HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, June 21, 2024) – Real Salt Lake (10-2-7 / 37 points / 1st West) continues its 2024 MLS campaign at home this weekend against the LA Galaxy (9-3-7 / 34 points / 3rd West), looking to extend its first-place lead atop the MLS Western Conference and stretch its Club-record overall single-season unbeaten run to 16 games, as Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s team looks to improve upon its 6-1-1 / 19-point home mark thus far in 2024. Kickoff Saturday in Sandy is at 7:30p MT, available on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth (ENG) and Pablo Ramirez and Jesus Bracamontes (SPN) on the call from America First Field.
First-place RSL now kicks off a three-game homestand Saturday against LA Galaxy, one of two teams within five points of RSL. Wednesday’s dramatic 4-3 win at Kansas City was the eighth road match for RSL out of 12 games played since mid-April, wrapping up a circuitous gauntlet that saw RSL post a 4-0-0 mark at home and a 3-1-4 record away, including the Open Cup loss in Albuquerque. Saturday’s contest against the Galaxy is followed by home games on July 3 (Houston) and July 6 (Atlanta). RSL next travels away on July 13 to Portland, a week that also sees trips to LAFC (July 17) and Colorado (July 20) prior to the 2024 MLS All-Star Game in Columbus (July 24) and the 2024 Leagues Cup (August 1 v Atlas, August 5 at Houston).
RSL – led by Captain Chicho Arango and his 16 goals / 10 assists in 19 MLS games thus far, three ahead of D.C. United’s Christian Benteke in MLS Golden Boot pursuit – returns to MLS action with an active 15-game unbeaten run (nine wins, six draws) dating back to March 9 at home. During the current MLS run, RSL has outscored opponents 35-17, scoring first in eight of the 15 matches and hammering home six game-winning goals in the final 15 minutes of matches, as well as two extremely late stoppage-time equalizers.
In the Club’s last home match back on June 1, RSL thrashed Austin FC, 5-1, as both Arango and FW Anderson Julioeach scored twice in the first half for a 4-0 halftime lead, just the third time in RSL history it scored four goals in a half. Arango – who opened the day with a stunning 63-yard goal from beyond midfield – completed his hat trick midway through the second half, the Colombian Captain’s second three-goal performance of the season, making him just the second player in RSL history with multiple hat tricks (two in 36 MLS reg. season games played; Saborio owns three in 127 games).
Real Salt Lake v LA Galaxy – MLS Matchday 22
America First Field – Sandy, UT
Saturday, June 22, 2024 – 7:30p MT
WE’RE GOING STREAKING
The active 15-game MLS unbeaten run for RSL has established a new record for the Club’s longest single-season streak in team history – while also matching the Portland Timbers (2013, 2018) and Colorado Rapids (2016) for the second-longest in MLS regular-season history (RSL would need four more results to equal the League record set by FC Dallas’ 19 games unbeaten in 2010). In RSL’s 20-season history, RSL also enjoyed a 16-game run from 2013 into 2014 (including a 12-game single-season run in 2014), and a Club-record 18-game unbeaten streak from July 2010 to April 2011 (2010 includes a 14-game single-season run, RSL’s previous best).
ATTACKING ROLLERCOASTER FOR RSL
On the heels of Saturday’s shutout suffered in Montreal – the 0-0 result was RSL’s second of the season (also posting a disappointing 0-0 at home against a rotated Columbus side on April 13), the donut in Quebec was just the third shutout suffered by RSL this season (Feb. 21 at Miami in a 2-0 loss) – RSL rebounded to score four goals on the road for the second time this season Wednesday in Kansas City. Back on April 20, RSL scored four at Chicago … RSL has also scored five goals in a game twice this year, both at home; first on May 18 in the 5-3 comeback against Colorado, and two weeks later on June 1 in the 5-1 over Austin FC, RSL’s last home appearance.
With both Chicho (16 goals) and Andrés Gómez (10 goals) securing double-digit goal totals this season, RSL has a pair of 10+ scorers in a single season for the first time since 2021 (Kreilach, 16 goals; Rusnák, 11 goals). Should Julio (six goals) or another player reach double-digits, RSL would have a 10+ goal-scoring trio for the first time ever.
