Several New Roster Additions Expected to Make RSL / MLS Debuts This February;
RSL Looking for Third Win in Last Five Visits to B.C. Place on Saturday;
Claret-and-Cobalt Hoping to Snap Two-Year Road Opener Losing Streak;
America First Field Portion of 2026 Slate Kicks Off Next Saturday, Feb. 28, at 5:30p MT;
Tickets Available at www.RSL.com/tickets
HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, Feb. 20, 2026) – RSL arrives at Saturday’s Major League Soccer 2026 “First Kick” contest in Vancouver against the defending Western Conference champions to kick off its 22nd MLS campaign, with a 5:30p MT kickoff available on Apple TV.
With a result Saturday at B.C. Place, RSL would secure points for the third time in its last five trips to Vancouver (wins in 2023 and 2024, losses in 2022 and 2025, all by a 2-1 scoreline). Sixth-year Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side then returns home to kick off its 2026 America First Field campaign on the Wasatch Front next Saturday, Feb. 28 with a 5:30p MT kickoff against Seattle Sounders FC, the long-time West rival which has not won on Utah soil since 2012. Tickets available NOW for the 2026 home opener at www.RSL.com/tickets.
RSL returns to B.C. Place Saturday looking to snap a two-game road losing streak in MLS season openers (losses at San Jose last year and at Miami in 2024), with RSL seeking to secure its third road result in its last five yearly kickoffs away (RSL won at Vancouver in 2023, a comeback 2-1 win with goals from Justen Glad and Damir Kreilach, while drawing 0-0 at Houston in 2022).
This weekend’s RSL contest is available via Apple TV, with Keith Costigan and Maurice Edu (ENG) on the call, as is Raúl Guzman (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 now in his 22nd RSL season as RSL’s Spanish radio voice on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM.
With another 2026 postseason berth this November, RSL would extend its West-best active playoff streak to six consecutive seasons (Orlando enters 2026 with six straight in the East), the Claret-and-Cobalt having advanced to the postseason in seven of the last eight seasons and 15 of the last 18 years, its near-perennial placement missing out only in the 2015, 2017 and 2020 campaigns.
This year, Mastroeni and staff have elected to make a tactical change from the last two seasons, choosing a back three setup with wingbacks on both the right and left, attacking and defending in a 3-5-2 formation, a departure from the previous 4-2-3-1 that expected the left back (typically DF Alex Katranis) to maraud up and down the left side in the game model’s most demanding position.
The new-look setup gives the central midfield No. 10 keys to Diego Luna (USA), underneath a pair of strikers Victor Olatunji (Nigeria) and Morgan Guilavogui (Guinea). RSL Homegrown and USA U-20 standout Zavier Gozo features at right wingback in this setup, although he can play any of the four attacking positions, with Guilavogui also providing multi-positional flexibility.
Opposite Gozo over on the left wing in the first-choice XI is Uruguayan World Cup hopeful Juan Manuel Sanabria, the most expensive non-DP in RSL history, purchased weeks ago from Atlético San Luis (Liga MX). RSL retains the double-pivot in midfield, with primary choices of experienced Dutch arrival Stijn Spierings (formerly Brøndby IF) and injured Emeka Eneli (knee) replaced this week by third-year stalwart Noel Caliskan and RSL homegrown Luca Moisa, poised to make his MLS debut.
The three-man backline features longtime RSL veteran and homegrown poster boy Justen Glad – now trailing only Club luminaries Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman in games, starts and minutes played – flanked by newcomer Lukas Engel on the left and two-time U.S. World Cup selection DeAndre Yedlin on the right. Engel and Yedlin paired well on and off the field last year with FC Cincinnati, where Engel – a Danish player previously owned by Middlesbrough (EFL Championship) – played 41 games on loan to the East power … RSL acquired Yedlin via trade at the summer window close in 2025, the veteran’s leadership, flexibility, poise and steady excellence on display during the final eight games last year.
In goal, RSL “Iron Man” GK Rafael Cabral – who wore the armband for 23 consecutive games last year since Emeka Eneli’s May 24 injury – was the lone player to start each of RSL’s 40 games across multiple competitions in his debut year in MLS / Utah, playing each and every one of the 3,600 available minutes in 2025, including his historic penalty-kick shootout performance in July against Club América.
Mastroeni welcomes two new coaches to his bench in 2025, with third-year assistant Anthony Pulis elevated and Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Real Monarchs assistant, 2024/25; former EPL / EFL player) and Fredric Brillant (former NYCFC player, former Utah Royals FC assistant) joining RSL. GK Coach Mirza Harambasic remains on staff along with lead Video Analyst Rob Rogers, the group looking to attain the heights of 2024, when RSL delivered its Club-best campaign of 59 points from 34 games and 65 goals scored.
Last Friday, RSL concluded its 2026 preseason slate with a 3-3 draw in Palm Springs, Calif., against the LA Galaxy. RSL saw goals scored by homegrown FW Zavier Gozo, newcomer Juan Manuel Sanabria, and U.S. Men’s National Team standout Diego Luna. Earlier in the trip. RSL drew 1-1 with USL Championship side Orange County SC, with Gozo also notching a goal in that match. Overall, RSL finished the preseason with a 2W-1L-2T record, defeating a pair of Danish Superliga sides in The Atlantic Cup tourney in Portugal, both by 2-1 scorelines. The Algarve finale was also the site of RSL’s lone preseason loss, 0-2, to fellow MLS side FC Dallas.
Fans can tune into Saturday’s match against Vancouver Whitecaps with an AppleTV subscription that can be found here. Season ticket and four-game packages NOW AVAILABLE at www.RSL.com/tickets.
