SANDY, Utah (Sat., Sept. 27, 2025) – Real Salt Lake (11-16-4, 37 points, 10th West) earned a 3-1 home victory over Austin FC (12-11-8, 44 points, 7th West) Saturday night at America First Field, as a relentless Claret-and-Cobalt attack proved too much for the visitors despite a late consolation goal.
RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made two adjustments to the starting XI from Sunday night’s 4-1 defeat at LAFC, unveiling a refreshed lineup with playoff implications in mind. In midfield, Portuguese playmaker Diogo Gonçalves returned to the fold alongside RSL star Diego Luna, giving the Claret-and-Cobalt creativity and control in the center of the park. Up top, dangerous Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji slotted back in after serving a red-card suspension, eager to add to his goal tally and spearhead RSL’s push toward postseason contention.
Real Salt Lake opened the match on the front foot, pushing numbers forward and creating several promising opportunities to break the deadlock. In the 14th minute, the Claret-and-Cobalt earned a corner kick that was whipped into the box and met by center back Brayan Vera, whose towering header narrowly cleared the crossbar. RSL continued to dominate possession throughout the first half, probing for openings in the Austin defense.
The best chance came in the 40th minute, when Portuguese midfielder Gonçalves sent in a curling cross to Brazilian striker Rwan Cruz. Cruz connected cleanly with a first-time volley, only to be denied by a sharp reflex save from the Austin goalkeeper to keep the score level.
The breakthrough finally arrived just before halftime. Paraguayan midfielder Braian Ojeda picked up a pass from centerback Justen Glad and unleashed a long-range effort from outside the box. The shot took a deflection off a defender, wrong-footing the goalkeeper and nestling into the back of the net to give RSL a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute. The goal injected confidence into the Claret-and-Cobalt, who entered the locker room eager to build on their advantage in the second half.
Real Salt Lake came out of the halftime break intent on extending its advantage, and just four minutes after the restart, the Claret-and-Cobalt struck again. Portuguese midfielder Gonçalves received the ball from Diego Luna, pushing forward before sliding a perfectly-weighted pass into the right side of the box, where newcomer DeAndre Yedlin unleashed a rocket into the net to double the lead while recording his first goal for the Club.
With momentum on its side, RSL nearly found a third in the 80th minute, when winger Tyler Wolff delivered a dangerous cross to Brazilian striker Cruz, whose ambitious bicycle attempt was saved by Austin FC goalkeeper. Moments later, however, another breakthrough came. Luna slipped a clever ball in behind the Austin back line for Nigerian striker Olatunji, who calmly beat the onrushing goalkeeper to push the score to 3-0, notching his second career goal for RSL.
Austin FC pulled one back deep into stoppage time, as Dani Pereira swung in a cross that Besard Sabovic powered home with a header in the 90+2nd minute. But it proved only a consolation, as RSL closed out a deserved 3-1 victory at America First Field, strengthening their push toward playoff contention in front of a triumphant home crowd.
Real Salt Lake remains home at America First Field for its next home fixture, hosting the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, October 4, with the Rocket Mountain Cup kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. MT. Tickets are available now at www.RSL.com/tickets.
GOAL SCORING SUMMARY: RSL 3:1 ATX
RSL: Braian Ojeda (Justen Glad) 45’ – Just before halftime, Paraguayan midfielder Ojeda broke the deadlock after receiving a pass from centerback Glad. Ojeda’s long-range effort deflected off a defender and skipped past the Austin FC goalkeeper, giving Real Salt Lake a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
RSL: DeAndre Yedlin (Diogo Gonçalves, Diego Luna) 49’ – Early in the second half, Portuguese midfielder Gonçalves drove forward before sliding a perfectly weighted ball into the right side of the box. Right back Yedlin latched onto it and unleashed a rocket past the Austin FC goalkeeper, doubling RSL’s lead and marking his first goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt.
RSL: Victor Olatunji (Diego Luna) 82’ – Late in the match, Luna slipped a clever through ball behind the Austin FC back line for Nigerian striker Olatunji. Bursting past his marker, Olatunji calmly rounded the onrushing goalkeeper and slotted home to seal a 3-0 lead, tallying his second career goal for the Claret-and-Cobalt.
ATX: Besard Sabovic (Dani Pereira) 90+2’ – Deep into stoppage time, midfielder Dani Pereira whipped a cross into the box that found the head of Besard Sabovic. The midfielder powered his effort past the RSL goalkeeper Cabral to put Austin FC on the scoresheet with a late consolation goal.
NOTES FROM RSL 3:1 ATX
- Paraguayan midfielder Braian Ojeda’s strike marked his second goal of the 2025 MLS campaign, both coming from outside the box, and his fifth goal across all competitions this season, including his three Leagues Cup scores.
- Former U.S. international DeAndre Yedlin’s goal was his first in MLS since 2021 and his first-ever for Real Salt Lake, coming in just his eighth Claret-and-Cobalt appearance. The goal marks his fifth all-time MLS goal in 222 games with Seattle, Miami, Cincinnati and RSL.
- Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji scored his second career MLS goal, both coming at America First Field.
- Portuguese midfielder Diogo Gonçalves tallied his first MLS assist on Yedlin’s strike, while Diego Luna added his eighth of the season on Olatunji’s finish.
- RSL has now won back-to-back home matches against Austin FC at America First Field, outscoring the Verde-and-Black 8-3 across the two contests in 2024/25.
- With the victory, Real Salt Lake improved to 10-7-4 this season when scoring first in 21 of 26 games across all competitions this year.
LINEUPS:
Real Salt Lake (4-4-2): Rafael Cabral ©; DeAndre Yedlin, Justen Glad, Brayan Vera, Alex Katranis (Sam Junqua 81’); Diego Luna, Braian Ojeda, Noel Caliskan, Diogo Gonçalves (Tyler Wolff 70’); Rwan Cruz (Emeka Eneli 8), Victor Olatunji (Ariath Piol 87’)
Subs not used: Mason Stajduhar, Tyler Wolff, Philip Quinton, Johnny Russell, William Agada, Pablo Ruiz
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
Austin FC (3-4-3): Brad Stuver; Brendan Hines-Ike, Julio Cascante ©, Mateja Djordjevic (Robert Taylor 82’); Guilherme Biro, Besard Sabovic, Nicolas Dubersarsky (Dani Pereira 62’), Jon Gallager; Diego Rubio (Owen Wolff 62’), CJ Fodrey (Jader Obrian 62’), Jader Obrian (Osman Bukari 62’)
Subs not used: Oleksandr Swatok, Llie Sanchez, Zan Kolmanic, Stefan Cleveland
Head Coach: Nico Estevez
Stats Summary: RSL / ATX
Shots: 15 / 7
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Saves: 8 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 10
Fouls: 10 / 16
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
RSL: Alex Katranis (Yellow Card - 45 +2’)
RSL: Victor Olatunji (Yellow Card - 71’)
ATX: Owen Wolff (Yellow Card - 74’)
ATX: Guilherme Biro (Yellow Card - 89’)