RSL’s 40 goals scored this year rank second in MLS (Miami, 46) but lead the West over the Galaxy’s 37 scored. RSL does boast the best goal differential in MLS this season, at plus-18, one ahead of Miami’s plus-17. Only three other teams have amassed double-digit goal differentials so far in 2024, as LAFC (plus-11) and both Cincinnati and LA Galaxy (plus-10) join RSL and Miami.
DEFENSIVE VOLATILITY FOR RSL
The clean sheet logged at Montreal less than a week ago did mark the Club’s sixth of the year in 19 MLS reg. season games, with veteran GK Zac MacMath notching four of those six. Prior to conceding three Wednesday night in Kansas City, RSL had allowed just two goals in its last 270 minutes played, at Seattle (1-1 draw) and v Austin (5-1 win) prior to the scoreless draw in Quebec. However, RSL has now allowed three goals on three different occasions in the last month or so, starting with May 18 at home against Colorado and then again on May 25 against Dallas.
GÓMEZ, LUNA HONORED BY MLS
For the 10th occasion in the last 11 fixtures, first-place Real Salt Lake places at least one player – this week, winger Andrés Gómez – onto Major League Soccer’s Team of the Matchday, with the dynamic 21-year-old attacker honored in the fictional XI following Wednesday night’s brace at Kansas City, with teammate Diego Luna named to the bench selection. Gómez scored once in each half to give RSL both 1-0 and 3-1 leads, becoming the youngest player (20 years, 281 days) in RSL’s 20-year, 633-game and 210-player history to record 15+ goal contributions (now 10g / 6a) in a single season.
For the young Colombian Gómez, now with 10 goals and six assists on the season heading into Saturday’s top-of-the-West-table clash with the LA Galaxy at America First Field in Sandy, the midweek performance marked his third brace of the season, Gómez also scoring two goals in the 3-0 win over LAFC in the March 2 home-opening “snowmageddon,” as well as fueling the come-from-behind 5-3 home win over Colorado on May 18.
Luna’s pair of first-half assists to Gómez and FW Anderson Julio also made him the youngest player in RSL history to record 20 career goal contributions in the Utah side’s annals (20 years, 286 days old).
While not recognized in this week’s “Team of the Matchday” honors, RSL also saw 19-year-old GK Gavin Beavers pick up his third win in five MLS starts this year, while becoming the second-youngest ‘keeper in the 29-year history of MLS to save a penalty kick.
RSL Captain Chicho Arango secured his fifth game-winning assist – in 10 RSL wins – with his 84th-minute cross that found Matt Crooks at the back post, Crooks scoring his first-ever MLS goal following two weeks away from the team to get married. Chicho extended his MLS goal contribution lead to 26 with the assist, now amassing 16 goals and 10 assists this season, also becoming the third player in RSL history with a 10g/10a campaign (Jeff Cunningham, 2006; Albert Rusnák, 2021).
CARDIAC COMEBACK KIDS CREATE CHAOTIC KINESIS
Last time out at home, RSL improved to 6-1-1 on Utah soil, dominating Austin with a four-goal first half en route to a 5-1 win. However, in the three prior matches, RSL rebounded from 0-2, 0-3 and 0-1 deficits to capture five points.
The dramatic displays began with an amazing comeback on May 18 in a 5-3 win, the second of three Rocky Mountain Cup tilts this year against Colorado. For just the fourth time in the Club’s now 632-game history, RSL rebounded from an 0-2 deficit to earn the full three points, riding 2-goal / 1-assist performances from both Captain Chicho Arango and winger Andrés Gómez to defeat the Rapids 5-3 before a standing-room only crowd of 20,728. Another capacity crowd is expected Saturday, June 22, against the Galaxy, with tickets available at www.RSL.com/tickets.
In RSL’s last road match prior to Montreal, on May 29 at Seattle, the latest equalizer in the Club’s 20-year annals dismayed the Sounders, as Colombian winger Andrés Gómez settled a bouncing ball in the box and slammed home his eighth goal of the year at 90+9’ to see RSL rescue points late for a third consecutive match. Snaring a point from the jaws of defeat at Seattle marked the second time in five days RSL accomplished the feat, as the 0-3 comeback at Dallas on May 25 saw RSL score three times in the final 30 minutes – goals from Diego Luna, Anderson Julio and Nelson Palacio – to earn a point from three goals down for the first time EVER.
