Road Warriors: Why RSL's Stellar Record Away From Home Could Help The Club Come Playoff Time

Despite the Club’s first 50-point season since 2019 and just its second in the last decade, Real Salt Lake’s fifth-place finish in the Western Conference regular season standings was not enough to earn home-field advantage. However, RSL fans can take solace in knowing that throughout this 2023 campaign, there has not been a West team better than Real Salt Lake in games away from home.

As the Claret-and-Cobalt prepare to begin its postseason journey in the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, they’ll need to rely on that “road warrior” mentality, as the team will likely face several opponents away from the comfort and familiarity of America First Field. 

This year, across all competitions, Real Salt Lake has posted a record of 11W-7L-4D in 22 matches on the road between the Major League Soccer regular season, Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup. Of the 29 MLS teams, only Orlando City came close to reaching RSL’s road mark, earning a 10W-6L-6D record through 22 matches across all competitions. 

During the regular season, Pablo Mastroeni’s team fought its way to eight victories at venues other than their own, setting a new Club record for the most wins in a single season on the road. The team began the record-setting run at Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the season opener, where goals from Justen Glad and Damir Kreilach would give the team its first road win of the season. Forty-two overall contests, thirty-three MLS games and sixteen road matches and eight months later, a second-half goal from Diego Luna saw the team earn its eighth MLS road win, this time against Rocky Mountain rivals, Colorado Rapids. 

In RSL’s 19-season history, no previous Real Salt Lake team has come close to accomplishing this year’s dizzying heights away from home. Twice in its history, a decade ago, Real Salt Lake recorded a 6W-7L-4D away record in 2012 and 2013, both under the leadership of former Head Coach Jason Kreis. 

But since taking over halfway through the 2021 season, Head Coach Pablo Mastoreni has led the team to a 18W-23L-12D road record, across all competitions, earning points in an unprecedented 57% of matches played away from America First Field. 

Mastoreni’s RSL teams have taken on a gritty, hard-to-beat road personality and exhibit a hard-working, mentally-steely resolve. This season, that’s only been turned up a notch. The running joke of xDAWG being that perhaps RSL didn’t create a ton of xG (expected goals) but they did run hard, doesn’t quite ring true this year either. While it’s the same hardworking Claret-and-Cobalt those on the Wasatch Range have come to know, RSL was fourth in chances created this year (371) and generated the fifth highest xG (20.1) in the Western Conference away from home according to Fbref. 

RSL will hope for high xDawg as well as xG as the Club heads to Houston this weekend for Leg One of its “Best-of-Three” playoff series against the Dynamo. Then the Club will come back home on Monday, November 6, with either a chance to advance to the West Semifinals on Thanksgiving weekend, or force a decisive Game Three in Houston, currently slated for Saturday, November 11.. 

Whichever way it goes, Real Salt Lake has proven time and time again this season that this is one road dog you definitely don’t want to mess with. Just ask St. Louis. Or LAFC. Or Portland, Vancouver, D.C., Toronto and many others. Not to mention Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado, which saw RSL smash-and-grab hopes, hearts, souls and points on not one, not two, but three different occasions this year in suburban Denver - incidentally, Pablo Mastroeni’s long-time home!

Tickets for RSL’s home playoff match against Houston on Nov. 6 are available now.