RSL STORYLINES: PABLO’S 50TH WIN; CHICHO’S RECORD BREAKING SEASON; GALAXY BLOCKBUSTER, AND MORE
Monday, June 17, 2024
Hello and welcome back to storylines.
The date is now Monday, June 17th, 2024, and your beloved Real Salt Lake continue to sit atop the MLS Western Conference Standings, albeit somewhat precariously. Saturday’s frustrating scoreless stalemate at Montreal cut the Claret-and-Cobalt’s lead atop the table above LAFC to just one solitary point. The Los Angeles-based outfit now lie only a point behind in second and with a game in hand over RSL having played 17 games compared to RSL’s 18 thus far.
RSL quickly return to footballing action again on Wednesday, four days following the road result at Montreal, with a midweek trip to Children’s Mercy Park to take on Sporting Kansas City - kickoff scheduled for 6:30 pm MT. This Saturday sees the team return home to America First Field for an exciting top of the table clash against LA Galaxy - who currently occupy third place - in what promises to be a blockbuster contest. Kickoff for this game - RSL expecting another electric, standing-room-only crowd in Sandy - is slated for 7:30 pm MT. This will be the second meeting between RSL and the Galaxy this season, with the first meeting ending in a draw after RSL squandered a 2-0 halftime lead courtesy of a brace from Captain Chicho Arango, forced to settle for a 2-2 stalemate on the Galaxy’s stoppage-time stunner.
The stakes are growing higher with each passing game. Nevertheless, with half the season remaining, the collective RSL destiny remains in its own hands to mold as it wishes, and on the back of having the best start to the season in franchise history, you best believe Pablo is getting the boys ready to go again. Here are a few storylines to consider.
Storylines
- Montreal’s result represented RSL’s 14th consecutive game unbeaten, as well as its ninth straight road game without defeat, the longest single-season streaks in the franchise’s history. A win or draw at Kansas City would set a new club record.
- Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni remains just one win away from celebrating his 50th win holding the Claret-and-Cobalt reins.
- Chicho’s record-breaking season. The RSL Captain needs just two more goals to first tie and then establish a new franchise single-season goal record. Chicho also needs just one more assist to become only the third player in RSL history to record up to 10/10 goals and assists in a single campaign.
The Deep Dive
- Montreal’s result represented RSL’s 14th consecutive game unbeaten, as well as its ninth straight road match without defeat, the longest single-season streaks in franchise history. A win or draw at Kansas City would set new Club records.
Saturday’s scoreless draw at Montreal was a frustrating one, of that there can be no doubt. RSL could have, and perhaps should have won it. Maybe a bit harsh, but these are the sort of standards to which this group must hold themselves accountable in pursuit of greatness. These are the sort of standards, in fact, that define greatness, the mentality of champions, and besides, nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. In a game RSL mostly dominated, the team boasted more total shots, shots on target, possession, as well as a higher xG (expected goals) than the hosts, but was unable to make the most of its chances when it mattered most and was forced to settle for a solitary point. No doubt Pablo and the boys will be looking to take the most of the lessons learned into the next game away at Sporting Kansas City.
Nevertheless, the dogged Montreal performance and draw did represent major significant milestones for the team and franchise. The result extended RSL’s historic single-season unbeaten streak to a Club-record 14 matches, matching the franchise record established back in 2010. RSL’s last defeat was all the way back on March 9 against Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado, 100 days prior to the team’s midweek match in Kansas City. The 34 points accumulated in 18 matches also equals the best start in the Club’s history.
The result also represented RSL’s ninth consecutive road game without defeat, also tied for the longest streak in franchise history. RSL has now earned points in its last nine matches away from America First Field, with a 3-1-6 / 15-point record on the road, losing only the Feb. 21, 2024 opener away against a Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami. The upcoming contest against Sporting KC represents an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and establish a new standalone single-season records on both fronts for both the longest consecutive overall games played, and road games played, without defeat.
The good news is that the Pablo era has a proven knack for lifting his teams back up after frustrating result, evident with just nine back to back losses in 120 games managed since August 2021 for RSL. One of the biggest things Pablo preaches is the importance of mentality, and that mentality is part of the reason RSL has this season recorded its best ever start to a new campaign in the franchise’s history, and the ultimate secret to the team’s success thus far this year. There’s a methodology to Pablo’s teachings. It’s not just about playing hard, but also about playing smart - and mostly, playing for each other. The tougher the situation, the more “stuck in” Pablo’s team seems to be, and you best believe he and his coaching staff will be getting the boys battle ready for what promises to continue to be a record shattering season.
- Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni remains just one win away from celebrating his 50th win holding the Claret-and-Cobalt reins.
The upcoming set of games could also prove to be a particularly important and celebratory milestone for RSL’s boss as he remains just one win away from celebrating 50 managerial wins at the helm of the Utah-based outfit.
Mastroeni, 47, arrived on the Wasatch Front in February 2021 as the top assistant manager on the RSL technical staff under direction of Freddy Juarez. Upon Juarez’s departure that August, Mastroeni was immediately elevated to the role of interim manager, posting an 8W-8L-1T record during all 2021 regular season competitions and leading RSL into its 11th postseason in 14 years, RSL riding the “Damiracle” at Kansas City on Decision Day as the seventh and final Western Conference Playoff team.
Mastroeni is currently in his fourth season at RSL in total, but third full season as head coach as well as eighth overall in MLS, also having served as head coach for four seasons in Colorado between 2014 and 2017 prior to his arrival in Utah.
During his time at the helm he’s led RSL to three consecutive postseasons, the only Western Conference side with that distinction. Throughout the 47-year-old’s 119 games in charge of RSL across all competitions, Mastroeni currently boasts a 49W-40L-30T record. His 49 wins currently rank him second on the list amongst the franchise’s all time managers with the most wins behind the legendary Jason Kreis (90W-71L-57T) albeit with fewer games in charge than Kreis, who returned to the Club in a front-office role this past winter.
Furthermore, only previous head coach Jeff Cassar (2014-2016) reached 100 career regular season points in the same number of league games (70) or fewer in RSL history as Mastroeni, after longtime assistant Cassar inherited the Jason Kreis powerhouse a decade ago.
Throughout his MLS career in total, Mastroeni boasts an 80W-83L-61T record encompassing his tenures at both Rocky Mountain clubs.
It’s safe to say the beloved RSL boss has developed into an icon of the Salt Lake City franchise, now well on his way to achieving legendary status, looking to hit the half-century mark of wins when his team travels to Kansas City on Wednesday.
- Chicho’s record-breaking season. The RSL Captain needs just two more goals to first tie and then establish a new franchise single-season goal record. Chicho also needs just one more assist to become only the third player in RSL history to record up to 10/10 goals and assists in a single campaign.
Chicho Arango, again and again. It would seem that there is no limit to what RSL’s superstar striker can achieve on the field. The RSL Captain can also continue what has already been a record-breaking season in the c
Club’s upcoming games. The 29-year-old now needs just one more goal to tie the franchise single season-record of 17 goals set by Alvaro Saborio set back over a decade ago in 2012, and two more to break and claim sole possession of the all-time single-season RSL Golden Boot record.
Chicho also needs just one assist to become just the third-ever RSL player - out of 210 to have logged league minutes with the Utah side - with a 10g/10a campaign, joining Jeff Cunningham (2006) and Albert Rusnák (2021), all this with nearly half the season left to play for.
Chicho’s hat trick in his last home game earned him sole possession of the MLS Golden Boot lead with 16 goals, three more than his closest competitor (C. Benteke, DC, 13). It also made him the second RSL player to score multiple career hat tricks (2 in 35 MLS games), joining Alvaro Saborio, who scored three in 127 regular season games (two of Sabo’s hat tricks came in 2012; should Chicho score another hat this season, he would become just the eighth all-time MLS player with three hat tricks in a single-season).
As if all that wasn’t already enough, Chicho’s goalscoring exploits against Austin also meant the 29-year-old Colombian became the third-fastest MLS player to reach 25 goals and assists in a season this year, with only 17 games played.
Indeed, RSL’s leader and flagbearer has proven to be RSL’s lucky charm and talisman this season, with the Club boasting a record of 8W-1L-3T in the 12 of 18 RSL games in which the striker has scored or assisted this season.
Chicho has undoubtedly become the most important figure in Pablo’s attacking arsenal and RSL fans will be counting on their captain to continue his magical season when the team take the field against Kansas on Wednesday.
Enjoy the continued magic of RSL’s 2024 season Wednesday, with a 6:30 pm MT kickoff at Kansas City on MLS Season Pass / Apple TV+
