HERRIMAN, Utah (day, March 20, 2026) - For only the fifth time in its 22 seasons of existence, Real Salt Lake has earned 10 points in the first five games of the MLS regular season. Only once have the Claret-and-Cobalt done even better, back in 2011, when it won its first four matches, earning 12 points.
The early-season success comes in a stark contrast from a year ago, when Seattle’s own-goal creating defender Nouhou actually led RSL’s Golden Boot lead for nearly 10 weeks, to amass just 12 points.
This year’s surprising start for Real Salt Lake has, in part, been created with the help of multiple teenage Academy products that RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni called on out of necessity.
Due to an injury epidemic that gripped the first team in the season’s early days, including the training sessions on Wednesday, Feb. 18, during which a 15-minute period saw not one or two but THREE projected starters go down in non-contact ball-related injuries just 72 hours prior to the season opener – one which also several international arrivals still ineligible due to visa delays.
RSL Infirmary Bursting at the Seams
Right before the first game of the season, Real Salt Lake was missing as many as nine (9) projected starters for various reasons. Out with various injuries:
Fourth-year standout pivot Emeka Eneli
- (knee)
Second-year Trinidad international centerback Kobi Henry
- (hamstring)
Late-summer 2025 signing, Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji
- (eye)
Former Middlesbrough / FC Cincinnati defender Lukas Engel
- (knee)
U.S. Men’s National Team hopeful and playmaker Diego Luna
- (knee)
Additionally, the arrival of several highly-anticipated new players missed the Feb. 21 Vancouver opener while awaiting U.S. work visa approvals:
- Colombian centerback and new U-22 signing Juan Jose Arias
- New Designated Player Morgan Guilavogui from French Ligue 1 power RC Lens
- Uruguayan World Cup hopeful and left winger Juan Manuel Sanabria
- Dutch holding midfielder Stijn Spierings
Each of these absences following a truncated preseason has created newfound opportunities for what several RSL teens who have risen to the occasion, including:
Zavier Gozo
Eighteen year-old Eagle Mountain, Utah native Zavier Gozo has taken his game to a new level in 2026, continuing his ascension from last year. Coming on at halftime of a bitterly-frozen match in late April at Minnesota, Gozo seized his chance and appeared in 25 games, starting 22, while setting a new Club record for goal contributions by a teenager, with four goals and three assists. Gozo seized a starting role with the Claret-and-Cobalt, shining in his role as both starter and substitute for the USA U-20 National Team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile in September, while being ranked No. 10 overall in the annual MLSsoccer.com “22 under 22” list of elite young players.
Thus far in 2026, the West Valley-born Gozo has continued his stellar play, while being asked to fulfill new responsibilities as a wingback in RSL’s move to a new-look 3-5-2 formation in 2026. Even with the added defensive responsibility, Gozo has continued to maraud and menace opponents down the right side on the attack. When asked about how much more confidence he has in his left foot (an area of improvement for his development), Gozo says:
“A lot more confidence. In the offseason, I spent a lot of time working on my left foot. I feel like last year my game felt a little bit one-dimensional, where I was becoming a little bit predictable, so I feel like the improvement with my left foot has helped me to become that much more dangerous.”
All that Gozo hard work in the offseason paid off in Atlanta. The rising RSL Academy homegrown scored a stunning left-footed strike for what ended up being the game-winner in Atlanta back on March 7, beating the home keeper and burying the third goal in an 18-minute span late in the first half.
While the elevation of play for Zavier Gozo may not be too surprising – despite the national media calls for him to sneak his way onto this year’s U.S. World Cup team as a last-minute debutant – the excellent play of his fellow RSL homegrown teenagers has been a revelation.
Aiden Hezarkhani
With RSL starlet Diego Luna recovering from a knee injury to start the season, the Club’s 18 year-old midfielder Aiden Hezarkhani was called upon to fill one of the two playmaking roles until Luna’s return. Southern California-born and RSL Academy product Aiden has made the most of that opportunity, impressing everyone with his skill on the ball, his vision and workrate, along with a demonstrated ability to be poised, calm and focused in the moment. During the first five games, Aiden has netted two spectacular goals – at home against Seattle and away at Atlanta – to seize the Club’s early-season Golden Boot lead.
