Three Wins in Last Six Down Stretch Have Vaulted RSL Above Playoff Line Entering Decision Day;
RSL Clinches League-Best Fifth Consecutive Postseason Appearance w/ Win at Energizer Park Saturday;
RSL w/ Eight Wins, Two Draws in Last 13 at Home Since June 1;
Win + Dallas Loss/Draw = America First Field Play-In Game on Wednesday, Oct. 22;
HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, Oct. 17, 2025) – Real Salt Lake (12-17-4, 40 points, 9th West / 19th Shield) finishes its 2025 Major League Soccer regular season on Saturday’s MLS “Decision Day” with a critical road trip at St. Louis, needing a win to guarantee a League-best fifth consecutive postseason berth, the sixth time in seven seasons (2020 the lone exception), and for the 14th time in the last 17 seasons since first qualifying in 2008 (2015, 2017 the other outliers).
Saturday, RSL travels to St. Louis CITY SC (8-18-7, 31 points, 13th West / 24th Shield) at Energizer Park in St. Louis, with simultaneous 7:15p MT kickoff during the Western Conference portion of 2025 MLS Decision Day. This weekend’s RSL contest is available via Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with Nate Bukaty and Devon Kerr (ENG) on the call, as are Moises Linares and Nacho Garcia (SPN). Iconic RSL voice David James and former MLS goalkeeper Jay Nolly will call the game for KSL Sports Radio (1160 AM / 97.5 FM), with Nelson Moran in his 21st season as RSL’s Spanish radio home on both 102.3 KDUT FM / 106.3 FM KBMG.
RSL can also advance to the postseason for the fifth consecutive season under Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni with a draw Saturday, IF Colorado loses/draws against LAFC Saturday OR with a Dallas loss at Vancouver. Should RSL fail to earn a point in St. Louis, it would still advance to the play-in game with BOTH a San Jose loss/draw to Austin AND a Rapids loss against LAFC.
Returning to the Claret-and-Cobalt for this weekend’s MLS Decision Day following the most recent FIFA international weekend are three RSL starters: playmaker Diego Luna (U.S. Men’s National Team), holding midfielder Braian Ojeda (Paraguay) and teenage winger Zavier Gozo (USA U-20). Luna appeared off the bench in both Friday’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador in Austin and for the final 60 minutes in Tuesday’s 2-1 comeback win against Australia in suburban Denver, while Ojeda played stoppage time in Paraguay’s 2-2 draw in Japan last week before going the full 90 minutes in Tuesday’s 0-2 loss at South Korea. Gozo capped off an excellent FIFA World Youth Championship tourney with 67 minutes in the USA U-20 loss to Morocco, finishing with five starts, scoring one goal (game-winner v France) and adding three assists against New Caledonia, France and Italy.
A pair of RSL internationals also return this week for the Real Monarchs’ MLS NEXT Pro playoff opener against Minnesota Sunday at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman (6:00p MT kickoff; $7 tickets available at door or via www.RSL.com/tickets), as defender Kobi Henry (Trinidad & Tobago) and Marcos Zambrano (USA U-20) could be critical additions for Head Coach Mark Lowry’s fourth-seeded Western Conference team.
Game Notes for Saturday’s RSL @ St. Louis CITY Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2025 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and St. Louis can be found HERE. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact RSL Communications via email at *RSLcommunications@RSL.com*.
Last week, RSL fell 1-0 at Seattle, conceding a fourth-minute goal and surviving an even bigger early hole when Captain and “Iron Man” GK Rafael Cabral saved his fourth penalty kick faced in eight attempts this year, denying Jordan Morris from the spot. Cabral – the lone 2025 RSL player to have appeared in all 38 games this season across all competitions, registering each and every one of the 3,420 available minutes – has worn the RSL captain’s armband for the last 21 matches played since late May. Late in the Seattle game, an apparent equalizer that saw two attacking substitutes – FW William Agada and FW Victor Olatunji – knot the match at 1-1 was waved off due to a narrow Olatunji offside call.
