Late Goal Not Enough as RSL Falls 2-1 Away at Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (Sat., Oct. 10, 2026) – Real Salt Lake (9-14-5, 32 points, 12th West / 21st MLS Shield) fell 2-1 Saturday in a hard-fought battle away to the surging Philadelphia Union (12-10-6, 42 points, 6th West / 11th MLS Shield) at Subaru Park. With the loss, RSL has yet to win away from home since March 7 at Atlanta, winless in its last 13 away across all competitions and holding an overall MLS road record of 1-10-3 (W-L-T) this season.

On Saturday, RSL’s match was headlined by a strong second-half performance, fueled by multiple substitutions. Canadian international Luc de Fougerolles subbed on to make his RSL and MLS debut - becoming all-time RSL player No. 245 - and assisted to become just the ninth ever Claret-and-Cobalt member to do so in his debut. Georgian newcomer Saba Lobjanidze subbed on to score his third goal in his last six games, while Utah native Zach Booth and Australian striker Ari Piol returned from long-term injuries to appear. Booth had not played since a hamstring injury suffered August 15, while Piol returned two months ahead of schedule to play his first minutes since an Achilles tear suffered after providing the game-winning goal at home on February 28.

RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made no changes to tonight’s starting XI, keeping the same lineup that snapped the Club’s overall 13-game winless streak with a dominant 3-0 win over New England Revolution on September 26. Arriving from international duty, Uriguayan standout Juan Manuel Sanabria was again available. 

The visitors started the game quickly, re-energized after the combined September/October international break. In just the third minute, Stijn Spierings registered RSL’s first shot on goal, forcing an intervention from Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake. The Claret-and-Cobalt continued to knock on the door, and in the 28th minute, rookie Sergi Solans found himself just a pace offside before assisting what would’ve been an opening goal for Designated Player Morgan Guilavogui.

Just three minutes later, the Union showed why they entered the match capturing 32 of a possible 36 points in 12 games post-World Cup, one of the hottest teams in MLS, scoring with a well-worked team move in the 31st minute. After a string of passes, U.S. international Frankie Westfield played a low-driven cross into the box that looked destined for former RSL Academy man Milan Iloski. Instead of finishing, Iloski cleverly dummied the ball, setting up an open Bruno Damiani, who scored with a right-footed strike for a 1-0 lead. Following the goal, the home side continued to generate attacking chances but was unable to double its lead before the halftime break. 

Coming out of the locker room, Mastroeni made two changes on the defensive line, bringing on Uruguayan international Juan Manuel Sanabria and giving summer newcomer de Fougerolles his long-awaited RSL and MLS debuts. As he stepped onto the field, de Fougerolles became all-time RSL player No. 245 in the Club’s 22-year history. 

The substitutions inspired the Claret-and-Cobalt at the start of the second half, and the visitors quickly changed the momentum of the match with a number of dangerous attacks. In the 52nd minute, Dominik Marczuk found an open Noel Caliskan in the box, the former Monarch pulling the shot just wide of the left post. RSL came close to scoring again in the 69th minute, but Solans’ left-footed strike was denied by a diving Blake to maintain the Union’s narrow lead.

As RSL pushed for a late equalizer, Mastroeni made two more substitutions, bringing on Utah native Booth and Australian striker Piol. Both earned their first minutes since returning from injury, with Booth playing for the first time in nearly eight weeks, and Piol returning two months ahead of schedule from his Achilles rupture suffered in late February.

In the closing minutes, after a lengthy VAR review, Philadelphia scored what proved to be the dagger, as Iloski put away a chaotic sequence with a right-footed shot to the top-left corner. The goal was Iloksi’s 17th of the season, sealing the result for the home side after RSL battled hard to attempt a second-half comeback. 

The visitors got on the board in the 96+ minute, scoring late as Georgian international Saba Lobjanidze found the back of the net after a pass from de Fougerolles. With his assist, de Fougerolles became the ninth all-time RSL player to do so in his debut, the first since Saba himself on July 22 at LAFC. All players involved in the goal - Sanabria, Saba and De Fougerolles, were second-half substitutions from Mastroeni. 

