Real Salt Lake Hits Road Saturday at Orlando

Leagues Cup Quarterfinalist Kicks Off Three-Game Road Swing This Weekend;

Club León, Colorado Rapids Await RSL in Denver Tuesday the 25^th, Saturday the 29^th;

Tickets for All Home Events Remain Available via www.RSL.com/Tickets

ORLANDO, Fla. (Friday, August 21, 2026) – This weekend, Real Salt Lake (8W-7L-4T, 28 points, 8^th West / 13^th Shield MLS) kickoff a three-game road swing, traveling to face Eastern Conference foe Orlando City SC for the first time in three years on Saturday with a 5:30p MT kickoff. RSL arrives in Florida looking to snap two streaks – a six-game winless run in MLS action dating back to May 16, and a seven-game road run without a win since March 7, when HC Pablo Mastroeni’s side won 3-2 at Atlanta.

RSL arrives in Orlando with the sting of dropped points late fresh in the collective soul following Wednesday’s 3-4 loss against FC Dallas, which saw a stoppage-time winner drop RSL to 10-2-2 (W-L-T) overall on Utah soil in 2026, still outscoring visitors 34-15. Prior to this week, the lone home setback arrived on April 22 in an 0-2 loss to Inter Miami CF, while also dropping points in a 1-1 home draw against Tigres. Last Saturday, RSL conceded in the 89^th minute against Minnesota, forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against the visiting Loons, the Claret-and-Cobalt now 18-5-4 (W-L-T) at its America First Field fortress since June 1, 2025.

Saturday’s RSL at Orlando contest on Apple TV features Carlos Mauricio Ramirez and Lori Lindsey on the primary English-language call, with Sergio Ruiz and Walter Roque providing the Spanish-language analysis. Simultaneously, the KSL Radio team of David James and Jay Nolly return to the mic. Manuel Hernandez, Willy Barrueta and Isidro López make up the team responsible for the Spanish broadcast on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM

GAME NOTES for Saturday’s RSL @ Orlando Match Available Online 

The Adobe PDF version of the 2026 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Orlando City can be found HERE. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact RSL Communications via email at RSLcommunications@RSL.com.

In five of RSL’s six August matches, RSL rookie Sergi Solans has found the back of the net, scoring a Club-high 13 goals this season (nine in MLS, two in Leagues Cup, two in the Burnley friendly). The RSL Golden Boot leader has set a new RSL rookie scoring record, breaking Corey Baird’s eight-goal total during his MLS Rookie of the Year season in 2019.

Wednesday against Dallas, RSL climbed back from a 1-3 halftime deficit courtesy of early second-half goals by French-born DP Morgan Guilavogui – scoring his third goal overall (and second in as many appearances, after sitting out last Saturday against Minnesota) and his second in MLS action this year – and star playmaker Diego Luna, who assisted on the Solans and Guilavogui goals before scoring one of his own, his fifth on the season to go with eight assists across all competitions in 2026.

Solans – who enters Saturday with an active four-game scoring streak – has given RSL the 1-0 lead both of the 1-1 draw in August MLS action at St. Louis and vs. Minnesota, games that saw RSL cough up the advantage late, forced to settle for split points. When scoring first during the Mastroeni era, RSL is now 56-11-22 (W-L-T) since August, 2021, while taking a 1-0 lead.

RSL’s return to Major League Soccer action the last two matches arrives on the heels of three consecutive Leagues Cup contests against Liga MX visitors, with the Claret-and-Cobalt advancing to the Quarterfinals on Tuesday against Club León in Denver by outscoring the trio of Mexican sides 8-1, with six different goalscorers and 19 different starters. RSL’s Leagues Cup Phase One trio of performances improved RSL to 8-6-6 all-time (29-25 aggregate goals) against Mexican visitors in the last 22 seasons, with a 20-10-10 mark on the Wasatch Front against all international opponents.

Prior to the Dallas match, RSL had conceded just two goals in four games from August 4-15, coming 353 minutes apart – early against Tigres (sixth minute) and late against Minnesota (89^th minute), with back-to-back clean sheets in its 4-0 win Aug. 8 against Atlante and the 3-0 victory Aug. 11 against Juarez. RSL’s back-to-back clean sheets against Atlante (4-0 on Sat., Aug. 8) and Juarez (3-0 on Tues., Aug. 11) are just the second set of shutouts in the 63-game Rafael Cabral era (2025/26), with the combined 7-0 aggregate over those 180 minutes the most dominant consecutive games in RSL’s 22-year, 850-game history across all competitions.

