SAN DIEGO, California (Sun., March 22, 2026) – Real Salt Lake (3-1-1, 11 points, 6th West) equalized late in the second half through substitute striker Victor Olatunji to earn a 2-2 draw at San Diego FC (3-0-2, 10 points, 4th West), securing a valuable road point and extending its active unbeaten streak to four games.
RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made no changes to the starting XI following last Saturday’s 2-1 home victory over Austin FC, a match that featured a late game-winner from recently-acquired Dutch MF Stijn Spierings and extended RSL’s winning streak to three. Mastroeni made one personnel adjustment for the away match, bringing Spanish striker Jesús Barea onto the bench in place of injured DF Kobi Henry (adductor).
The match began evenly, with each side trading attacking possessions. In the 18th minute, rookie FW Sergi Solans received the ball in midfield before playing it wide to Juan Manuel Sanabria, who took a touch and delivered a pinpoint cross into the box on Solans’ head, directed perfectly into the right side of the net. The goal marked the second of Solans’ debut season thus far, while Sanabria recorded his second career MLS assist since making his debut back on Feb. 28.
Just 10 minutes later, San Diego equalized, finding the back of the net after a free kick created congestion in the box, allowing the home side to squeeze the ball past a heroic Rafa Cabral. For the remainder of the half, the Claret-and-Cobalt applied pressure and created multiple scoring opportunities, the last coming in the final seconds of first-half stoppage time, when Solans’ second attempt was narrowly stopped on the goal line by a defender’s foot, sending the teams into halftime tied at one goal apiece.
RSL starlet Diego Luna entered the match as a second-half substitute, his fresh legs and creativity on the ball helping RSL regain momentum in search of the lead. After a promising opportunity for the visitors, San Diego countered, sending the ball upfield to Amahi Pellegrino, who laid it off to Anders Dreyer to put the home side ahead with just over 30 minutes remaining. In the 67th minute, Spierings and FW Victor Olatinji entered the match and immediately made an impact, helping to get the ball into the offensive half before Olatunji’s shot was saved by the San Diego ‘keeper.
In the 85th minute, the pressure paid off when Luna delivered a corner that ultimately fell to MF Noel Caliskan, who passed wide to FW Morgan Guilavogui. Guilavogui then sent a ball into the box, where Spierings crashed the net, drawing both a defender and the goalkeeper with him and allowing the ball to slip through to a waiting Olatunji, who found the back of the net. The equalizer marked Olatunji’s first of the 2026 campaign and Guilavogui’s second assist of the young season.
The late goal from Olatunji secured a valuable road point for the Claret-and-Cobalt, extending RSL’s unbeaten run to four consecutive matches heading into the upcoming international break.
Real Salt Lake now welcomes storied rival Sporting Kansas City to Utah on Saturday, April 4 at America First Field, where the Claret-and-Cobalt own a 10W-3L-2T mark since June 1 of last year. RSL will look to continue its dominant home-field advantage in front of the Sandy crowd. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 pm MT and tickets are available for purchase here.
GOAL SCORING SUMMARY: SD 2 : 2 RSL
RSL: Sergi Solans (Juan Manuel Sanabria) 17’: After finding himself with the ball in the middle of the field, Solans sent it out wide to JuanMa, who took a touch toward goal before sending a cross into the box for Solans, positioned perfectly to head the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
SD: Marcus Ingvartsen (Unassisted) 27’: After earning a free kick, San Diego sent the ball into the box, where it bounced between players from both teams before falling to the ground, finding the left foot of Ingvarsten.
SD: Anders Dreyer (Amahi Pellegrino) 56’: Countering off a free kick, San Diego sent the ball upfield for Pellegrino, who had a 1v1 matchup with RSL defender Lukas Engel before sending the ball central for Dreyer, the Danish international taking a left-footed shot into the net.
RSL: Victor Olatunji (Morgan Guilavogui) 85’: After a corner kick from Luna bounced between multiple players, the ball found its way to Guilavogui, who took a touch towards the endline before crossing it past the San Diego goalkeeper, finding Olatunji at the back post to tap the ball home for the road equalizer.
RSL: NOTES FROM SD 2 : 2 RSL
- RSL has now recorded a 48W-10L-19T record when scoring first during the 188-game Mastroeni era, with all but one of 13 RSL victories last season coming when taking the 1-0 lead.
- The first-half goal by Solans marks the second of his five-game MLS career. It also marks the second assist for RSL and 2026 MLS debutant Juan Manuel Sanabria
- FW Victor Olatunji has now scored five goals in 11 career games with the Claret-and-Cobalt, after four in nine matches a year ago after his arrival from Sparta Prague in August 2025
- The 85th-minute goal by Olatunji marks two straight weeks with goals from RSL substitutes to secure points for the Utah side, after Stijn Spierings’ heroics a week ago.
LINEUPS:
Real Salt Lake (5-4-1): Rafael Cabral ©; Zavier Gozo, Philip Quinton, Justen Glad, Lukas Engel, Juan Manuel Sanabria; Aiden Hezarkhani (Diego Luna, 46’), Noel Caliskan, Griffin Dillon (Stijn Spierings, 67’); Morgan Guilavogui; Sergi Solans (Victor Olatunji, 67’)
Subs not used: Mason Stajduhar, Sam Junqua, Alex Katranis, Luca Moisa, Dominik Marczuk, Jesús Barea
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
San Diego FC (4-3-3): Duran Ferree; Oscar Verhoeven (Wilson Elsner, 63’), Manu Duah, Christopher McVey, Luca Rombino; Onni Valkari (Osvald Soe, 90+1’), Jeppe Tverskov ©, David Vazquez (Anibal Godoy, 63’); Anders Dryer, Marcus Ingvartsen, Amahi Pellegrino (Lewis Morgan, 74’)
Subs not used: Pablo Sisnlega, Bryan Zamble, Bryce Duke, Anlsse Saidi, Alex Mighten
Head Coach: Mikey Varas
Stats Summary: SD / RSL
Shots: 14 / 21
Shots on Goal: 5 / 7
Saves: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 7 / 8
Fouls: 15 / 12
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Noel Caliskan (Yellow Card - 41’)
RSL: Griffin Dillon (Yellow Card - 50’)
SD: Anibal Godoy (Yellow Card - 87’)
SD: Christopher McVey (Yellow Card - 89’)
SD: Christopher McVey (Yellow Card - 89’)
SD: Christopher McVery (Red Card - 89’)
