If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  That seems to be the order of the day at Rio Tinto Stadium, where Real Salt Lake will be looking to surpass last year’s Western Conference finalist finish in 2009.

After last year’s roster overhaul produced a side that came on strong at the end of the season, coach Jason Kreis and GM Garth Lagerwey sought to solidify the core of the 2008 team by signing Jamison Olave, Javier Morales, and Chris Wingert to new contracts during the off-season. RSL made only a few roster additions, snapping up Ned Grabavoy in the waiver draft and rookies Jean Alexandre and Raphael Cox in the SuperDraft.  In addition, enigmatic striker Luis Miguel Escalada has a relatively inexpensive contract through April 15; after that date, RSL can then opt to offer him a long-term deal or release him.

However, the club parted ways with senior roster players Dema Kovalenko, Nathan Sturgis, Kenny Deuchar, Fabian Espindola, and Kenny Cutler as well.  Kovalenko will likely be the most difficult to replace; although he struggled with injuries, his tenacity was rewarded with key appearances in some of RSL’s biggest matches at the end of the season.

With few roster changes and a relatively successful pre-season behind RSL, then, what are the biggest unknowns going into the season?

Scoring: This was one of RSL’s biggest issues during critical moments in 2008, as was made evident in the team’s loss to the New York Red Bulls in the conference finals despite dominating the match.  Yura Movsisyan had a breakout season last year and will be under a great deal of pressure to build on his success.  He’ll need a consistent strike partner too, raising even more questions:  Will Escalada be the answer?  Can Robbie Findley step up?  RSL’s midfield also produced some key goals last season, and the team will need  Morales, Andy Williams, and Will Johnson to do the same in ‘09.

Home and away: RSL put together an outstanding home record in 2008, however, most of those matches were played on a narrow turf field at Rice-Eccles Stadium.  While the team’s move to Rio Tinto Stadium didn’t have much of an adverse effect in ‘08, Kreis will need to build more width, both offensively and defensively, into his team’s play to have the same success in ‘09.  On paper, however, making those adjustments should help RSL out on the road, particularly on wider pitches where the team struggled in the past.

Intangibles: After several seasons of underachieving, nobody expected much from RSL last year.  That’s certainly not the case in 2009 — many pundits and fans alike are picking RSL to win the Western Conference.  Kreis will need to keep his team focused and re-create the chemistry that was evident in October and November.

Player development: RSL has had a wealth of riches at goalkeeper in the past two seasons, with Nick Rimando keeping talented youngster Chris Seitz on the bench for the most part.  With the reserve league now defunct and few non-league opportunities on the horizon, how will Kreis manage to develop Seitz (and for that matter, rookies Alexandre and Cox)?  The club has already loaned out 2008 SuperDraft pick Alex Nimo to the Portland Timbers for the season — will others follow suit?

So, what’s the bottom line?  Look for RSL to challenge for the conference championship and reach the playoffs.  RSL fans have good reason to be optimistic about their team, but predictions of Western Conference domination are a bit overstated until the team proves that it can score consistently.