In the 23rd minute of the Feb. 28 RSL home opener against Seattle, homegrown Hezarkhani opened his MLS scoring account, in just his second-ever MLS start. Another RSL newcomer, left wingback Juan Manuel Sanabria, flicked a dangerous ball from the top of the box to the far post. The onrushing Hezarkhani sent a left-footed, first time, half-volley laser into the top of the net past the Seattle keeper for his first-ever MLS goal and the first goal of the 2026 MLS season for Real Salt Lake.
Hezarkhani’s second goal, one week later, was even more impressive. In the 3-2 RSL victory at Atlanta, the 18-year-old put RSL up 2-0 with another brilliant strike. Yet another RSL newcomer, and 2025 MLS SuperDraft pick, Spanish striker Sergi Solans, clipped a ball to Aiden at the top left corner of the box. Aiden took the ball down with his chest, battled two Atlanta United FC defenders, and rocketed a right-footed shot from the top of the box past Atlanta keeper, Lucas Hoyos, into the top of the net. Aiden’s play has to make it difficult for Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni to keep him out of the lineup even with the return of Diego Luna.
Luca Moisa
Another teenager, 17 year-old Luca Moisa, started the first three games of the season in the RSL midfield next to a now “aging” veteran, 25-year-old Noel Caliskan. Luca has impressed with his confident play. Looking not at all as if the moment is too big for such a young player. Asked, before his first start in the RSL season opener in Vancouver, how he prepares himself to be in a mental state where the moment is not too big for him he says:
“It’s just another day in your life … another game you’ve done all your life. It’s going to memorable if it’s my debut, but I just take it on as another game.”
Luca’s skill on the ball and his mature vision on the pitch have been evident. He seems to instinctively know where his teammates are on the pitch and his distribution to them has been quick and efficient.
But Wait, There’s More!
The RSL youth movement does not stop with Gozo, Hezarkhani and Moisa. The 2025 MLS SuperDraft pick, striker Sergi Solans, has started the last three games and appeared in the first five matches of the season for RSL. He scored his first MLS goal in his first MLS start at Atlanta, after creating dangerous chances off the bench the first two games.
On March 7 at Atlanta, Solans stretched behind the Five Stripes defense while running onto a Morgan Guilavogui throughball, sending the keeper the wrong way and slotting a right-footed shot into the back of the net. Sunday in San Diego, Solans moved into the early 2026 RSL Golden Boot lead with the game’s opening goal, a header to finish off a give-and-go sequence with Uruguayan left winger Juan Manuel Sanabria. The 22-year-old college rookie looks to be another great find in the draft for Real Salt Lake.
RSL Academy homegrown midfielder, 22-year-old Zach Booth, has played in three games and started two with more than respectable reviews, also appearing for the unbeaten Monarchs as well. Eden, Utah native Booth recently returned to the Club after five seasons in Europe where he had stints with Leicester’s U21 side, Excelsior Rotterdam and FC Volendam.
Another RSL Academy homegrown and native Utahn, Draper’s own 22-year-old Griffin Dillon, has played in three games and has made his first two MLS starts in the dramatic RSL home victory over Austin FC and the comeback draw against San Diego.
Seizing the Opportunity
Opportunities can be fleeting for young players. With veterans like Lukas Engel, Diego Luna and Victor Olatunji returning to health, and visas secured for Sanabria and Spierings, minutes for teenagers can quickly disappear.
When asked about how he can keep young players motivated after they have had success and made an impact for the club and then find their minutes drop when veterans are returning to the lineup, RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni addressed the concern about keeping young players motivated, particularly as minutes dry up. He said:
“If we are going to have a successful campaign, we are going to need everyone … there’s going to be a real need to keep these guys up to speed, dialed in, focused, and not to get despondent when they are not getting the minutes they want. Also, from a coaching perspective, giving them minutes to where they are constantly getting up to the speed of the game.”
Frankly, trying to find minutes for players that have earned the right to challenge for a starting role is a dilemma every coach desires. It doesn’t matter whether they are teenagers in their first MLS season, or savvy veterans staving off the talented kids nipping at their heels for playing time. It looks to be a year of opportunity for many of the young players on the roster of Real Salt Lake. And that’s a good thing.
Back Home on Sat., April 4 vs Sporting Kansas City
Real Salt Lake will need all of their players, veterans and teenagers, ready to come back from the ongoing FIFA international break on Saturday, April 4, against long-time rival Sporting Kansas City. RSL will look to extend its overall unbeaten streak to five consecutive games, while a win against KC would give RSL three straight home wins on the young season. RSL has posted 10 wins and two draws against just three losses in its last 15 matches since June 1 of last year, helping return America First Field to its former fortress status.
