SANDY, Utah (AP) -- 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.