2025 MLS Cup Playoff Push Includes Three of Next Four to be Played on Utah Soil;
Both Matches This Week vs. LAFC + Heung-Min Son, Including Sunday in LA;
RSL w/ Six Wins, Two Draws in Last 10 at Home Since June 1;
Tickets Available via *www.RSL.com/tickets*
HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025) – Real Salt Lake (10-14-4, 34 points, 10th West / 20th Shield) returns to America First Field in Sandy with Wednesday’s 7:30p MT Major League Soccer regular-season match against West rival LAFC (12-7-8, 44 points, 5th West / 13th Shield). This highly-anticipated midweek contest continues a critical three-game week following Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Kansas City, as RSL remains in pursuit of a coveted 2025 postseason qualification slot, the Claret-and-Cobalt sitting one point behind 9th-place San Jose despite two fewer games played, with six remaining on the season.
Wednesday’s contest is available via Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with Neil Sika and Lloyd Sam (ENG) on the call, as are Jose Bauz and Natalia Astrain (SPN). Iconic RSL voice David James and former MLS goalkeeper Jay Nolly will call the game for KSL Sports Radio (1160 AM / 97.5 FM), with Nelson Moran in his 21st season as RSL’s Spanish radio home on both 102.3 KDUT FM / 106.3 FM KBMG.
In Saturday’s home win, RSL welcomed the return of three perennial 2025 starters – Diego Luna (USA), Braian Ojeda (Paraguay) and Zavier Gozo (USA U-20) – from international duty, with Luna scoring the game’s opening goal and 18-year-old Utah native Gozo securing his first-ever multi-assist match, providing assists on both goals, including the 62nd-minute game-winner from DF Alex Katranis. Luna returned to play for the first time ever with both new RSL roster additions Victor Olatunji and Rwan Cruz, while the Club’s newest player, MLS veteran and former USMNT standout DeAndre Yedlin is expected to return to action this week after serving a caution accumulation suspension Saturday.
The Luna goal on Saturday gave the 22-year-old MLS All-Star a Club-best ninth goal on the current MLS season, to go with five assists. Luna also provided one goal in RSL’s Leagues Cup trio of matches, his 10 goals across all competitions this season eclipsing his previous career-high of eight goals, set last season. RSL has now scored first in 19 of 33 matches played in MLS reg. season, Leagues Cup and Champions Cup this year, recording nine wins and four draws against six losses when drawing first blood. The July 26 comeback home win against San Jose marks the lone victory recorded in 2025 when conceding first.
Saturday’s 2-1 win snapped a three-game losing streak for RSL, its longest since August, 2023; since former USMNT star and MLS veteran Pablo Mastroeni seized the Claret-and-Cobalt head coaching reins in August, 2021, RSL has dropped consecutive games just 16 times in 175 matches during the Mastroeni era, winning 30 and drawing 15 in games following a loss.
Game Notes for Wednesday’s RSL v LAFC Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2025 RSL Game Guide in advance of Wednesday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and LAFC 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*.
RSL now remains at home to play three of its next four contests on Utah soil from Wednesday through early October, before ending the 2025 reg. season campaign with two games away: the penultimate weekend on Oct. 11 at Seattle in a match rescheduled due to the Sounders’ recent Leagues Cup advancement, and at St. Louis for MLS “Decision Day” on October 18. RSL now looks to seize home momentum – where it boasts six wins and two draws against just two losses since June 1 – looking to pursue a Western Conference playoff spot for the fifth consecutive season. Tickets are available at www.RSL.com/tickets.
RSL now puts its 8-8-3 (W-L-T) home mark on the Wasatch Front thus far this year in MLS, Champions Cup and Leagues Cup matches on the line against LAFC on Wednesday, while also continuing its active three-game unbeaten run against the Black-and-Gold. A year ago, RSL’s dramatic 3-0 “snowmaggedon” win in Sandy was part of the Club. amassing a 12-3-4 (W-L-T) record at home, where the Club has traditionally enjoyed a fortress-like record of success, winning nearly 70% of games and averaging just under two points per game in parts of 17 seasons across all competitions at what is now America First Field.
The 3-1 victory at San Diego on April 26 marked Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s 100th career coaching win across all competitions for the two Rocky Mountain Cup competitors, RSL (2021-present) and Colorado (2014-17). The former U.S. World Cup stalwart has now amassed 106 wins, 118 losses and 80 draws across all competitions for the Utah/Denver-based sides. Last June in Kansas City, Mastroeni earned his 50th win across all competitions with RSL in a wild 4-3 road decision, with the 2-0 reg. season win over LA Galaxy on April 5 marking his 50th MLS victory with RSL. Since August, 2021, his arrival in Utah, Mastroeni’s all-time RSL coaching record is now 69-62-44 (W-L-T).
During each of Pablo’s previous three full seasons at the RSL helm, the Club has increased its annual point total (47 in 2022, 50 in 2023 and 59 last year), while increasing its Western Conference table position as well (7th in 2022, 5th in 2023 and 3rd last year). The 2025 campaign features RSL’s pursuit of a Conference-best fifth consecutive postseason berth, a seventh in the last eight seasons and its 15th in the last 18 years.
Last year saw RSL advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a fourth consecutive occasion, the sixth time in seven seasons (2020 the lone exception), and for the 14th time in the last 17 seasons since first qualifying in 2008 (2015, 2017 the other outliers). The 2024 MLS regular season reached an all-time high of 59 points for RSL, which finished third in the Western Conference and sixth overall in the then-29-team MLS Shield race, while also establishing a new all-time scoring high of 65 goals.
--- ***www.RSL.com*** ---
