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MLS Real Salt Lake

RSL 2025 Schedule Unveiled

December 19, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


SANDY, Utah - In conjunction with Major League Soccer, Real Salt Lake today unveiled its complete 2025 MLS schedule, with the Club's 21st campaign stretching from Wednesday, February 19 - when it travels to face Costa Rican power CS Herediano in its 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup Leg One - through Saturday, October 18, traveling to St. Louis CITY SC for "Decision Day" 2025.

RSL kicks off play in the League's 30th season away at San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, February 22, prior to an early-season stretch that could see the Claret-and-Cobalt potentially play four home games in 10 days across multiple competitions, starting with the 2025 MLS opener against Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday, March 1, with a 2:30p MT kickoff at America First Field.

Various RSL season ticket and other holiday packages for the 2025 RSL season are now available at www.RSL.com/tickets, with individual games going on sale roughly the month prior to the home-opening Wed., Feb. 26 CONCACAF Champions Cup tilt at America First Field, the 16th season to kick off in Sandy.

The 2025 season - which will see MLS Young Player of the Year and 21-year-old starlet Diego Luna joined by a core of veterans and several late 2024 additions - also features RSL's pursuit of a Conference-best fifth consecutive postseason berth, a seventh in the last eight seasons and its 15th in the last 18 years. The upcoming schedule is highlighted by several key dates, including:

The Sat., March 1 MLS home opener welcoming long-time West rival Seattle to America First Field for a 2:30p MT kickoff, the earliest day game at home in the Club's 21-year history;

Real Salt Lake's first-ever matches against expansion side San Diego FC, the Utah Club welcoming Major League Soccer's 30th team on Sat., March 8 at home before traveling to Snapdragon Stadium in a Sat., April 26 trip to San Diego;

A visit from reigning MLS Cup Champions LA Galaxy on Sat., April 5, in what could be a second Utah trip and a third overall early-year match between the MLS Cup 2009 rivals, as a potential CONCACAF Champions Cup series in the first two weeks of March awaits - IF only RSL can get past Herediano (Costa Rica) in Round One;

Two Rocky Mountain Cup matches against Colorado, RSL looking to reclaim the fan-created, regional rivalry Cup title for a 14th occasion in the last 18 seasons with a Sat., May 17 visit to Commerce City, before welcoming the Rapids to the Wasatch Front on Sat., Oct. 4 in RSL's penultimate MLS reg. season match;

A return to RSL's traditional Independence Day Fireworks on Sat., July 5, against visiting St. Louis CITY SC, followed later that month with Pioneer Day Fireworks festivities on Sat., July 26 against San Jose Earthquakes;

A trio of visits from Eastern Conference opponents to America First Field, as Toronto (Sat., April 19), D.C. United (Sat., June 14) and FC Cincinnati (Sat., July 19) travel to Utah for the first time in several seasons for RSL's out-of-Conference home matches;

And multiple Leagues Cup matches to be potentially played at America First Field between Tues., July 29 and Sun., August 31, with the third-year competition against LIGA MX teams interspersed with League matches coming out of the July 23 MLS All-Star Game to be played in Austin, TX;

As is typical in an odd-numbered year, RSL will travel away for Decision Day 2025, to be played on Sat., October 18 at St. Louis CITY SC, now in its third MLS season.

RSL's 2025 slate, including nine potential CONCACAF Champions Cup and 34 MLS regular-season matches, could see the team play seven of its first 13 matches across both competitions at its America First Field at home - where RSL went 12-3-4 (W-L-T) in 2024 - prior to a three-game road trip from April 26 - May 10.

This upcoming season will see RSL make just three Eastern Conference road trips, including an early-season Nashville run (April 12) and back-to-back East Coast away weekends at New York Red Bulls and Charlotte FC (August 10/16).

Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni's side will also travel to face San Diego FC (April 26), Vancouver (May 3) and Dallas (May 10) in the Club's longest multi-game road stretch of the season, part of a 35-day run that sees RSL play six of eight on the road in that span, with an Austin FC (May 28) and LA Galaxy (May 31) road run concluding the congested stretch.

June and July then flip to see RSL play six of eight on Utah soil at America First Field, the calendar offering two rare bye weekends (June 7 and June 21) during the summer months that sees two quick trips to Kansas City (June 28) and Portland (July 16) comingled with Utah visits from D.C. United (June 14), LAFC (June 25), St. Louis, Houston (July 12), Cincinnati (July 19) and San Jose (July 26) ahead of the July 29 League Cup kickoff.

With an extended run through Champions League, RSL could play as many as 19 games in the first 74 days of the season, as well as 33 total games prior to the late July MLS All-Star Game;

On three (3) MLS-only occasions, RSL will play three games in an eight-day period: May 10-17 (@DAL / v POR / @ COL), May 24-31 (v VAN, @ATX, @ LAG) and July 12-19 (v HOU, @POR, v CIN); additional midweek matches affecting the Club due to CONCACAF Champions League in March and April could potentially occur, as well as the August Leagues Cup slate;

In addition to the possible four-game / 10-day Sandy-based run to open the season with CONCACAF advancement from Feb. 26 - March 8, other schedule periods see RSL hosting multi-game homestands at America First Field on four occasions - June 14/25 (DCU / LAFC), July 5/12 (STL / HOU), July 19/26 (CIN / SJ), and Sept. 27-Oct. 4 (ATX / COL);

The 2025 slate includes four bye weekends, including international breaks surrounding the following Saturdays: June 7, June 21, Sept. 6 and Oct. 11 (barring the necessity to reschedule to one of these dates);