Two weeks ago, RSL defeated Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids, 1-0, as a late first-half goal from Designated Player Diogo Gonçalves on newcomer Rwan Cruz’ debut assist for the Club supported a clean sheet from Captain and GK Rafael Cabral to secure RSL’s third win in its last five, and improve the Claret-and-Cobalt record to 8-3-2 (W-L-T) at home since June 1. The back-to-back wins the last two home weekends were RSL’s first since mid-July, vaulting RSL back above the playoff line in the West and giving Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s team control of its postseason destiny with two road matches remaining this season.
The Gonçalves goal Oct. 4 – his fourth of the season – gave RSL the distinction of now scoring first in 22 of 38 matches played in MLS reg. season, Leagues Cup and Champions Cup this year, recording 11 wins and four draws against seven losses when drawing first blood. The July 26 comeback home win against San Jose still marks the lone victory recorded thus far in 2025 when conceding first.
Heading into potential postseason matches, RSL has posted a 10-9-3 (W-L-T) home mark on the Wasatch Front thus far this year in MLS, Champions Cup and Leagues Cup matches, the Club hampered by a difficult early start to the year. Since June 1, RSL recorded an 8-3-2 (W-L-T) home mark across all competitions on Utah soil, with the recent upturn in form creating the possibility that the Western Conference play-in game could be hosted in Sandy on Oct. 22.
A year ago, RSL amassed a 12-3-4 (W-L-T) record at home, where the Club has traditionally enjoyed a fortress-like record of success, winning nearly 70% of games and averaging just under two points per game in parts of 17 seasons across all competitions at what is now America First Field.
A month ago against Austin, RSL saw a late first-half goal from Paraguayan international Braian Ojeda – his fifth goal across all competitions this season – end a dominant first 45 minutes, while playmaker Diego Luna set up second-half strikes from two RSL newcomers: wingback DeAndre Yedlin and striker Victor Olatunji. Luna’s assists were his sixth and seventh of 2025, to go along with a Club-high nine MLS goals and 10 across all competitions, eclipsing his previous career-high of eight goals, set last season.
The late 3-0 lead was RSL’s first three-goal lead of 2025, and Olatunji’s goal – his second in now seven games with RSL since arriving in mid-August – gave RSL three goals in a match for just the second time this season (July 5 in a 3-2 home win over St. Louis).
The 2-1 win at home back on Sept. 13 against Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak for RSL, its longest since August, 2023; since former USMNT star and MLS veteran Pablo Mastroeni seized the Claret-and-Cobalt head coaching reins in August, 2021, RSL has dropped consecutive games just 17 times in 180 matches during the Mastroeni era, winning 31 and drawing 15 in games following a loss. Saturday’s match at St. Louis CITY will again test RSL’s xDAWG / “bounce-back” resiliency.
The 3-1 victory at San Diego on April 26 marked Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s 100th career coaching win across all competitions for the two Rocky Mountain Cup competitors, RSL (2021-present) and Colorado (2014-17). The former U.S. World Cup stalwart has now amassed 108 wins, 121 losses and 80 draws across all competitions for the Utah/Denver-based sides. Last June in Kansas City, Mastroeni earned his 50th win across all competitions with RSL in a wild 4-3 road decision, with the 2-0 reg. season win over LA Galaxy on April 5 marking his 50th MLS victory with RSL. Since August, 2021, his arrival in Utah, Mastroeni’s all-time RSL coaching record is now 71-65-44 (W-L-T).
During each of Pablo’s previous three full seasons at the RSL helm, the Club has increased its annual point total (47 in 2022, 50 in 2023 and 59 last year), while increasing its Western Conference table position as well (7th in 2022, 5th in 2023 and 3rd last year). The 2024 MLS regular season reached an all-time high of 59 points for RSL, which finished third in the Western Conference and sixth overall in the then-29-team MLS Shield race, while also establishing a new all-time scoring high of 65 goals.
--- ***www.RSL.com*** ---
