Real Salt Lake mauled the oddly up-and-down Chivas USA tonight, 4-0.

The result keeps Sounders and Chivas tied in the MLS point totals, although CUSA still has two games in hand. And the result also pulls pesky RSL to within three points of the Sounders and Chivas.

Well, we had our nice little debate about whether Freddie Ljungberg should remain at forward at the expense of either Fredy Montero or Nate Jaqua.

However, coach Sigi Schmid seemed to imply today that nothing is further from his mind.

“Freddie did what we needed done in that game (at Houston),” Schmid said. “What we asked him to do was play higher and to play more as a traditional striker. But, I think anytime you can put a guy back on the field who has scored 10 goals for you, that definitely helps the team.”

That guy is Montero, whose goal total leads the Sounders and ranks one goal behind Colorado’s Conor Casey for the MLS lead. Montero’s 10 goals and six assists also combine to rank second in MLS, behind Colorado’s Omar Cummings (eight goals, 10 assists).

Meanwhile, Ljungberg said it hardly matters whether he is penciled in at forward or midfield, because he usually plays a role that combines the positions anyway.

“Sometimes I play between midfield and the strikers, and that was what I played (in Houston) as well,” Ljungberg said Wednesday. “But I like that. That’s where most people play me and where Arsenal played me: as a winger, but if we’re one-goal down or one-goal up they put me between midfield and striker. I see that as an attacking midfielder or a withdrawn forward – it depends how you see it.”

The lineup possibilities became a particular issue this week because this seems like the first week in ages when no Sounder is out due to suspension or national-team duty, and only midfielder Stephen King is out due to injury (hamstring, which will probably keep him out through next week).

Things were different at Sounders practice this morning as several hundred youth soccer summer campers watched from the the Qwest Field stands.

After training -- which included a short reserve game against the PDL Seattle Wolves -- the players addressed the crowd, saying a little something about themselves. Then the players handed out postcard-sized autographed pictures of themselves.

Here are some of the things the Sounders' told the crowd:

Taylor Graham: His favorite annimals are giraffes and sasquach.

Sanna Nyassi: "I love to sleep, man."

Fredy Montero (in English): "Hi everybody. I like Seattle. I like Sounders. I like dance."

Freddie Ljungberg: From Sweden and likes snowboarding.

Tyson Wahl: Favorite TV show is "The Bachelorette."

Stephen King: Plays guitar and belonged to a high school band.

Steve Zakuani: Likes playing Guitar Hero.

Sigi Schmid: Kasey Keller's favorite show is "Dancing with the Stars."

Afterward Schmid said everyone had a good time and that the organization probably made some new fans today.

“The players took their time signing autographs and giving out their autograph cards and stuff," he said. "It’s a connection that you will always remember. Sometimes you don’t know what that moment is. But, for a lot of kids, maybe that moment was today or at camp when they met a player. It’s a moment that just gets them and they fall in love with soccer. That doesn’t mean they are going to become a pro player but might mean they become a soccer fan or they work in the sport in some capacity. It definitely gives them the passion for the sport. The more people we can give that passion to the better it is.”

He also said it was valuable to get some playing time for his reserves.

“It was good," Schmid said. "Having some people watching training always gets the guys a little more motivated. We wish we could’ve made it a little bit shorter but we had a certain workload we had in mind. We wanted to get the reserve guys who have not been playing in a lot of games at least 45 minutes of something that seemed a lot more game-like than they have faced and play somebody different. It was great having all of the campers out here. I think the success of the Sounders camps this year and the kids are just another aspect of what the Sounders are trying to do in this community.”

I'm staring down at the Sounders pitch at Qwest Field, and there is absolutely no evidence that the Seahawks played an NFL game here on Saturday. No lines. No numbers. No Hawks or NFL logos. Maybe a trace of a back end-zone line behind the goals, but the pitch is pristine.

That, of course, is the promise that the Sounders have made with their fans from the beginning. No football lines on the soccer pitch.

The little wiggle room them left for themselves involves what they call "ghosting," markings that remain faintly visible even after the best efforts to scrub the field. However, as of now that doesn't appear to be a problem. I guess it's possible that it could still become an issue with repeated markings and erasings now that the MLS and NFL seasons are overlapping.

But so far so good.