, Kyle Nakazawa (Freddy Adu 59), Amobi Okugo, Veljko Paunovic, Danny Mwanga.

Substitutes Not Used: Gabriel Farfan, Juan Diego Gonzalez, Jack McInerney, Zach Pfeffer.

Real Salt Lake -- Nick Rimando, Tony Beltran, Jamison Olave, Chris Schuler, Robbie Russell (Blake Wagner 89), Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman, Luis Gil, Collen Warner (Ned Grabavoy 73), Paulo Araujo Jr. (Cody Arnoux 66), Fabian Espindola.

Substitutes Not Used: Rauwshan McKenzie, Alvaro Saborio, Donny Toia, Tim Melia.

Referee: Hilario Grajeda

Referee's Assistants: Frank Anderson; Paul Scott 4th Official: Allen Chapman

Attendance: 18,720

Time of Game: 1:52

Weather: Clear-and-61-degrees