ANNUAL KICK CHILDHOOD CANCER NIGHT FEATURES TEDDY BEAR TOSS TRADITION;
Claret/Cobalt Back Home Saturday for Second of Four Consecutive September Saturdays at Home;
Claret-and-Cobalt Look to Build Upon Dominant 10W-2L-3T Record in Sandy v NYCFC;
Tickets for All Home Events Remain Available via www.RSL.com/Tickets
SANDY, Utah (Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026) – This weekend, Real Salt Lake (8W-10L-5T, 29 points, 10th West / 18th Shield MLS) continues its home-heavy month of September, with a 7:30p MT kickoff Saturday against visiting New York City FC (7W-9L-8T, 29 points, 9th East / 19th Shield). Saturday will mark New York City’s fifth all-time visit to Utah, with RSL boasting three wins and a draw at home against the Pigeons historically, outscoring NYCFC by a 7-2 aggregate scoreline.
The third match in eight days sees the Claret-and-Cobalt looking to snap its 10-game winless run in MLS action dating back to May 16. Tickets for the annual “Teddy Bear Toss” tradition in support of “Kick Childhood Cancer” Night are available via www.RSL.com/tickets, in what is expected to be RSL’s 16th consecutive MLS sellout at America First Field.
Saturday, RSL returns home for the second of four September matches on Utah soil, looking to extend the Club’s recent home dominance. Despite the ongoing trend of dropped points late – Wednesday’s 87th-minute dagger in Houston, the 81st-minute concession in a 2-1 loss at Orlando and the 3-4 home loss against FC Dallas on August 19 all fresh in the collective memory – RSL does boast an impressive 10-2-3 (W-L-T) overall record on Utah soil in 2026. Back on August 15, RSL conceded in the 89th minute against Minnesota, forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against the visiting Loons, the Claret-and-Cobalt now 18-5-5 (W-L-T) at its America First Field fortress since June 1, 2025.
Saturday’s RSL v New York City FC contest on Apple TV features Brian Dunseth and Max Bretos on the primary English-language call, while Jorge Perez-Navarro and Marcelo Balboa will provide the Spanish-language analysis. Simultaneously, the KSL Radio team of David James and Jay Nolly return to the mic, with Nelson Moran – now in his 22nd RSL season as RSL’s Spanish radio voice – conducting the Spanish call on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM along Willy Barrueta and Isidro López.
GAME NOTES for Saturday’s RSL v NYCFC Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2026 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and New York City FC can be found HERE. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact RSL Communications via email at RSLcommunications@RSL.com.
Saturday’s match against New York City marks the final match of 13 played in a 44-day span for RSL across both MLS and Leagues Cup competitions since the summer international break, a run that began with late July road losses at LAFC and Portland. While the Leagues Cup Phase One run was bookended by the St. Louis and Minnesota draws to create a five-game unbeaten streak amidst RSL’s post-World Cup slate, the Club is now seeking to snap the dubious overall winless streak – at 10 games, the longest during the Pablo Mastroeni era and the fourth-longest in RSL’s 22 seasons – with this week’s NYCFC visit.
Wednesday night at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, RSL fell 2-1 to extend its active road winless run to 11 games, last winning away from home back on March 7, when HC Pablo Mastroeni’s side won 3-2 at Atlanta. The midweek loss in Houston on the Dynamo’s 87th-minute dagger snapped a three-game win streak against the Orange-and-Black, which took a 1-0 lead early in the second half, only to see RSL newcomer Saba Lobjanidze find the equalizer on Lineker Rodrigues’ first-ever MLS assist. Lobjanidze’s goal was his second in as many games, but the substitutes – including RSL Academy man Owen Anderson, making his RSL / MLS debut late – could not find a second equalizer.
Last Saturday at a standing-room only America First Field – hosting its 15th consecutive MLS sellout, dating back to last August – RSL drew 2-2 against star-studded LAFC, rebounding from a pair of one-goal deficits to snap a four-game losing streak. Summer window acquisition Lobjanidze found the back of the net for the first time with RSL to tie it up 1-1 in the first half, while stalwart veteran Noel Caliskan buried the late equalizer off a rebound from Aiden Hezarkhani to split the points.
Newly-acquired FW Jason Shokalook became the 12th Club debutant of 2026 and all-time RSL player No. 241 with his late appearance off the bench, while two other newcomers – MF Taylor Booth and DF Luc de Fougerolles, each added at the transfer window deadline last Wednesday – await their Club debuts, as does FW Dušan Žagar, the 19-year-old Serbian winger. Back on August 29 at Colorado, another of RSL’s all-time Club-high seven summer window additions, MF Colin Guske, became No. 240 in RSL’s 22-year history to see MLS action, the loanee from Orlando playing the final 20+ minutes in Colorado.
While both Shokalook and Guske made their first-ever RSL starts on Wednesday, with 13 players out due to injury or visa status, Saturday could see several midweek absences return to action against NYCFC. Amongst those expected on the weekend could be 2026 RSL Golden Boot leader Sergi Solans, Designated Player Morgan Guilavogui, newcomers Taylor Booth and potentially Canadian World Cup centerback Luc de Fougerolles, former RSL captain Emeka Eneli, midfielder Stijn Spierings and defender Sam Junqua, all of whom were unable to travel to Houston.
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has now managed the Club in 211 matches across all competitions, registering 85 wins, 76 losses and 50 draws in MLS, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, Leagues Cup, Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and international friendly contests since late August, 2021. The former U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup standout (2002, 2006), MLS Cup Champion (2010) as a player, and former Colorado Rapids manager (2014-16) has averaged 1.60 points per game with RSL in his 202 matches at the helm. Only Cup-winning former manager Jason Kreis (2007-13) – now the Club’s President of Soccer – boasts more games, more wins and a higher PPG average than Mastroeni in RSL’s 22 seasons.
During the Mastroeni era, resilience, grit and determination have served as trademarks for RSL, with the Club suffering back-to-back losses on just 22 occasions in those 211 games. Saturday’s contest against NYCFC will be the latest opportunity for the Claret-and-Cobalt to display its “xDAWG” mentality to earn the result, now winning 35 and drawing 18 times in “bounce-back” games following a loss in Mastroeni’s five-plus seasons in Utah.
RSL Next Match: Teddy Bear Toss September 12
Bring a new stuffed animal to throw on the field at halftime to donate to kids in need.
