Welcome back to Storylines.
The game giveth and the game taketh away – like a proverbial, scriptural doctrine. This past fortnight, as far as RSL is concerned, has encaptured all of that and more.
The previous week, perhaps most compellingly so – a domestic recompense (the win against Seattle) arriving swiftly on the heels of a continental reckoning. The concluding week, thus, closes the lid on a much welcome rest and reprieve on the basis of which the ensuing weekend, the club certainly hopes, might follow closely in the footsteps of its immediate predecessor.
After successive quick-turn games to jump-start the new season, RSL now welcome Major League Soccer’s newest expansion side, San Diego FC, to the Wasatch Front for the very first time for a domestic matchup at America First Field on Saturday.
An unprecedented confrontation against the division's 30th team. Storylines previews a few fascinating plots and narratives for supporters to watch out for.
A New Conference Foe
There was a period – during MLS’ inaugural competitive year (1996) – when the American top flight was home to merely 10 clubs. In 2005, that number grew to 12, with the addition of Real Salt Lake and expansion brethren CD Chivas USA confirmed to what yet remained an ever-multiplying bracket. Then, in the space of the succeeding decade-plus (2007 - 2017), a whopping 11 new expansion sides sprouted across various locations throughout the country, catapulting the total number of top-flight teams during that time, factoring in eventual dissolutions within that stretch, to a mammoth 22, or so it was viewed at the time.
Two weeks ago, on February 23, 2025, Major League Soccer’s newest addition, San Diego FC, made its inaugural season debut as the 30th team in the entire first division — most poetically during the year of the league’s Pearl Jubilee. There were parades and there were songs on the day as manager Mikey Varas’s newly assembled side took apart defending champions LA Galaxy, 2-0, in front of a sold-out 25,244 at Dignity Health Sports Park in the first Golden State Classic between the two teams.
This weekend on the Wasatch, the West’s newest potential juggernaut comes up against the Conference’s incumbent bronze medalists of a year ago.
Tradition meets innovation in this tantalizing battle between the old guard and new challengers for what is sure to be a blockbuster occasion at America First Field. Something has got to give.
RSL, for its part, boasts an impressive record in inaugural home matches against expansion sides, with nine wins and three draws against only three defeats. Indeed, the last expansion team to successfully prevail over the Claret-and-Cobalt during their maiden visit to the Wasatch was St. Louis City SC in 2023, whilst Atlanta United, FC Cincinnati, and LAFC all also bested RSL during each of their initial visits, though not all during their debut expansion seasons.
The scene is set for an enthralling night at America First Field, and with future contests between the two sides now fated to come, one thing is now for sure – juggernaut or not, if 14 teams wasn’t already difficult before, the entire West just got a brand new problem with which to contend.
Ajago Primed to Continue Good Run of Form
The game giveth and the game taketh away, just ask Forster Ajago – that is, if this author’s musings these past few weeks haven’t been nearly as convincing enough – he, certainly at least, could tell you a thing or two about that. Indeed, RSL’s newest striker certainly experienced the best of both worlds last week as perhaps a most compelling announcement of his burgeoning talent.
The 23-year-old opened his, and the Club’s, goalscoring account for the season last Wednesday, in an overall mixed display as RSL were subsequently eliminated from the continental Champions Cup, before then stealing most of the headlines just three days later, coming on and scoring the sealing goal against Seattle with a brilliant intervention and finishing touch to a direct sweeping move.
With that, the 2024 RSL Re-Entry Draft acquisition made it two goals in as many games for the Club, having also scored on his home debut, as well as two in four total appearances this season for manager Pablo Mastroeni’s side. His goal in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup also places him now on three career-total Champions Cup goals, adding to the brace he scored on his debut in the competition for Nashville SC in February 2024, more than any other player in Mastroeni’s squad.
Saturday’s strike as well made Ajago the team’s current undisputed top and only goalscorer so early yet in the campaign (own goal –1), which comes as a crucial sign with RSL now going up against a San Diego side which is yet to concede a goal in 180 minutes of competitive action thus far this season.
Simply put, Mastroeni needs goal scorers. Two goals in three starts and one substitute appearance is a compelling enough body of work for any player, much less one in only his first season – especially at RSL, and Ajago continues to prove, by virtue of the past two games at least, that he is able and willing to take up the mantle of goalscoring for as long as his head coach requires.
New Captain Eneli: RSL’s Captain America Set to Lead the Way
The start of the competitive season saw a few different players all rotate the captain’s armband and each partake in the burden on the pitch. Indeed, the opening three games of the campaign saw Mastroeni name a new starting captain for each match. Last weekend against Seattle, however, the armband was handed to the same recipient for a successive game for the first time this season, and in the days following Saturday’s Seattle win, Mastroeni further confirmed midfielder Emeka Eneli as the team’s new permanent captain.
“On the field, he’s a player that literally takes information and digests it in a half hour video session, and plays it out in real time… and he’s just got this amazing ability to lead himself,” Mastroeni reverberated on radio station SiriusXM, in praise of his star midfielder.
“So the next step for Emeka now is to develop a bigger, louder, more authoritative voice to help lead the others, and that’s obviously a journey, and he’s doing a great job with that…. And he just got his first cap with the national team [USMNT] and in his second match had an assist and played a great game, too…
“So, if we’re going to be the team that we think we can be, Emeka has got to be the man for us both on and off the field, and in the first few games, he’s been that.”
USMNT midfielder Eneli now becomes the seventh permanent captain in RSL history, following in the footsteps of Jason Kreis, Eddie Pope, Kyle Beckerman, Albert Rusnak, Damir Kreilach, and most recently, Chicho Arango.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a stellar second season with the Claret-and-Cbalt, establishing himself in midfield as a consistent fixture in Mastroeni’s starting XI, subsequently being named the team’s Most Valuable Player at the Club’s 2024 End-of-Season Awards announcement.
A successful personal end to the 2024 campaign then led into a first senior national team appearance in January, coming on as a substitute during the USMNT’s 3-1 victory over Venezuela, before a maiden international start and assist in a 3-0 win against Costa Rica just four days later, laying the foundation for a solid start to the domestic season for RSL.
The mantle of leadership is by no means an easy or trivial task, yet Eneli has consistently proven it’s not something he at all shirks from, and RSL will need its new Captain America at the forefront and at his best during the weekend’s round of action.
Players to Watch
The rules of this newly introduced section dictate a minimum of two players be included, with at least one from both teams, and a maximum of five. That being said, in a fitting conclusion, here are this author’s picks for five players to watch.
RSL: Emeka Eneli, Forster Ajago, Diego Luna
San Diego FC: Anders Dreyer, Jasper Löffelsend