In the end, the goal came just too late for RSL, and the Union held on to secure its seventh consecutive MLS victory and its 11th in the last 13 non-Leagues Cup matches.

Real Salt Lake now returns to America First Field this Wednesday, October 14, hosting the San Jose Earthquakes in another midweek battle. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT.

GOAL-SCORING SUMMARY: 

PHI 2 : 1 RSL

PHI: Bruno Damiani (Frankie Westfield) 31’: Sullivan dribbled near the right side of the box, cutting back and passing the ball to Westfield. Westfield played a first-time cross into the penalty spot, that after a dummy from Iloski, was finished by Damiani with a right-footed strike. 

PHI: Milan Iloski (Cavan Sullivan) 81’: A save from Cabral popped the ball high into the box. After a chaotic skirmish, Sullivan got a touch to it and Iloski gained possession before poking it home with a right-footed shot. 

RSL: Saba Lobjanidze (Luc de Fougerolles) 90+6’: Off a corner, Sanabria played the ball into de Fougerolles, who was waiting near the edge of the box. The Canadian newcomer took a touch before playing a well-weighted throughball into Lobjanidze, who finished with his right foot. 

NOTES FROM PHI 2 : 1RSL

• Just after halftime, Canadian international Luc de Fougerolles subbed on to make his RSL and MLS debuts, becoming all-time RSL player No. 245. 

• With his assist in the 96th minute, de Fougerolles became all-time RSL player No. 9 to assist in his debut and No. 15 to earn a goal contribution in his first Club contest. 

• Saba Lobjanidze has scored three goals in his last six games with the Claret-and-Cobalt. 

• Subbing on in the 79th minute, Ari Piol returned to MLS action for the first time since scoring the winner and rupturing his achilles on February 28th against Seattle Sounders FC. 

• Subbing on in the 70th minute, Zach Booth earned his first RSL minutes since suffering a hamstring injury on August 15 against Minnesota United. 

• RSL has not won away from home since March 7 at Atlanta, holding an overall road record of 1-10-3 (W-L-T) in 2026.

• RSL is now 5-2-6 all-time against the Union and 2-2-4 when playing at Subaru Park, falling in Chester, Penn., for the first time since April, 2019.

LINEUPS:

Real Salt Lake (5-4-1): Rafael Cabral ©; Dominik Marczuk (Zach Booth, 70’), DeAndre Yedlin (Luc de Fougerolles, 46’), Philip Quinton, Kobi Henry, Sam Junqua (Juan Sanabria, 46’); Aiden Hezarkhani (Saba Lobjanidze, 65’), Morgan Guilavogui, Stijn Spierings, Noel Caliskan; Sergi Solans (Ari Piol, 79’)

Subs not used: Mason Stajduhar, Colin Guske, Luca Moisa, Alex Katranis

Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2): Andre Blake ©; Frankie Westfield, Neil Pierre, Nathan Harriel, Kai Wagner; Cavan Sullivan (Ben Bender, 90+1’), Danly Jean Jacques (Alejandro Bedoya, 90+2’), Jovan Lukic (Jesus Bueno, 74’), Indiana Vassilev (Quinn Sulivan, 64’); Milan Iloski (Malik Jakupovic, 90+2’), Bruno Damiani

Subs not used: Andrew Rick, Geiner Martinez, Jeremy Rafanello, Ezekiel Alladoh, 

Head Coach: Ryan Richter

Stats Summary: PHI / RSL

Shots: 14 / 11

Shots on Goal: 5 / 4

Saves: 3 / 3

Corner Kicks: 4 / 3

Fouls: 21 / 13

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:

PHI: Danly Jean Jacques (Yellow Card - 2’) 

RSL: DeAndre Yedlin (Yellow Card - 13’) 

PHI: Frankie Westfield (Yellow Card - 23’) 

RSL: Dominik Marczuk (Yellow Card - 62’) 

PHI: Jesus Bueno (Yellow Card - 80’) 

PHI: Bruno Damiani (Yellow Card - 89’)