Real Salt Lake Travels To Philadelphia Saturday As MLS Season Resumes

Claret-and-Cobalt Looking to Snap Road Winless Streak Against Union Saturday;

Back Home Wednesday vs. San Jose with 11W-4L-3T Record in Sandy This Season;

Tickets for All Home Events Remain Available via www.RSL.com/Tickets

HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, Oct. 9, 2026) – This weekend, Real Salt Lake (9W-13L-5T, 32 points, t-10^th West / t-20^th Shield MLS) resumes Major League Soccer action with a 5:30p MT kickoff Saturday away against surging Eastern Conference side Philadelphia Union (11W-10L-6T, 39 points, 6^th East / 12^th Shield). RSL expects to welcome the return of several players from injury, international absences and visa issues this weekend, as Juan Manuel Sanabria (Uruguay), Saba Lobjanidze (Georgia), Luca Moisa (USA U19), Colin Guske (USA U20), Kobi Henry (Trinidad), Luc de Fougerolles (Canada / visa), Dušan Žagar (visa), Zach Booth (hamstring) and Ariath Piol (Achilles) could all be available for selection.

RSL has lost just once in seven previous visits to Subaru Park in Chester, Penn., with an all-time record of 2W-1L-4T, winning away at the death in its last visit on April 27, 2024, by a 2-1 scoreline courtesy of Alex Katranis’ late banger from distance. In 12 all-time contests between the sides, RSL has five wins and six draws against just one Union win – back in May, 2019, by a 4-1 score underneath the Commodore Barry Bridge in suburban Philadelphia. With an away win this weekend, RSL would earn its first road win since March 7 at Atlanta, a span of 12 games winless across all competitions.

Philadelphia is led by current U.S. Men’s National Team starlet Cavan Sullivan, the 17-year-old who has six goals and eight assists in his last eight MLS contests. The Union have won six consecutive MLS matches and 10 of its last 12, with just two draws marring its post-World Cup unbeaten run in league play.

Saturday’s RSL at Philadelphia contest on Apple TV features Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey on the primary English-language call, while Moises Linares 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 22^nd RSL season as RSL’s Spanish radio voice – conducting the Spanish call with Willy Barrueta and Isidro López on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM.

GAME NOTES for Saturday’s RSL @ Philadelphia Match Available Online 

The Adobe PDF version of the 2026 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Philadelphia Union 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.

Last time out on Sept. 26, RSL won 3-0 at home against New England to snap several dubious winless streaks in MLS. Nineteen-year-old Academy homegrown Aiden Hezarkhani scored just two minutes into the match for the early lead – boosting RSL to 57W-12L-22T all-time when scoring first in five-plus years during the Pablo Mastroeni era – while 2026 RSL Golden Boot leader Sergi Solans scored a pair of second-half goals, increasing his 2026 total to 15 goals across all competitions, and 11 in MLS action, extending his all-time Club rookie record. Solans’ brace enabled him to become just the sixth collegiate rookie in the 31-season history of Major League Soccer to score 10 or more goals in his first professional season. The emphatic victory snapped RSL’s record 13-game winless run in MLS action dating back to May 16, as well as an overall five-game home drought dating back to August 11 against Liga MX side FC Juarez.

Tickets for Wednesday’s home match against San Jose remain available via www.RSL.com/tickets, in what could be RSL’s 16^th consecutive MLS sellout at America First Field. Overall, RSL boasts an impressive 11-4-3 (W-L-T) overall record on Utah soil this season, with the Claret-and-Cobalt’s home mark now 19-7-5 (W-L-T) at its America First Field fortress since June 1, 2025.  

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has now managed the Club in 215 matches across all competitions, registering 86 wins, 79 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 25 occasions in those 215 games. Saturday’s contest against New England marked the latest opportunity for the Claret-and-Cobalt to display its “xDAWG” mentality to earn the result, now winning 36 and drawing 18 times in “bounce-back” games following a loss in Mastroeni’s five-plus seasons in Utah.