The summer of soccer is soon officially underway in Utah. Despite the solstice indicating the start of the season on June 20, the near-90 degree weather in Sandy begs to differ. During this series of international windows, RSL will play just one home game this month, as its schedule - coming off a hiatus since the 0-2 loss in LA to the Galaxy - includes another two-week break between this Saturday’s home encounter with D.C. United and its Sat., June 28 match against Sporting KC.
RSL hopes the heat can help ignite the flame it's been missing during a seven-game winless run, as Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side looks to secure its first win since April 26 at San Diego. This game kicks off a span that sees eight of RSL’s next 10 matches between June 14 and August 6 played on the Wasatch Front, a crucial opportunity for the Claret-and-Cobalt to return America First Field to its fortress-like reputation, restoring its historically winning ways on Utah soil, rewarding its home fans, who are desperate to celebrate.
The stunted and staggered June schedule marks a training-heavy midpoint of the year, as teams are self-scouting tendencies to figure out what works and what doesn’t. In Real Salt Lake’s case, results demonstrate that weaknesses have been exposed, while the strengths that have buoyed the quality of various performances have yet to fully emerge. The team clearly hasn’t found its groove yet, while this critical homestand will serve to find the starting 11 and potentially integrate new or rarely-used faces and names that will best position the Club for the necessary success to secure a Playoff spot and potentially pursue home-field advantage.
RSL and D.C. have met just twice in the past three seasons, with the last meeting in June 2023 at Audi FIeld ended in a 2-1 road win for RSL, with an iconic 70-yard goal scored by Pablo Ruiz. Back in 2022, on the America First Field turf, a scoreless 0-0 draw was the result. One would have to go back six years to find the last loss RSL suffered at the hands of D.C. United. Much has changed since then, new ownership, new head coach, and of course, a handful of new players barring a few faces who have committed themselves to the club long-term.
In this edition of Storylines, we’ll reflect on what’s changed in the world since RSL’s last defeat to D.C. United and preview the upcoming clash set for this weekend.
Change and Consistency: Six Years Later
The world has undergone significant changes in recent years. From technological advancements to socio-political developments, each day brings new events and challenges. The thought that so much can change in such a short amount of time is curious, therefore in this edition, a new section is introduced to track notable career developments among key figures, including Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni and a few players since 2019—the last time D.C. United defeated Real Salt Lake.
A compelling place to start is with Mastroeni, who in 2019, was not managing the club, nor was even a prospect to take over the position. In fact, he wasn’t coaching at all. During this time, Mastroeni was fresh off a multi-year managerial stint with the Colorado Rapids, where he had also spent 11 years as a player. Subsequently, his next coaching role came in 2020 as an assistant with the Houston Dynamo, before arriving in Utah that January as an assistant to Freddy Juarez, whom he replaced in August 2021 as an interim manager. He was later named the club’s permanent head coach in 2022, the first of his now four full seasons at the helm.
One of the club’s top performers of the season has undoubtedly been the offseason signing, Brazilian GK Rafael Cabral. Proven to be one of the best shot-stoppers in the league at 34-years-old, six years ago he was nowhere near RSL. In 2019, Cabral was competing at the highest level of professional club soccer at Italian club Sampdoria in the Serie A. Halfway through the year though, he transferred to Reading in the English Championship. On the outskirts of London, he became a local hero, quickly cementing himself as a regular starter on the team and becoming the club’s player of the season for 2019/2020. In 2022, Cabral returned to his native Brazil to play for Cruzeiro in the Série B and also had a loan spell with Gremio. In the 2025 offseason, he made the move to RSL and has been a disruptive force for opposing attackers ever since.
Yes, many things tend to change as time moves on, but one thing that has remained a constant throughout these years at Real Salt Lake is the presence of homegrown veteran DF Justen Glad. Although he hadn’t featured in the 5-0 away defeat at Audi Field seven seasons ago, Glad played a pivotal role in the team during the 2019 season; appearing in 23 matches, all as a starter as the club finished in third in the Western Conference. From that point on, Glad has made 146 (and counting) appearances for RSL, scoring 11 goals and moving into third-place all-time in games played, games started and minutes played for RSL, trailing only Club legends Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman. Six years from now we may still be saying the same thing: Justen Glad and Real Salt Lake are synonymous.
West Meets East: RSL–D.C.
Bringing it back to present day, RSL and D.C. will meet this Saturday for 2025’s Matchday 18, marking the 25th all-time head-to-head encounter in MLS action. Two clubs with historically strong records in MLS are enduring forgettable seasons. As previously mentioned, both clubs arrive in middling form and this weekend presents an opportunity to flip the seasons around in a better direction.
United is coming off of a catastrophic 7-1 home loss at the hands of the Chicago Fire and will certainly be looking for redemption against RSL, the first opponent it competes against. The team sits in 12th in the Eastern Conference with 18 points and is seven points outside of the final playoff spot. Its biggest weakness: conceding too many goals. The Black-and-Red share the league’s worst defensive record with the L.A. Galaxy, as both have conceded 36 goals this season. This is likely something Pablo Mastroeni will look to exploit, especially with RSL having struggled to score at times.
On the other side of the ball, RSL sits 13th in the Western Conference with 15 points, seven points behind its rivals, the Colorado Rapids, who currently hold the final playoff spot. A win would mean a tremendous amount to this squad, one that has not seen a victory since April. Additionally, three points would inject much-needed confidence in the roster, two weeks before the most congested part of the season kicks off. Coming out of this weekend without a win could be yet another blow to a difficult first half of the season. However, with the support of the RSL faithful, the team is poised to deliver a much more positive performance than its previous efforts.
Make sure you don’t miss this cross-conference showdown between Real Salt Lake and D.C. United on Saturday, June 14, at America First Field. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30 MT. This game will sell out, but limited tickets are available here.