Outside of both CONCACAF Champions Cup and Leagues Cup, RSL hosts just two home Wednesday MLS matches at America First Field, the first of which is May 14 against Portland, the other June 25 v. LAFC;

A total of 10 MLS reg. season matches after the MLS All-Star Game, to be played in Austin on Wed., July 23 just before Leagues Cup kicks off on July 29, the newly-formatted MLS v Liga MX showcase being played through August 31;

Interspersed with Leagues Cup, RSL will host five (5) of those final 10 games at home, including the Rocky Mountain Cup decider at AFF on Oct. 4 against Colorado, which wrested the Cup away from RSL last season ... other late-season run-in opponents for RSL at America First Field include San Jose, Austin, Kansas City and Minnesota, which eliminated RSL via penalty-kick tiebreakers in both 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoff matches between the sides.

The record-setting 2024 RSL side amassed the Club's eighth 50-point season all-time (out of 20 seasons), and just the third since the 2014 campaign. Finishing 6th overall out of 29 teams, RSL crashed out of the postseason by the thinnest of margins for a third consecutive year (Austin 2022, Houston 2023, Minnesota 2024), dropping a road shootout tiebreaker. Other 2024 RSL milestones:

Accumulated an all-time Club-high overall point total of 59 points, RSL's 16-7-11 (W-L-T) record eclipsing the previous record of 57 points, set in 2012; the 16 wins in 34 games matches the Club's second-highest win total in its 20 MLS campaigns (2013, 2019), trailing only the 17 won in 2012;

Achieved RSL's second-highest road record with 13 results in 17 away MLS matches, posting a 5W-4L-8T mark, with 23 of its 59 reg. season points amassed on the road; RSL's previous road best was recorded in 2023, with an outstanding 8W-5L-4T (28 pts) mark;

RSL attained 59 points in 2024 by returning its America First Field home to "fortress" status, the Club's home mark of 11W-3L-3T the fourth-best in MLS and the fifth-highest in RSL's 20 previous MLS seasons;

This most recent campaign was also the highest-scoring season in Real Salt Lake's 20 MLS years, with 65 goals through 34 matches, eclipsing the 57 scored in 2013; RSL's pair of goals scored on Decision Day enabled the 2024 side to match the all-time Club mark of 38 goals on home soil, matching the 2018 season's production in Sandy;

During a nearly four-month span from early-March to late June, RSL embarked on a Club-record 15-game unbeaten run in MLS competition, marred only by an Open Cup match in Albuquerque;

RSL striker and Captain Chicho Arango scored 17 goals and added 13 assists during his first full season on the Wasatch Front, winning the Club Golden Boot and matching Alvaro Saborio's all-time RSL high for goals in a season, set in 2012;

Since April 16, 2005, RSL has enjoyed a prominent home-field advantage on Utah soil - posting a dominant 206-86-99 (Win-Loss-Draw) record across all competitions at home (1.83 points per game for a 0.654 win pct.) - since arriving on the Wasatch Front 20 years ago;

Since opening its permanent home in Sandy just over 15 years ago, in October, 2008, RSL's 176-61-79 (W-L-T) mark at America First Field - home of the "RioT" Supporters Group umbrella - equates to a 1.92 points per game average and a 0.682 win pct, one of the truly amazing value proposition in North American sporting landscape today.

With the addition of San Diego FC as the league's 30th club, the MLS schedule format will include every MLS team competing in 34 regular season games, featuring 17 at home and 17 on the road. Clubs will play conference opponents twice (28 games), once at home and once away. Each club will play six different cross-conference opponents.

MLS Season Pass on Apple TV will continue to broadcast all MLS matches live throughout the season complimented by extensive studio coverage. The popular whip around studio show, MLS 360, provides live look-ins from every active match alongside expert analysis in English and Spanish. Pregame and postgame studio shows, MLS Countdown and MLS Wrap Up in English and MLS La Previa and MLS El Resumen in Spanish, return with full preview and postgame analysis and insights across all matchday action. MLS Season Pass will also continue to feature a wide array of on-demand content and in-depth special features spanning all 30 MLS clubs.

Returning for its 11th consecutive season, FOX Sports will air 34 MLS games in 2025 in the U.S., including 15 matches on FOX and 19 matches on FS1, with all FOX Sports broadcasts also providing Spanish-language coverage on FOX Deportes.

MLS stadiums across the United States and Canada will be featured prominently with 14 MLS venues serving as hosts to the first-ever 32-team FIFA Club World Cup and the 2025 Gold Cup, CONCACAF's flagship men's national team tournament. MLS will pause regular season play from June 15-24 for the FIFA Club World Cup, an event featuring Inter Miami CF and Seattle Sounders FC, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Leagues Cup 2025, the official Concacaf tournament between LIGA MX and MLS will be played July 29 to August 31 and, similar to other global cup competitions, Leagues Cup will take place during the MLS regular season.

Decision Day 2025 - the final matchday of the MLS regular season with postseason implications on the line - is set for Saturday, October 18. The slate of 14 matches will feature all Eastern Conference matches kicking off at 4 p.m. MT and all Western Conference matches beginning at 7 p.m. MT, respectively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Additionally, New York City FC will host Seattle Sounders in an interconference match at 4 p.m. MT on the final matchday of the season.

The Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs will culminate in Major League Soccer's championship match, MLS Cup 2025 presented by Audi, on Saturday, December 6, with hosting rights awarded to the competing team with the better regular season record.

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