Real Salt Lake Control Playoff Destiny this Weekend Away at Seattle Sounders FC
MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Control Playoff Destiny this Weekend Away at Seattle Sounders FC

Published on October 10, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


HERRIMAN, Utah - Real Salt Lake (12-16-4, 40 points, 9th West / 19th Shield) finishes its 2025 Major League Soccer regular season with a pair of road games the next two weekends, needing just one win to clinch a postseason spot. Three points Saturday would complete RSL's pursuit of a League-best fifth consecutive postseason berth, a seventh in the last eight seasons and its 15th in the last 18 years.

Saturday, RSL travels to face 2025 Leagues Cup champion Seattle Sounders (13-9-10, 49 points, 5th West / 14th Shield) at Lumen Field in Seattle, with a 7:30p MT kickoff during the FIFA international break. The match will mark a homecoming of sorts for new RSL defender DeAndre Yedlin, the Seattle native returning to face the Sounders for just the second time in his 223-game MLS career; on his lone previous visit, Yedlin provided the game-winning assist for Miami in a 1-0 win back in April, 2022.

Saturday's contest is available via Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with Jessica Charman and Jamie Watson (ENG) on the call, as are Jesus Acosta and Carlos Suarez (SPN). Iconic RSL voice David James and former MLS goalkeeper Jay Nolly will call the game for KSL Sports Radio (1160 AM / 97.5 FM), with Nelson Moran in his 21st season as RSL's Spanish radio home on both 102.3 KDUT FM / 106.3 FM KBMG.

Last week, RSL defeated Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids, 1-0, as a late first-half goal from Designated Player Diogo Gonçalves on newcomer Rwan Cruz' debut assist for the Club supported a clean sheet from Captain and GK Rafael Cabral to secure RSL's third win in its last five, and improve the Claret-and-Cobalt record to 8-3-2 (W-L-T) at home since June 1. The back-to-back wins the last two home weekends were RSL's first since mid-July, vaulting RSL back above the playoff line in the West and giving Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni's team control of its postseason destiny with two road matches remaining this season.

The Gonçalves goal Saturday - his fourth of the season - gave RSL the distinction of now scoring first in 22 of 37 matches played in MLS reg. season, Leagues Cup and Champions Cup this year, recording 11 wins and four draws against seven losses when drawing first blood. The July 26 comeback home win against San Jose marks the lone victory recorded thus far in 2025 when conceding first.

On this FIFA international weekend, RSL will be missing multiple players with national team duties, including playmaker Diego Luna (U.S. Men's National Team), holding midfielder Braian Ojeda (Paraguay) and defender Kobi Henry (Trinidad & Tobago). Teenage winger Zavier Gozo (USA U-20) will also miss this weekend's game, as he started and played 70+ minutes in the Stars-and-Stripes' 3-0 Round of 16 knockout win over Italy on Thursday afternoon at the FIFA Youth World Championships in Chile. Gozo and the U.S. now face Morocco on Sunday.

For the third consecutive game Saturday, RSL will be without the services of homegrown 18-year-old attacker Gozo, whose 2025 FIFA Youth World Cup competition began Monday with two assists in a 67-minute start for the United States U-20s, a 9-1 win over New Caledonia in Chile. Thursday in the 3-0 win against France, Gozo came off the bench for the final 25 minutes, scoring the game-winning goal in the 85th on a slicing header, assisting on Brooklyn Raines' goal for the 2-0 lead and slamming another shot off the bar late, the rebound finished by Real Monarchs' man Marcos Zambrano. Gozo, the West Valley-born and Eagle Mountain-raised Utah native provided both assists in a 2-1 home win over Kansas City back on Sept. 13, along with a highlight-reel golazo in the Sept. 17 LAFC loss. Gozo's athletic, acrobatic, twisting aerial overhead volley cut LAFC's two-goal lead in half in the 76th minute, earning SportsCenter Top 10 recognition as the #1 overall highlight the following day. His six goal contributions this season (four goals, two assists) are the most by a teenager in RSL's 21-season MLS history.

Heading into potential postseason matches, RSL has posted a 10-9-3 (W-L-T) home mark on the Wasatch Front thus far this year in MLS, Champions Cup and Leagues Cup matches, the Club hampered by a difficult early start to the year. Since June 1, RSL recorded an 8-3-2 (W-L-T) home mark across all competitions on Utah soil, with the recent upturn in form opening up the possibility that the Western Conference play-in game could be hosted in Sandy on Oct. 21/22. RSL and Colorado are two of the four teams within three points of each other for the final two West playoff spots, joining Dallas and San Jose. RSL and Dallas each have two games remaining this season, with Colorado and San Jose idle during this weekend's matchday due to the FIFA international break. With a sweep of its final two road games, RSL could rise as high as sixth in the West, surpassing either/both Austin (44 points on 32 games played) and Portland (44 points on 33 games), pending other results.

A year ago, RSL amassed a 12-3-4 (W-L-T) record at home, where the Club has traditionally enjoyed a fortress-like record of success, winning nearly 70% of games and averaging just under two points per game in parts of 17 seasons across all competitions at what is now America First Field.

Two weeks ago against Austin, saw a late first-half goal from Paraguayan international Braian Ojeda - his fifth goal across all competitions this season - end a dominant first 45 minutes, while playmaker Diego Luna set up second-half strikes from two RSL newcomers: wingback DeAndre Yedlin and striker Victor Olatunji. Luna's assists were his sixth and seventh of 2025, to go along with a Club-high nine MLS goals and 10 across all competitions, eclipsing his previous career-high of eight goals, set last season.

The late 3-0 lead was RSL's first three-goal lead of 2025, and Olatunji's goal - his second in six games with RSL since arriving in mid-August - gave RSL three goals in a match for just the second time this season (July 5 in a 3-2 home win over St. Louis).

The 2-1 win at home back on Sept. 13 against Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak for RSL, its longest since August, 2023; since former USMNT star and MLS veteran Pablo Mastroeni seized the Claret-and-Cobalt head coaching reins in August, 2021, RSL has dropped consecutive games just 17 times in 179 matches during the Mastroeni era, winning 31 and drawing 15 in games following a loss.

The 3-1 victory at San Diego on April 26 marked Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni's 100th career coaching win across all competitions for the two Rocky Mountain Cup competitors, RSL (2021-present) and Colorado (2014-17). The former U.S. World Cup stalwart has now amassed 108 wins, 120 losses and 80 draws across all competitions for the Utah/Denver-based sides. Last June in Kansas City, Mastroeni earned his 50th win across all competitions with RSL in a wild 4-3 road decision, with the 2-0 reg. season win over LA Galaxy on April 5 marking his 50th MLS victory with RSL. Since August, 2021, his arrival in Utah, Mastroeni's all-time RSL coaching record is now 71-64-44 (W-L-T).

During each of Pablo's previous three full seasons at the RSL helm, the Club has increased its annual point total (47 in 2022, 50 in 2023 and 59 last year), while increasing its Western Conference table position as well (7th in 2022, 5th in 2023 and 3rd last year).

Last year saw RSL advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a fourth consecutive occasion, the sixth time in seven seasons (2020 the lone exception), and for the 14th time in the last 17 seasons since first qualifying in 2008 (2015, 2017 the other outliers). The 2024 MLS regular season reached an all-time high of 59 points for RSL, which finished third in the Western Conference and sixth overall in the then-29-team MLS Shield race, while also establishing a new all-time scoring high of 65 goals.

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