Climate changes are nothing new for soccer players crossing borders for international competitions, and yet RSL players couldn't have been prepared for temperatures in the 90s that greeted them when they arrived in Monterrey, Mexico, Sunday for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League final.

"It's going to be difficult for sure," said RSL captain Kyle Beckerman. "We haven't seen anything like it, and we might not see it all year." Temperatures dipped into the 20s last week when RSL beat Colorado in its last league match.

The team took a charter flight so it could train Sunday night to begin acclimating to the heat. It will train Monday and Tuesday prior to Wednesday's match, for which the team's medical staff has arranged a program of hydration and nutrition to deal with high temperatures.

"We're not strangers to heat," said head coach Jason Kreis. "Hopefully, we'll remember quickly."