Chivas USA beats Real Salt Lake 1-0

Casey Townsend scored the first goal of the season for Chivas USA in a 1-0 victory against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.

Townsend met RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando in midair, landing to find the ball at his feet in front of an open net in the 72nd minute.

Chivas (1-2) had enjoyed few opportunities to that point, though midfielder Peter Vagenas had forced Rimando to stretch out to deflect a point-blank volley early in the first half.

RSL dominated play for much of the rest of the match, but was unable to put many shots on target in front of a sellout crowd of 20,415 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

The home team's best chance came in the 84th minute as Alvaro Saborio took a pass from Fabian Espindola, and sent a shot over the head of goalkeeper Dan Kennedy that hit the crossbar.