Real Salt Lake Dominates with 3-0 Second Half vs Houston
SANDY, Utah (Wed., May 13, 2026) – Real Salt Lake (7-4-1, 22 points, 4th West) rode a dominant second half against Houston Dynamo FC (6-6-0, 18 points, 8th West) on Wednesday night at America First Field, with Utah native Zavier Gozo’s first-ever MLS brace, propelling the Claret-and-Cobalt to a commanding 3-0 home victory and the Club's second clean sheet of the 2026 campaign.
RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made three changes from the starting XI in Saturday’s loss at Dallas, bringing homegrown Academy product Griffin Dillon to the lineup in place of the last remaining field-playing "Iron Man” Noel Caliskan.
U.S. World Cup hopeful Diego Luna made way in the midfield for Polish MF Dominik Marczuk, making his first start of 2026 on the wing, pushing Zavier Gozo inside to a playmaking 10 position. Nigerian FW Victor Olatunji also joined the starting XI in place of Spanish attacker Sergi Solans, with three games in seven days ahead of Saturday’s home match against Colorado.
The match began with various opportunities on both sides of the pitch. RSL GK Rafael Cabral made a crucial save in the thirteenth minute after Houston forced a turnover, diving for the ball at the top of the 18-yard-box and preventing Houston from drawing first blood. Cabral has played the full 90 minutes across all competitions for the last two seasons, with Wednesday marking his 52nd consecutive match logging every minute since signing with RSL. In the 39th minute, the “Wall-of-Cabral” struck again when he made back-to-back diving saves, blocking one heading for the left of the net and tipping another over the top post.
Just four minutes into a much more energetic second half, the Claret-and-Cobalt took the lead with an own goal from Houston DF Duane Holmes as he attempted to clear the ball from a final third throw-in taken by RSL DF DeAndre Yedlin. After the ball left Yedlin’s hands, it was headed by DF Franco Negri, spinning behind him, where Holmes attempted to defend the Houston goal with a clear, with the ball landing in the back of the net.
Eight minutes later, Yedlin received the ball at midfield off a goal kick from Cabral, and made a deep breakaway into the center of Houston’s box. Yedlin’s pass off to Gozo on his left - through the legs of a Houston defender - set up a clinical right-footed shot that landed in the bottom left corner, doubling RSL’s advantage, 2-0.
Gozo wasted no time finding the back of the net again for his first-ever MLS / RSL multi-goal performance. In the 64th minute - seven minutes after his previous goal - the homegrown midfielder received a carefully-planted pass from RSL MF Stijn Spierings, setting him up perfectly for an attack. Gozo blasted the ball into the bottom right corner with his right foot, bringing the advantage to 3-0. The goal marked Gozo’s first brace of his RSL career, and crowned him as the youngest-ever player in RSL history to score multiple goals in a regular-season game at 19 years and 52 days old.
The Claret-and-Cobalt remain home at America First Field this Saturday, May 16, when Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids arrive in Utah, with RSL hoping to extend its 6-1-0 (W-L-T) home record. Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm MT, with limited tickets available for purchase here for RSL’s 13th consecutive sellout crowd.
GOAL SCORING SUMMARY: RSL 3 : 0 HOU
RSL: Duane Holmes (OWN GOAL) 49’: After a long throw in by Yedlin, the ball skimmed the head of Houston DF Franco Negri before Holmes unsuccessfully knocked the ball into the back of his own net.
RSL: Zavier Gozo (DeAndre Yedlin, Rafael Cabral) 57’: Cabral sent a goal kick up the right side of the field to Yedlin, who dribbled up the field with space before shoveling the ball to Gozo just outside the box. Gozo ran onto the ball, sending a perfectly-placed shot into the bottom left corner with his right foot.
RSL: Zavier Gozo (Stijn Spierings, Sam Junqua) 64’: After receiving the ball in defensive end, Junqua sent it upfield to Spierings, who took a touch before sending a perfectly-weighted pass through the middle to Gozo. Now tied for RSL’s Golden Boot lead with five goals, the 19-year-old scored a right-footed goal from the top of the box.
NOTES FROM RSL 3 : 0 HOU
- Polish defender Dominik Marczuk made his first start of the 2026 season, becoming the 21st different player to start the 12 RSL games in 2026
- Zavier Gozo logged his first brace of his RSL and MLS career with the second and third goals of the win, becoming RSL's youngest-ever multi-goal scorer in the Club’s 22-year, 695-game history
- Gozo and Solans are now tied for Club’s Golden Boot this season, each with five goals through 12 matches
- RSL is now 6-1-0 (W-L-T) while competing at home this 2026 season, with a 13-4-3 mark in its last 20 home games, dating back to June 1, 2025
- Wednesday night’s match marks RSL’s 12th straight sellout, dating back to August, 2025
- With the two goals on Wednesday, Gozo now sits at 5 goals and 4 assists for RSL this season
- Houston holds just one win on Utah soil in its last 14 visits
- Gozo has played 1,055 of possible 1,080 minutes this season, the second-most on the team; trailing only Cabral’s perfection
- Wednesday marked RSL’s second clean sheet in its last three games (2-0 home va Portland on May 2), after going 12 games without dating back to October 4, 2025 - against Colorado (1-0)
- Cabral recorded his first RSL and MLS assist on Wednesday with his second assist that resulted in Gozo’s first goal of the night
- Wednesday’s match against Houston marked the eighth multi-goal game of RSL’s last 11 matches
LINEUPS:
Real Salt Lake (5-4-1): Rafael Cabral ©; DeAndre Yedlin, Philip Quinton, Sam Junqua; Griffin Dillon, Stijn Spierings (Noel Caliskan, 75’), Dominik Marczuk (Zach Booth, 75’), JuanMa Sanabria, Zavier Gozo (Aiden Hezarkhani, 81’), Morgan Guilavogui (Diego Luna, 45’); Victor Olatunji (Sergi Solans, 57’)
Subs not used: Max Kerkvliet, Pablo Ruiz, Alex Katranis, Lukas Engel
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
Houston Dynamo FC (4-4-2): Jonathan Bond; Duane Holmes (Lawrence Ennali, 79’), Erik Sviatchenko, Agustin Resch (Antonio Carlos, 45’); Franco Negri, Jack McGlynn (Mateusz Bogusz, 45’), Agustin Bouzat, Hector Herrera ©, Ibrahim Aliyu; Ondrej Lingr (Ezequiel Ponce, 86’), Nick Markanich (Guilherme, 55’)
Subs not used: Artur, Diadie Samassekou, Blake Gillingham, Vinicius Silva
Head Coach: Ben Olsen
Stats Summary: RSL/ HOU
Shots: 8 / 15
Shots on Goal: 2 / 4
Saves: 4 / 0
Corner Kicks: 4 / 1
Fouls: 9 / 12
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
HOU: Agustin Bouzat (Yellow Card - 45+4’)
