Player Spotlight | RSL Once Again Exhibits its ‘The Team is the Star’ Cultural Cornerstone

In what was essentially a “sudden-death” situation with its back against the wall, needing every point remaining in its Leagues Cup phase one campaign, Real Salt Lake responded Saturday night with an impressive and dominant 4-0 victory over Liga MX visitors Atlante CF to keep its advancement hopes alive.

Scoring by Committee

The creatively-dominant scoring outburst from the Claret-and-Cobalt marked the third time this season in 20 matches across all competitions that the RSL attacking group found the back of the net four times in a match, this time behind four different goalscorers. The first occasion was a 4-2 home win over San Diego FC back on April 18 at America First Field, the second in a friendly against EFL Championship side Burnley FC, a 4-1 win, also at home. 

Saturday’s contest featured four different RSL goalscorers for the first time since July 6, 2024, when Matt Crooks, Braian Ojeda, Cristian Arango, Alex Katranis and Diego Luna combined for a 5-1 home win over Atlanta United in an MLS regular-season match.

Propelled by eight shots on goal from its attempted 14 strikes Saturday, the RSL attack was firing on all cylinders, snapping a five-game winless run in MLS and Leagues Cup competition, unlucky to not have put six or seven on the board. The Club’s 2026 Golden Boot leader, Spanish-born rookie Sergi Solans, started the party early by scoring his 10th goal across all competitions this season, after star playmaker Diego Luna ran onto a Morgan Guilavogui duel won, claiming the ball near the end line and showcasing his crafty footwork, dribbling on a tightrope before slotting a no-look pass to Solans near the six-yard box, Solans finishing first time for the 16th-minute opener.

Luna’s exquisite night was far from over after notching the assist, the 2024 MLS Young Player of the Year nearly adding his name to the scoresheet again in quick succession, inches away from converting a header off a pass from Utah native Zach Booth just moments later. The California native registered his second assist en route to Leagues Cup Man of the Match honors in the 54th minute, sending dead-ball service to the back post and finding Guilavogui, who laid it off to centerback Lukas Engel at the near post, the Danish defender slotting home his second goal in the last five matches, and his first in front of the RSL faithful.

Engel’s 54th-minute scored allowed him to join Booth as first-time goalscorers at America First Field, with Eden, Utah native Booth finding the back of the net just four minutes earlier, the 22-year-old burying his left-footed strike from the top of the box into the bottom right corner, followed by a high, soaring backflip to celebrate the achievement with his fellow Utahns.

After scoring the first-half equalizer earlier in the week against Tigres UANL, RSL veteran Pablo Ruiz showcased his hot left foot once again, picking the ball from an Atlante FC midfielder late in the match, dribbling forward to the top of the 18 before firing a low, driven strike from the left wing to the far post. The goal marked Ruiz’s second in two matches this week, after not finding the back of the net since June, 2023, 35 games and 1,444 days earlier at D.C. United.

Finally, Another Clean Sheet

The dominant attacking effort was complimented by a top defensive performance for the Claret-and-Cobalt, holding the Liga MX visitor scoreless and achieving its long overdue third clean sheet of the season and RSL’s first since May 13, a 3-0 win home win over Houston Dynamo. RSL also dispatched visiting Portland, 2-0, back on May 2 at home.

RSL Captain Rafa Cabral displayed his well-known, world-class shot-stopping ability throughout the affair, dismissing all four of Atlante’s shots on target. “Iron Man” Cabral, who has played each and every minute of the 60 matches started with the Utah side since arriving on the Wasatch Front in January, 2025, combined with centerback pairings of Engel, Juan Jose Arias, and DeAndre Yedlin to the clean sheet, the group’s first pairing together supported by wingbacks Alex Kantranis and Booth.

With one match remaining to play in Phase One, RSL’s defensive unit hopes to replicate its dominant performance in a competition where points come at a premium and goal differential can dictate if a side advances or is sent home. With Saturday evening’s result, the Claret-and-Coblat now have four points thus far in the cross-border tournament. Real Salt Lake now heads into its Phase One finale, welcoming FC Juárez this Tuesday, August 11, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. MT. 

RSL then returns to MLS regular-season play later this week, on Saturday, August 15, for its fourth of five consecutive home matches in a 15-day span, hosting Minnesota United FC. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT. All Leagues Cup and regular-season tickets are available for purchase here.