All eyes of American soccer will be focused on Sandy, Utah, this evening, when Real Salt Lake faces Monterrey in the return leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final at Rio Tinto Stadium on Fox Soccer Channel at 10pm.

RSL tied Monterrey 2-2 in the first leg last week and are in prime position to become the first U.S.-based team to win the Champions League and earn a berth in the FIFA Club World Cup in December. RSL will do so with a win tonight or a draw that ends 0-0 or 1-1.

One member of the RailHawks will be watching extra intently – Pablo Campos. The Brazilian forward spent the previous season and a half playing at RSL.

“I’ve been watching every game,” Campos said. “They’re playing great soccer. They are very organized. The players are great. They hang out together, go out together, do everything together. When it comes to the field, they do everything together as well. It’s hard to beat a team like that.”

Campos had a hand in RSL’s Champions League progress. He was in the starting 11 and played 66 minutes in their 3-1 win over Cruz Azul at Rio Tinto Stadium last October during the tournament’s group stage.

With tonight’s match at Rio Tinto – where RSL is undefeated in 37 straight matches –Campos has little doubt that RSL will emerge with the Champions League title.

“At home, they’re not going to lose,” Campos said. “They haven’t lost in 37 games. They’re going to do something nobody has done before. The confidence the players have on the field, they know nobody can beat them there. The vibe is on their side.”

Campos also said that the opportunity to make American soccer history is one that his former team relishes.

“The players want to go where nobody has gone before, so I think it’s a great place to be,” he said. “Real Salt Lake are the greatest team in MLS. They are deserving of where they are. They’re confident. They know they can beat any team.”

In addition to Campos, RSL has at least two other Triangle connections.

Head coach Jason Kreis and General Manager Garth Lagerway both played their collegiate soccer at Duke from 1991-94 (they were also roommates). And they were teammates with the Raleigh Flyers in 1993. Kreis returned to the Flyers for the 1995 season before joining the Dallas Burn in time for MLS’ inaugural season in 1996.

At Duke, Kreis was a two-time, first-team All-American. He’s in the top 10 on the school’s all-time lists for goals (39, eighth), assists (38, third) and points (116, fifth). His 1994 single-season totals of 16 assists and 44 points still rank second in school history.

Lagerway still holds the Blue Devils record for most saves in a game. He posted 12 saves during an NCAA tournament game against Southern Methodist his sophomore year and did it again against Virginia during the 1993 ACC tournament.

Lagerway went on to play five seasons in MLS before retiring in 2000. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 2004 and worked as an attorney until he was hired by RSL as the club’s senior vice president and general manager in September 2007.

Kreis is arguably the greatest professional soccer player to come out of the Triangle. In 12 MLS seasons, he scored 108 goals in 305 matches with Dallas and Salt Lake. Upon his retirement in 2007, he was the league’s all-time leading scorer (he is now second on that list).

Kreis was hired as RSL’s manager shortly after his retirement, and became the youngest active coach in MLS. He was 34. In 2009, he guided RSL to an MLS Cup championship, becoming the youngest manager in league history to do so.