MLS Cup 2013: What now for Real Salt Lake?

Dec 7, 2013; Kansas City, KS, USA; Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis in the first half of the 2013 MLS Cup against the Sporting KC at Sporting Park. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Now that Real Salt Lake has lost MLS Cup 2013 on penalties for Real Salt Lake, what will the future hold for the club and for manager Jason Kreis? There is a possibility that Kreis will be heading off to New York and become the new manager for New York City FC.

“It’s bad. It’s real bad,” Kreis said of the locker room mood on Saturday. “Not just to lose the game in the fashion we did, but that it’s the last game of the season and that there’s inevitable changes and that the team as it is won’t be the same next year. There will always be guys that leave and guys that come in.”

A new contract has been in the books for Kreis but even so, it may not be enough to keep him at Real Salt Lake.

“It’s interesting that the last couple of weeks have been so hectic with all the details to consider and all the preparations for the match and families coming to the Cup and hotel rooms and tickets and everything else,” Kreis told MLSSoccer.com’s Simon Borg. “But all of that was pretty easy. What happens over the next couple of days is real hard.”

“We came up one short,” said midfielder Kyle Beckerman. “It was there for us. We missed out. It was there for the win. It’s just tough to take.

“For me, it was about saying thanks to them. For traveling and staying in the cold for 120 minutes plus even more in the shootout. Not just the people that came but the fans that watched us at home and supported us all year long. The support they give us is huge. We really appreciate it.

“We feel we’ve got the best goalkeeper in the league in regular time and even moreso in the penalties. It was there for us. He did his job. And we just didn’t finish it for him.”

Defender Nat Borchers believes that the biggest thing to take from the game was the fact that Real Salt Lake let it get away from them.

“You play big games like this and there’s only going to be one winner,” Borchers said. “When you’re on the other side of it, it’s tough. I think that’s going to be what I’ll remember most.

“We really have a lot to build on, a lot of positive things I think given the performance we put in. We’ve got a lot of good, young players that have stepped up in the playoffs. They stepped up at the end of the game which is fantastic to see. Like I said, I bring a lot of positives out of this.”

Goalkeeper Nick Rimando put the defeat in perspective: take the loss and prepare for next season.

Dec 7, 2013; Kansas City, KS, USA; Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando dives for a ball wide of the net against the Sporting KC in the first half of the 2013 MLS Cup at Sporting Park. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

“That’s soccer for you,” Rimando said. “We had a chance that went off the post and came back to Nielsen. They get a corner kick and Collin did well scoring that goal. Again, we could have iced it with a PK. That’s soccer.

“You love winning but you’ve got to learn how to lose too and tonight I think we’re a very mature team that is going to take that loss into next season.”

Will Jason Kreis stay or go? Sound off on the Comments! Be sure to keep in on the Multiplex for the end-of-season Power Rankings , which will be posted this week. Don’t miss it!