Real Salt Lake Remains Home Saturday to Host Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Claret/Cobalt Back Home Saturday for Third of Four Consecutive September Saturdays at Home;

Claret-and-Cobalt Look to Build Upon Dominant 10W-3L-3T Record in Sandy v West Leaders;

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

SANDY, Utah (Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026) – This weekend, Real Salt Lake (8W-11L-5T, 29 points, 11^th West / 21^st Shield MLS) continues its home-heavy month of September, with a 7:30p MT kickoff Saturday against visiting global icon Thomas Müller and the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps FC (14W-6L-4T, 46 points, 1^st West / 2^nd Shield). Saturday gives RSL the opportunity to snap a four-game home winless run at America First Field, as well as an 11-game overall stretch without a win in MLS action, dating back to May 16. Tickets are available via www.RSL.com/tickets, in what is expected to be RSL’s 17^th consecutive MLS sellout at America First Field.

Saturday, RSL remains home for the third of four September matches on Utah soil, looking to reclaim the Club’s 2026 home dominance. Despite last week’s 0-2 home loss to New York City FC and the 2-2 draw against LAFC on Sept. 5, RSL does boast an impressive 10-3-3 (W-L-T) overall record on Utah soil this season. Recent setbacks in Sandy since the FIFA World Cup break have dropped the Claret-and-Cobalt to 18-6-5 (W-L-T) at its America First Field fortress since June 1, 2025.  

Saturday’s RSL v Vancouver contest on Apple TV features Brian Dunseth and Max Bretos on the primary English-language call, while Jorge Perez-Navarro and Martin Zuniga will provide the Spanish-language analysis. Simultaneously, the KSL Radio team of David James and Jay Nolly return to the mic. Nelson Moran, now in his 22^nd season as RSL’s Spanish radio voice, along with Willy Barrueta and Isidro López will conduct the Spanish call on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM.

GAME NOTES for Saturday’s RSL v Vancouver Match Available Online 

The Adobe PDF version of the 2026 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’s contest between Real Salt Lake and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 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.

Last Saturday’s match against New York City marked the 13^th and final match played in a 44-day span for RSL across both MLS and Leagues Cup competitions since the summer international break, a run that began with late July road losses at LAFC and Portland. While the Leagues Cup Phase One run was bookended by the St. Louis and Minnesota draws to create a five-game unbeaten streak amidst RSL’s post-World Cup slate, the Club is now seeking to snap the dubious overall winless streak – now at 11 games, the longest during the five-year Pablo Mastroeni era and the third-longest in RSL’s 22 seasons – with this week’s Vancouver visit.

Last Saturday at a sold-out America First Field – hosting its 16^th consecutive MLS sellout, dating back to last August – RSL fell 0-2 against a resurgent NYCFC, suffering its first home shutout since July 19, 2025, in an 0-1 loss to FC Cincinnati. Newly-acquired attacking player Taylor Booth – a former RSL Academy star and a native of Eden, Utah – became the 14^th Club debutant of 2026 and all-time RSL player No. 243 with his late appearance off the bench.  Two other newcomers – DF Luc de Fougerolles, Canadian World Cup starter and FW Dušan Žagar, the 19-year-old Serbian winger, each of whom were added at the transfer window deadline on Sept. 2 – await their Club debuts.

While Booth joined FW Jason Shokalook, MF Colin Guske and Academy M/F Owen Anderson in making their first-ever RSL appearances this month, nearly a dozen players were out due to injury or visa status during last week’s three-game stretch. Canadian World Cup centerback Luc de Fougerolles, former RSL captain Emeka Eneli, midfielder Stijn Spierings and defender Sam Junqua, could all potentially see action Saturday against Vancouver.

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has now managed the Club in 212 matches across all competitions, registering 85 wins, 77 losses and 50 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 23 occasions in those 212 games. Saturday’s contest against NYCFC will be the latest opportunity for the Claret-and-Cobalt to display its “xDAWG” mentality to earn the result, now winning 35 and drawing 18 times in “bounce-back” games following a loss in Mastroeni’s five-plus seasons in Utah.