Sandy, UT – Real Salt Lake maintained its place atop the MLS standings on Saturday after cruising to a comfortable 4-0 drubbing of the Columbus Crew at Rio Tinto Stadium.
RSL captain Kyle Beckerman bagged a brace, while Devon Sandoval and Luis Gil also scored for the Claret-and-Cobalt, which ran its modest unbeaten streak to two following a thrilling 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers last Wednesday.
RSL began its offensive barrage in first-half stoppage time when a free kick from Javier Morales deflected off Beckerman and wound up in behind Columbus goalkeeper Matt Lampson to give the hosts a lead heading into the second half.
After the break the hosts made it 2-0 in the 51st minute through Sandoval's goal and Gil scored seven minutes from time for the three-goal margin.
Beckerman completed his brace in the final minute of normal time to wrap up three points for RSL, which has 45 points from 27 matches, four ahead of the Montreal Impact for the league's best record.
Columbus, meanwhile, saw its two-game winning streak come to and end as the club remains on 29 points, seven adrift of the final playoff place in the Eastern Conference.
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