SANDY, Utah -- Thrust into an underdog role once again, Real Salt Lake kept its season alive after receiving help from unlikely sources. Custom Pittsburgh Steelers Jerseys . Sebastian Velasquez scored his first MLS goal in the first half, Chris Schuler added the winning goal in the first overtime and Salt Lake advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday night. RSL won the series 2-1 on aggregate, reaching a conference final for the third time in five years and ending the Galaxys bid for a third consecutive MLS Cup. They will host Portland in the first leg of the conference finals on Sunday. The Timbers advanced with a 5-3 aggregate win over Seattle in Thursday nights late game. "11 players defended," RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "Thats the big key. The way we play in our system, we need everybody to pitch in and defend and give the effort. Tonight, we did that. (Coach) Jason (Kreis) said we needed to do that and challenged a lot of us. The result today shows the challenge was met." Salt Lake allowed just three shots on goal through 120 minutes and kept Los Angeles from mounting a serious scoring challenge for the bulk of the match. "We all knew they were going to focus on Robbie (Keane) and myself, so it was incumbent upon the other guys to make some plays," Galaxy forward Landon Donovan said. "Robbie and I couldnt pull a rabbit out of a hat tonight, so we needed some other guys to step up and make plays. Unfortunately, it didnt happen so it made it difficult for everyone." Salt Lake started out strong on the offensive end in the first half, mixing several nice passes with good ball movement to break down the Los Angeles defence. The Galaxy made it easier for Salt Lake to create some scoring chances by struggling to possess the ball and clear it. RSLs efforts paid off in the 35th minute when Velasquezs goal tied it 1-1 on the aggregate. Chris Wingert sent a cross into Velasquez, who was unmarked just outside the top of the 6-yard box. Velasquez quickly made the Galaxy pay, sending a snap-header past goalkeeper Jaime Penedo for his first goal in an RSL uniform. Velasquez earned the start in place of injured midfielder Ned Grabavoy, who sat out with a left hamstring strain. "Hes an extremely hungry player that has some real gifts," Kreis said. "Sometimes its difficult to get some of those gifts to come out of him. Tonight, he took a major step forward." Los Angeles had no answer on the other end. The Galaxy created eight shots before halftime, but did not put any on the frame. RSL had three shots on goal out of a total of six shots. "The conditions were tough," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "But both teams have to play under those conditions. They played better than we did. They were very direct. They just played the ball behind us and put our backs under pressure and scrapped a lot." Salt Lake stepped up its pressure after halftime. Schuler sent a header into the crossbar in the 74th minute after Javier Morales crossed it to him off a corner kick. Then Alavro Saborio collected the ball outside the box in the 78th minute and blasted it to the left side, hitting the post. RSL had its most painful near-miss during the 84th minute. Morales scored an apparent go-ahead goal when he sent a through ball on a free kick into the back of the net. A foul in the box away from the ball negated the scoring play. Schuler came through in overtime. Latching onto a cross from Morales on a free kick in the 102nd minute, Schuler corralled the ball on a run to the back post and tapped it home just inside the post for his first MLS goal this season. Salt Lake improved to 2-2-2 in second-leg matches in the MLS playoffs. RSLs previous second leg win came against Columbus in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals. Sean Davis Steelers Jersey . Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz. Mason Rudolph Steelers Jersey . - Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has signed with WME-IMG, saying the sports management powerhouse will help maximize the value of my brand. http://www.steelersauthoritystore.com/ .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action.DUNEDIN, Florida – In one of his post-game scrums last summer, R.A. Dickey referred to his knuckleball as a "capricious animal," a phrase meant to describe the unpredictability, the figurative moodiness, of his strange pitch. Erik Kratz was behind the plate to start Thursdays 7-5 win over the Phillies. He was catching Dickey for the first time in game action and afterward, could attest to his pitchers apt terminology. Asked how he thought he did on Day One, Kratz turned the tables. "How did you think I did?" He was told he did fine. "Okay, well then I did fine," said Kratz. "It wasnt perfect. I had the anticipated anxiety that I thought I would." Just how anxious was he? "I caught myself not breathing