SANDY, Utah (Fri., Feb. 28, 2025) – Real Salt Lake kicks off the home portion of its 21st Major League Soccer season Saturday afternoon at America First Field against Western Conference rival Seattle Sounders FC. Tickets are available at www.RSL.com/tickets for the weekend matinee, set for 2:30p MT.
After just six of its last 24 days spent at home, RSL ends a full week on the Wasatch with Saturday afternoon’s 2:30p MT kickoff against the visiting Seattle Sounders FC, a game expected to sell out America First Field, while also being available via Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with Max Bretos & Brian Dunseth (ENG) on the call, as are Francisco X. Rivera & Martin Zuniga (SPN).
Saturday’s match against Seattle gives RSL an opportunity to improve upon its 9W-2L-9T record at home in its MLS curtain-raisers (dropping just 2018/LAFC and 2023/ATX). Also at stake is RSL’s all-time 12W-1L-4T mark against Seattle on Utah soil, where the Rave Green have not won since 2011 in reg. season action (SEA did win the road leg at RSL by a 1-0 score in the 2012 Playoff series).
Last weekend, RSL opened a season in San Jose for the fourth time in its 21-year history, now posting a 3W-1L-0T record in its three previous “MLS is BACK” matchups against the ‘Quakes (2010, 2011 and 2013 seasons; 6-0 RSL aggregate advantage prior to Saturday). Since that 2010 opener at SJ, RSL is now 7W-3L-6T in its road openers, losing previously at CHI in 2017 and last year at MIA, after going 0-4-1 from 2005-09.
One of the hallmarks of RSL during the Pablo Mastroeni era has been its ability to bounce back from losses, dropping just 11 back-to-back scenarios across all competitions in Pablo’s 142 overall games managed since August, 2021. This week, the Claret-and-Cobalt return look to rebound from Wednesday’s Champions Cup home loss to Herediano and return to fortress-like protection of home soil, where a year ago RSL lost just three home games across all competitions, posting an impressively dominant 12-3-5 / 40-point mark in 2024.
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). The 2025 campaign 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.
Mastroeni earned his 50th win across all competitions with RSL in a 4-3 decision last June at Kansas City, with his 3rdreg. season win this season marking his 50th with RSL. During his entire MLS coaching career – which includes the 2014-17 years at Colorado – former U.S. World Cup stalwart Mastroeni has amassed 97 wins, 107 losses and 74 draws across all competitions for the Rocky Mountain clubs.
As mentioned, RSL has exhibited strong grit and resilience as hallmarks of the Pablo era. Saturday’s loss in San Jose was its first in a nine-game span since a league loss at Houston on Sept. 14. RSL dropped back-to-back games for the only time last year on August 5 & 24; all-time under Mastroeni, RSL has suffered back-to-back losses just 11 times in those 142 matches, winning 23 and drawing 13. RSL’s record under Mastroeni when scoring first to 34 wins and 12 draws against just five losses,
This season, Real Salt Lake returns nearly 21,000 collective minutes played from last year’s roster, as the Club looks to build upon a record-setting 2024 campaign, as 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 29-team MLS shield race, while also establishing a new all-time scoring high of 65 goals.
