Major League Soccer vibe stronger on field than off

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 | 7:20 a.m.

The pitch was bumpy, the lighting was high schoolish, and hundreds of people, mostly kids, sat dangerously within a step of the north touchline Saturday night at Peter Johann Memorial Field.

Like the front row? Normally a choice seat, but not for the first top-flight soccer match in Las Vegas in 30 years. With constant foot traffic, uninterrupted viewing was scant from the first of five rows of aluminum bleachers.

No wonder Ken Johann, the main benefactor of the UNLV men's and women's soccer programs who had the field dedicated to his late son, is pushing so hard to revive plans for an improved stadium.

Numbers-wise, the Major League Soccer preseason match between Colorado and Real Salt Lake was a success at the gate if not on the scoreboard, as at least 2,500 crammed into the tight confines. The scoreless draw wasn't inspirational.

Real striker Freddy Adu, the 17-year-old whiz, said it was a challenge. He said it's easy to get excited playing before 25,000 (typical attendance for a regular-season MLS game).

"You get up for those games," Adu said. "Preseason games like this ... the atmosphere was great. There was a lot of kicking. It's not going to be easy. When the games get tough is when you have to dig deep and find yourself."

Real officials hung team flags around the perimeter of the pitch, because it was a Salt Lake "home" game. Parking was a major challenge, and a playing surface that was completely renovated nine months ago didn't get high marks.

"The field isn't in the best condition," said Las Vegas High graduate Herculez Gomez, a Colorado midfielder. "The ball bounced all over the place."

Said Adu: "It made the defense cough it up a little bit more than usual. More was at stake on defense. If you stayed on your toes, you got loose balls."

Johann sat in that front row and marveled at the circus atmosphere, saying he had never seen that many people at the field.

It capped a tripleheader of Utah-related exhibitions, starting with the UNLV women's 3-0 victory over Southern Utah and then another UNLV men's defeat, 2-1 to Brigham Young. Second-year coach Mario Sanchez won only once in his debut season last fall.

Gomez, who turns 25 on Friday, and Adu received the loudest cheers during introductions.

At halftime of the first MLS game in Las Vegas, there was some disappointment.

"It's not exciting at all," said Leslie Southern, known as "Yorkie" to friends because the 82-year-old Huddersfield Town fan hails from Yorkshire, England. "Not very entertaining."

Do you like anything about it?

"Not really," he said, comparing the lack of ball control and poor shooting to a college match.

On the other side of the field, though, Las Vegas resident Kenny Stern, a television analyst who calls Chicago Fire games, was happy to watch his favorite sport where he lives.

"There will be a team here, eventually," he said. "It's too good of a market."

When Gomez, who had only one legitimate shot on goal, was dumped late, boos rained down on a Salt Lake player.

"Cheering for the local boy," Gomez said. "I thank them. Not many (Las Vegas) players make it outside of Las Vegas. We have to support each other. It's a great soccer community."

MLS supposedly will stage an annual preseason match in Las Vegas, and Gomez wished the first one would have been more entertaining.

"We would like to have given them a better show," Gomez said. "Sometimes, that's the way it is. But I thought they got to see a good rivalry and got a good taste of what MLS is about."