a couple of times and everything like that." Armed with a first basemans glove rather than the oversized catchers mitt preferred by most knuckleball catchers, Kratz understands hell have to be a quick study in learning both the physical and mental requirements of the job. "Just the idea of trying to relax, being out there, getting a different visual but I felt like it went very well," he said. "I felt like there is plenty of room for improvement but I think a lot of things Ive seen in his bullpen sessions, it was good to see in the game. Good to see him be able to change speeds and everything like that." Dickey laboured through the first inning, giving up a lead-off dunk single to Ben Revere. One out later, Brett Lawrie airmailed a throw to second on a Bobby Abreu chopper, putting Phillies on the corners. After Darin Ruf walked to load the bases, a Dickey knuckleball to Maikel Franco eluded Kratz for a passed ball which scored Revere from third. Its not how you would think Kratz would prefer to have drawn it up. Its his first game catching Dickey, in the first inning and the first time with a runner on third and a knuckler gets by him. But he was more than happy to make a mistake in a spring game. Passed balls are going to happen. The key is to not get psyched out; dont make the same mistake twice. "You can say, okay, well, it was a passed ball, wild pitch, it was a tough one to get but you have to be ready for the next one," said Kratz. "I was proud of myself. I was happy about the way I was able to relax." Dickey limits the in-game responsibility of his catcher to receiving his pitch. He calls his own game, communicating velocity to his catcher in ways he wont describe publicly. Hes not going to tip his hand. Dickey doesnt even want Kratz to form a hard target with his glove. "Its probably better for the catcher and for me, for that matter, if hes just nice and relaxed," said Dickey. "Im far enough along in my process where I can pick out a shin guard and hit a fastball. Jon Bostic Steelers Jersey. I dont need him to give me a target. "Plus, if hes only giving a target on fastballs then everybody in the stadium is going to know that hey, if he gives you a target its going to be a fastball and if he doesnt give you a target its going to be a knuckleball so I just like him to be nice and relaxed back there, whatever gives him the best chance to consistently catch the ball." Given the uncertainty over Dioner Navarros ability to catch more than 100 games - since Navarro hasnt done so since 2009 - the Jays are looking for more offence from their second catcher. Kratz, with 18 home runs in a back-up role over the last two seasons with the Phillies, fits the bill. Josh Thole, who caught Dickey and served as the back-up catcher after Henry Blanco was released last June, appears to be the odd man out. "Hes going to play a lot," said Gibbons. "We want to make sure he gets some playing time and then well see how it develops. Kratz is going to catch (Dickey) early on, see how that develops, and then go from there." Dickeys knuckleball topped out at 73 miles per hour on Thursday. He struck out two Phillies over two innings, one on a 61-mile-per-hour knuckler and another at 63 miles per hour. He wants his hard knuckleball at 77 by opening day, his floater at 65. Dickey says hes on target to achieve those radar gun readings, adding hes feeling much stronger than he did at the end of last February, when his knuckleball was topping out in the low-70s in early Grapefruit League action. ENCARNACION HAPPY AT FIRST BASE Edwin Encarnacion chuckled at the suggestion he wants to be, or has asked to be, a full-time designated hitter. "No, whatever the manager wants to do Im ready for it," said Encarnacion. "If I have to play every day at first, Ill play. If I have to play both, Im ready for it." Encarnacion played 79 games at first base last season. He served as the designated hitter on 55 occasions. "I like to play DH sometimes because I have more time to go to the computer, watch the pitcher, watch the video," said Encarnacion. "When you play defence you dont have time to do that but for me, if I have to play first base, I dont have a problem with that." Funny, Encarnacions numbers last season were almost indistinguishable. As a first baseman, he compiled a .272/.367/.527 slash line with 19 home runs in 294 at-bats. As a DH: .270/.374/.530 and 13 home runs in 200 at-bats. ROGERS A FATHER Congratulations to Esmil Rogers, the proud father of a baby daughter. Mom and little Elaina are in Denver and doing well. Rogers was there for the birth, returned to Dunedin on Wednesday and pitched in Thursdays game, giving up two runs in one inning of work. Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Discount Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store NFL T-shirts From China China NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys ' ' '