“When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is an expression that comes to mind heading into matchday number 10. It’s true that the beginning of the season has proven to be challenging for Real Salt Lake, despite taking important strides towards improvement. However, this is the moment when the resilience of certain players begins to shine-when they shoulder responsibilities that most wouldn’t dare take on.
The 0-1 home loss against Toronto FC was a tough pill to swallow for the home crowd, especially with the dominance that RSL showed, out-shooting their opponent 23 to two. Additionally, the controversial expulsion of Diego Luna at the 61st-minute backed Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s squad into a corner but they continued to scratch and claw to get a goal back but ultimately they were unable to convert.
On Tuesday, April 22, the MLS announced the rescindment of Diego Luna’s red card against Toronto. The successful appeal from Real Salt Lake means that the 21-year-old playmaker will be available for selection for the upcoming match against San Diego. This provides a huge sense of relief for RSL fans heading into a new matchday but it also reignites the debate over whether the red card should have been shown to him in the first place. It’s worth exploring how the team might have been reshaped to compensate for his absence. Nevertheless, it’s a positive development that should raise team morale.
The sample size against San Diego is small considering they are the league’s newest expansion team and both teams have only met once back in March where RSL fell at home 1-3, but Mastroeni will surely utilize a different strategy that will allow them to have more success this time around and what could result in his 100th victory in his head coaching career between his time at RSL and Colorado.
In this edition of Storylines, we’ll take a peek at the upcoming affair against San Diego FC, what it could have meant for the Utah club to be without their star player, and the upcoming road trip.
Luna-less Lineup: Imagining RSL Without Their Playmaker
The absence of a star player would hinder the strategy of most clubs, RSL included. It’s far from ideal but it was nearly a reality that the team would be without Diego Luna in the approaching contest against San Diego-if not for the decision to rescind the suspension from the Independent Review Panel. The coaching staff would’ve undoubtedly been assessing potential replacements to compensate for the loss. Notwithstanding the overturned ruling, how might've the team lined up in the case that Luna wasn’t eligible for selection? What follows is an analysis of the adjustments RSL may have considered in the event the decision had not been reversed.
The first possibility would have seen the return of Ari Piol to the starting lineup and alter the formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a classic 4-4-2, with Piol and Jesus Barea spearheading the attack for RSL. This option aims to combat the inefficient goal-scoring thus far this season by adding an extra striker to the mix. The presence of the Australian and the Spaniard would look to apply more pressure to the opposition’s defense while also providing an extra reference on the offensive side of the ball. As the attention of the rival defenders would be split between both attackers, more spaces would likely open up for the midfielders coming in from behind, creating goal-scoring opportunities. Diogo Gonçalves and Dominik Marczuk’s roles would increase to supplement the load left behind by Luna but would likely have more space to operate as the attacking midfield area would be less occupied by RSL shirts.
An alternative approach would involve deploying another attacking midfielder into the lineup, as a position-for-position replacement. In this case, there are multiple players that could occupy the vacancy.
Pablo Ruiz was also a potential alternative for RSL. The Argentine MF has appeared in four MLS games so far this season, twice as a starter and twice off the bench. His last appearance came in the 2-0 loss in Minnesota, almost a month ago on March 29th. However, he has not been selected for the last two matches, being left off the 20 as a healthy scratch. Ruiz may have fallen behind in the consideration of the coach or there may be a different motive to explain his lack of play in recent games. Nevertheless, this might affect his chances to see game time in the near future.
FW Lachlan Brook may serve as the ideal candidate in the attacking midfield. In the Champions Cup clash against Herediano, he started in the number 10 position and has since appeared in three league games as a substitute. Since his arrival to the Beehive State in July 2024, Brook has appeared in 10 MLS games, of which he started only three.
Other attacking options that Pablo Mastroeni has at his disposal are FW Zavier Gozo and MF Tyler Wolff. Neither player has started an MLS game for RSL. Wolff is competing in his first season with the club as he was acquired from Atlanta United last December. Gozo on the other hand is a product of the Real Salt Lake academy, moving up the ranks to the Real Monarchs until given the opportunity to display his talent for the first team. The 18-year-old has not started a game so far in his professional career with the first team but has appeared in six games off the bench. Had there been a surprise inclusion in the starting 11, it likely would have come from one of these two players.
Setting the Stage for San Diego
The first and only time both clubs met— back in March of this season— was a difficult test for Real Salt Lake, facing up against an opponent with whom they have never played against and they had a very limited sample size of games to draw from when making their preparations. The match ended in a 1-3 home loss for RSL, with Ari Piol scoring the lone goal and his first for the club.
Now, nearly two months removed from that home defeat, the team will embark on the first leg of their three-game away trip, looking much different. RSL currently sits in 11th in the Western Conference and 22nd overall in the Supporters’ Shield with nine points while the SoCal club is up in sixth in the West and 11th overall, with 14 points.
The first-year club has seen impressive success to start their inaugural season. Their three men up front have been clinical in front of goal, accounting for 15 combined goal contributions on 15 goals scored by the California club. Mexican winger Hirving Lozano brings veteran experience from Europe and since making the move to the MLS he’s scored one goal and provided three assists. Onni Valakari, the Finnish finisher, has also been an important option for the San Diego attack, notching five goal contributions in nine appearances. But their most reliable player so far this season has been Danish winger Anders Dreyer who has scored three goals and provided three assists.
The structure RSL has shown in the past three games, despite results, has improved much since the first time they faced San Diego. This matchup will be a test of strength in the defensive third, an area where the team has struggled, conceding 14 goals, many of which were direct the outcome of unforced errors. If they can tidy up those mistakes moving forward, the results will follow. SDFC is a team that one cannot risk making any mistakes against because they average 1.67 goals per game and they will not be forgiving.
Three Games, Two Countries, Two Weeks
These next few weeks may prove to be the most crucial of the season for Real Salt Lake who currently sits just three points away from a playoff spot. The team will be travelling quite a bit for their next three games and has their sights set on positive results.
San Diego is the first destination, followed by a trip to Canada to face the red-hot Vancouver Whitecaps who are atop of the Western Conference with 20 points and just one loss. Finally they will travel to Dallas with whom they already played back in March, when they fell at home 0-1. It remains to be seen how the excessive travel will affect the players on-field but it’s a less-than-ideal situation for any club to face and the fans’ expectations are still as high as ever.
RSL has an away record of 1-3-0 as it stands but will look to have improved once they return for their next home game against Portland on May 14. This Saturday marks the 10th match in the 2025 MLS season for the Claret-and-Cobalt as they clash with San Diego FC at Snapdragon Stadium at 5:30 MT, looking to snap their two-game losing streak.
