SANDY, Utah (Sat., Feb. 28, 2026) – Real Salt Lake (1-1-0, 3 points, 9th West) earned a 2-1 home victory over visiting Seattle Sounders FC (1-1-0, 3 points, 8th West), in front of 20,660 fans at America First Field. Eighteen-year-old Aiden Hezarkhani recorded his first professional goal while second-year man Ari Piol tallied the game-winner to help lift the Claret-and-Cobalt to its first win of the season.
Heading into the Club’s first home match of the 2026 MLS campaign, Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made three adjustments to his starting XI following last week’s narrow 1-0 loss at Vancouver to the 2025 MLS finalist, blending international experience with emerging young talent.Â
Uruguayan international Juan Manuel Sanabria earned his RSL and MLS debut on the left flank, while Danish defender Lukas Engel made his first start for the Claret-and-Cobalt in front of a roaring America First Field crowd. Defender Philip Quinton also slotted into the lineup, marking his first start of the 2026 season.
Real Salt Lake began the match on the defensive foot, weathering early pressure from Seattle in the opening minutes. In the 7th minute, Cabral came up with a spectacular one-handed save on a powerful header that met a dangerous Sounders cross, preserving the 0-0 scoreline and energizing the home crowd.
Just a minute later, RSL responded. Eighteen-year-old Hezarkhani delivered a dangerous ball into the area toward fellow 18-year-old Gozo, whose shot was blocked at the last moment by a Seattle defender, keeping the match level once again.
The breakthrough arrived in the 23rd minute. After 17-year-old Luca Moisa won a loose ball atop the box, outside back Sanabria whipped in a threatening cross from the left flank, where Hezarkhani met it first-time with a composed left-footed finish. The strike marked Hezarkhani’s first professional goal and Sanabria’s first MLS/RSL assist, giving the Claret-and-Cobalt a 1-0 advantage.
In the closing minutes of the first half, RSL pushed relentlessly for a second goal, creating multiple promising chances in the attacking third. Despite the sustained pressure, the final touch proved elusive, and the hosts entered the locker room with a 1-0 lead. With a clear hunger to extend their advantage in the second half.
Coming out of the locker room with urgency, RSL struck immediately in the 47th minute. Defender Quinton delivered a beautiful long ball down the right flank to Gozo, who surged forward before laying off a simple, composed pass to striker Ari Piol. Piol finished cleanly from close range to give RSL a 2-0 advantage, marking his second career RSL/MLS goal, and his first since March 8, 2025 against San Diego..
Seattle looked to respond in the 60th minute with a dangerous free kick opportunity, but Cabral came up big once again, athletically parrying the shot to preserve the two-goal cushion. Two minutes later, however, the visitors capitalized on a corner kick. Albert Rusnák’s delivery found Cristian Roldan, who rose above the defense and powered a header past Cabral to cut the deficit to 2-1.
In the 71st minute, Guinean striker Morgan Guilavogui entered the match for 18-year-old Hezarkhani, making his MLS debut in front of 20,660 home fans. Just minutes later, in the 75th, Guilavogui threaded a beautiful ball through the Sounders’ backline to rookie Sergi Solans, but the chance could not be converted. In the 86th minute, Solans returned the favor with a dangerous service into Guilavogui, whose attempt narrowly missed the target as he searched for a debut goal.
Despite late pressure and opportunities to seal the match, RSL held firm. The 2-1 scoreline proved enough to secure all three points, earning the Claret-and-Cobalt its first victory of the 2026 MLS season, and improving its all-time mark in home openers to 11 wins and nine draws against just two losses in 22 years.
Real Salt Lake now turns its attention to a road matchup against Atlanta United next Saturday, March 7, with kickoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT. The match will stream live on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass.
GOAL SCORING SUMMARY: RSL 2 : 1 SEA
RSL: Aiden Hezarkhani (Juan Manuel Sanabria) 23’ – In the 23rd minute, outside back Juan Manuel Sanabria whipped in a dangerous cross from the left flank, finding 18-year-old Aiden Hezarkhani in stride. The young attacker met it first-time with a composed left-footed finish, securing his first professional goal and giving Sanabria his first MLS/RSL assist. The strike put Real Salt Lake ahead 1-0 in front of the home crowd.
RSL: Zavier Gozo (Ari Piol) 47’ – Coming out of the locker room with intensity, RSL struck early in the second half. Defender Philip Quinton delivered a beautiful long ball down the right flank to Zavier Gozo, who drove forward with pace into the attacking third. The 18-year-old attacker then slipped a perfectly weighted pass across goal to striker Ari Piol, who finished from close range to double the advantage and give RSL a 2-0 lead. The goal marked Piol’s second career RSL/MLS tally.Â
SEA: Cristian Roldan (Albert Rusnák) 62’ – In the 62nd minute, Seattle capitalized on a set-piece opportunity. Off a corner kick delivery from Albert Rusnák, Cristian Roldan rose above the defense and powered a header past Rafael Cabral, pulling one back and giving the visitors their first goal of the match.
RSL: NOTES FROM RSL 2 : 1 SEA
- RSL improves to 1-1-0 (3 points) on the 2026 season with its first win of the campaign.
- The Claret-and-Cobalt are now 14-1-4 (W-L-T) all-time vs. Seattle in regular-season play on Utah soil, extending the Sounders’ regular-season winless streak in Sandy dating back to 2011.
- Attendance: 20,660 at America First Field.
- RSL is now 47-10-18 (W-L-T) when scoring first during the 185-game Pablo Mastroeni era.
- Last season, RSL went 12-6-5 when scoring first (doing so in 23 of 40 matches across all competitions).
- Academy product Aiden Hezarkhani (18 years, 245 days) recorded his first professional goal, becoming the ninth-youngest player in Club history to score and adding his name to RSL’s all-time teenage scorers list.
- Ari Piol’s 47’ goal marked his second career RSL/MLS goal, his first since March 8, 2025, and his first-ever match-winner.
- Designated Player Morgan Guilavogui made his MLS and RSL debut, becoming RSL all-time player No. 233 in the Club’s 22-year MLS history.
LINEUPS:
Real Salt Lake (3-4-3): Rafael Cabral ©; Philip Quinton, Justen Glad, Lukas Engel ( Sam Junqua, 61’); Luca Moisa (Pablo Ruiz, 61’), Noel Caliskan, Juan Manuel Sanabria, Zavier Gozo, Zach Booth (Sergi Solans, 72’); Aiden Hezarkhani (Morgan Guilavogui, 72’), Ari Piol (Dominik Marczuk, 82’)
Subs not used: Mason Stajduhar, Griffin Dillon, Ruben Mesalles, Alex Katranis
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
Seattle Sounders FC (4-2-3-1): Andrew Thomas; Nouhou, Jackson Ragen, Yeimar Andrade (Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, 58’), Alex Roldan; Cristian Roldan ©, Hassani Dotson; Paul Rothrock, Albert Rusnak (Nikola Petkovic, 90’), Jesus Ferreira (Snyder Bruneil, 58’); Osaze De Rosario (Danny Musovski, 58’)
Subs not used: Paul Arriola, Stefan Frei, Cody Baker, Antino Lopez, Sebastian Gomez
Head Coach: Brian Schmetzer
Stats Summary: RSL / SEA
Shots: 15 / 16
Shots on Goal: 4 / 9
Saves: 8 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 10
Fouls: 9 / 8
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Philip Quinton (Yellow Card - 6’)
SEA: Hassani Dotson (Yellow Card - 10’)Â
RSL: Zavier Gozo (Yellow Card - 60’)
RSL: Dominik Marczuk (Yellow Card - 90+3’)
