Kyle Beckerman's career in Major League Soccer, and dreadlocks, began growing far before this series does. The defensive midfielder started off with the Miami Fusion back in 2000, before appearing in Colorado from 2002-2007. In 2008, he joined Real Salt Lake, the team he would play the next 13 seasons for. His best years in the league came before the 2014 cutoff, including a 9 assist season in 2011. He would be much higher if the time period spanned longer, but Beckerman was still a fixture for RSL in 2014 and beyond. He is second all-time in MLS regular season appearances with 535, only behind long-time teammate and friend Nick Rimando. A total of 173 count for this ranking. He also made 58 caps for the United States National Team.
Although they aren't counted for this series, Beckerman won his lone MLS Cup in 2009, and was named to five consecutive All-Star teams from 2009-2013. In just the second match of the 2014 season, Beckerman laced a left-footed strike off left post and in at Buckshaw Stadium. A month later, he scored a late winner against Philadelphia, in the stadium formerly called PPL Park. In Chivas USA's penultimate game of existence, the captain struck again with a late capper. RSL finished third, but was sent home by a 5-0 second leg spanking at the hands of the LA Galaxy.
The 2015 season was a complete flip of the previous year for Real Salt Lake, which is a fairly common occurrence In MLS as we all know. They landed in second to last place in the West, scoring just 38 goals across the entire year. Beckerman scored one of those, a goal fairly similar to his first of the 2014 season, a stinger of a long-range strike off the left post and in. The match ended in a 6-4 loss against DC United at RFK Stadium, a match that was symbolic of the campaign. The next season, 2016, was a mix of the last two, as they finished right in the middle. Beckerman did not score, but provided one helper. The sixth place finish set up a date with the Galaxy, which they lost once again. As Beckerman and Rimando's careers ran towards the end, RSL was struggling to get results.
In 2017, it was more of the same from Real Salt Lake. They finished in 8th this time, narrowly missing out on the postseason. Beckerman scored on four occasions, which is tied for second as far as goals go in his career. He opened his account in June on a headed finish off a corner while being down 5-1 at Dallas. In RSL's signature July 4th match, Beckerman scored an impressive diving header at the stroke of halftime in Carson. In the very next match, he scored one of the greatest goals of his career, hitting an absolute rocket into the top left corner from 30 yards out. He scored his final goal of the year in Carson as well, screaming a 90' equalizer into the upper 90.
In 2018, RSL returned to the playoffs, barely. They snuck in by a single point. The shorter-haired version of Beckerman scored once during the campaign, an important 82nd minute winner against the Houston Dynamo. The 6th seeded Real Salt Lake was set to match up with LAFC on the road, in the opponent's first ever playoff game. They won it 3-2, but went down to the top seeded Sporting Kansas City after holding their own in the first leg. RSL just could not get it done in the playoffs during these years.
The following season was finally a great regular season campaign for the club, finishing in third place. Beckerman did not score, but assisted 5 times, his highest total since 2014. In an August 3rd victory over NYCFC, he played two assists in the same match. At 37', he slid a ball to Jefferson Savarino for a lovely finish, then left one for Albert Rusnak at 75' for another beautiful goal. RSL got past Portland in the first round, 2-1. In the first year of the single-game playoff format, they fell 2-0 to Seattle in the second round, leading to another disappointing postseason.
Kyle Beckerman finished up his illustrious MLS career in 2020, calling it quits after the pandemic year. After the MLS is Back Tournament, he lost his starting role and was just the veteran on the bench for the most part. He registered just 389 minutes, starting just five total matches. On October 28th, 2020, he played his final four MLS minutes in a 2-0 loss at San Jose. On December 21st, he officially called it quits, retiring from professional soccer. Kyle Beckerman is one of THE most iconic players in MLS history, and easily the most consistent. His presence in midfield could be counted on in every single match his team played. He hardly missed any games due to injury despite playing professionally for two decades. Beckerman comes in at #64 of the last ten years, but he is among the best in all of league history.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2020 | RSL | 389 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | RSL | 2,134 | 0 | 5 |
2018 | RSL | 2,621 | 1 | 1 |
2017 | RSL | 2,242 | 4 | 0 |
2016 | RSL | 2,367 | 0 | 1 |
2015 | RSL | 2,335 | 1 | 2 |
2014 | RSL | 2,520 | 3 | 3 |
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