CARSON, CALIF – On a crisp, cool night in front 14,287 at the Home Depot Center Saturday May 22, the Red-and-White came back from a deficit but gave up a late goal, falling to the defending Major League Soccer (MLS) champion Real Salt Lake (RSL) by a 2-1 score.

Chivas started slow in the first half, getting beaten on defense multiple times.

Maicon Santos came close to putting the Chivas on the board first.   He blasted a left-footed shot that was saved by Salt Lake’s goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

Salt Lake took a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute after Javier Morales slipped past Chivas left back Carlos Borja and drilled a low ball toward the far post.  His shot ricocheted off the post and out to Chris Wingert, who blasted a one-touch shot from the top of the box.

The Goats played better in the second half.  Substitute striker Justin Braun found the equalizer in the 81st minute when he tried to control a pass from teammate Marcelo Saragosa.  Braun turned around and let loose a hard volley between two defenders that dipped over RSL goalkeeper Rimando and into the top left corner to tie the game at 1-1.

The tie wouldn’t last long.   Eight minutes later, RSL’s Fabian Espindola received the ball behind the Chivas defense in the 89th minute and fired a low shot past Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton.

“We came back in the second half and we were able to get a nice goal and play better, but we lost focus in the 89th minute and we lost the game,” said Chivas Head Coach Martin Vasquez.

The match was the first for ChivasUSA without co-captains Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Klijestan, who are currently with the United States National team in Princeton, N.J.  Both players are working to earn a spot on the U.S final 23-player roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

“Anytime you take the heart and soul out of your team, it’s going to hurt you,” said striker Chukwudi Chijindu.  ”But we should have guys that can step in and be hungry to cover their positions.  It wasn’t necessarily just those two guys missing – it was more of a collective play.  We had a couple of lapses, and we got punished.”

Next up: ChivasUSA faces DC United on the road – Saturday, May 29th at 7:30 pm ET (4:30 pm PT)