Saturday’s match at Orlando is the ninth amidst a critical stretch of 12 games in 44 days for RSL across both MLS and Leagues Cup contests, a run that began with late July road losses at LAFC and Portland. While the St. Louis draw on Aug. 1 snapped a two-game losing streak in RSL’s post-World Cup slate following losses at LAFC on July 22 and at Portland on July 25, the Club is forced to carry an active seven-game winless streak away from home into Saturday at Orlando. RSL then plays a neutral-site match in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinal this Tuesday, August 25, against Club León, the No. 1 Liga MX seed in this year’s tourney, with the Semifinals slated for midweek on either Sept. 1-2, and the Final / Third-Place match – critical for CONCACAF Champions Cup trio of spots – to be played on Sunday, Sept. 6.

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has now managed the Club in 207 matches across all competitions, registering 85 wins, 73 losses and 49 draws in MLS, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, Leagues Cup, Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and international friendly contests since late August, 2021. The former U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup standout (2002, 2006), MLS Cup Champion (2010) as a player, and former Colorado Rapids manager (2014-16) has averaged 1.60 points per game with RSL in his 202 matches at the helm. Only Cup-winning former manager Jason Kreis (2007-13) – now the Club’s President of Soccer – boasts more games, more wins and a higher PPG average than Mastroeni in RSL’s 22 seasons.

During the Mastroeni era, resilience, grit and determination have served as trademarks for RSL, with the Club suffering back-to-back losses on just 20 occasions in those 207 games. The August 1 match at St. Louis marked the latest opportunity for the Claret-and-Cobalt to display its “xDAWG” mentality as it earned the result at Energizer Park, previously winning 35 and drawing 17 times in “bounce-back” games following a loss in Mastroeni’s five-plus seasons in Utah – something it looks to replicate Saturday in Orlando.

FOURTH-EVER RSL LEAGUES CUP PARTICIPATION CONTINUES

Real Salt Lake (2-0-1, 7 points, 4^th MLS Leagues Cup) learned late last week the next step in its 2026 Leagues Cup pathway, its neutral-site Quarterfinal matchup against Liga MX top-seed Club León (3-0-0, 9 points) to be played this Tuesday, August 25, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver with an 8:30p MT kickoff on Apple TV (Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth on the call).

Should RSL emerge from Tuesday’s Quarterfinal contest, it would travel to face the winner of Toluca (Liga MX) and Austin FC (MLS). The Toluca match would be held at Shell Energy Field in Houston, while Austin’s Q2 Stadium would host their Semifinal due to Austin’s higher seed. RSL’s could return to America First Field for either the Third-Place Match or the 2026 Leagues Cup Final, against any opponent other than Columbus Crew SC.

RSL and León have met just once before, back in the 2023 Leagues Cup tourney. RSL defeated León, 3-1, in a weather-delayed match at America First Field that saw the Liga MX side take an early lead in the Round of 32 knockout match, before a Danny Musovski brace and Cristian Arango dagger in the final 20 minutes advanced the Utah squad.

2026 LEAGUES CUP QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 25

6:30pm CT | 8:30 ET: CF Monterrey (Liga MX #4) vs. Chicago Fire FC (MLS #1)

SeatGeek Stadium – Bridgeview, IL
Apple TV

8:30 MT | 10:30 ET: Club León (Liga MX #1) vs. Real Salt Lake (MLS #4)

Dick's Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, Colorado
Apple TV

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26

6:30pm MT | 8:30 ET: Toluca FC (Liga MX #3) vs. Austin FC (MLS #2)

Sports Illustrated Stadium – Harrison, NJ
Apple TV | UniMas/TUDN, FS1, TSN 5, Imagen TV

8:45pm MT | 10:45 ET: Club América (Liga MX #2) vs. Columbus Crew (MLS #3)

Dignity Health Sports Park – Carson, CA
Apple TV | UniMas/TUDN, FS1, TSN 5, Televisa, Imagen TV

ROAD TO THE 2026 LEAGUES CUP FINAL

The four Quarterfinal winners will advance to the Leagues Cup Semifinals on September 1-2, with the Third-Place Match and Final scheduled for Sunday, September 6. The Leagues Cup Champion, Runner-up and Third-Place winner will each qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup. To view the complete Leagues Cup 2026 bracket, click here.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for Leagues Cup 2026 Quarterfinal matches will be available in the coming days at LeaguesCup.com/tickets and through the applicable hosting club. MLS club season ticket holders should contact their club representative for additional information.

WHERE TO WATCH

Fans can watch every Leagues Cup match on Apple TV, with select Quarterfinal matches available across Leagues Cup’s linear broadcast partners. Full broadcast information is available at LeaguesCup.com/schedule.

By virtue of the Utah side’s performance in Phase One of this tournament and a combination of results in matchday three, RSL’s accrual of seven points from three Phase One matches and its MLS-best goal differential of +7 – outscoring opponents 8-1, with goals from six different scorers and 19 different starters – ensured the top four finish on the Major League Soccer side of the 2026 bracket.