Real Salt Lake Returns Home Saturday Against LAFC

RSL Kicks Off Run of Four Consecutive September Saturdays at Home;

Claret-and-Cobalt Look to Build Upon Dominant 10-2-2 Record in Sandy w/ Standing-Room Only Crowd;

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

HERRIMAN, Utah (Friday, Sept. 4, 2026) – Saturday, Real Salt Lake (8W-9L-4T, 28 points, 10^th West / 16^th Shield MLS) kicks off a home-heavy month of September with a 7:30p MT kickoff against LAFC (10W-7L-6T, 36 points, 3^rd West / 7^th Shield). The first of four home games for RSL to be played each of the next four Saturdays – with two midweek road trips to Houston and Seattle on Sept. 9 and 23 – RSL welcomes MLS icons Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga to Sandy looking to snap two active streaks: a four-game losing streak across all competitions and an eight-game winless run in MLS action dating back to May 16. Next Wednesday at Houston, RSL will look to snap its active nine-game road run without a win since March 7, when HC Pablo Mastroeni’s side won 3-2 at Atlanta.

RSL fell 3-1 at LAFC earlier this summer, in its first post-World Cup contest back on July 22 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Son and Bouanga each scored on blisteringly precise counterattacks in the first half of RSL’s statistically-dominant performance, while RSL left centerback Lukas Engel scored late to avoid the shutout suffered, his first goal in 50 Major League Soccer contests. All-time, RSL is just 4W-16L-1T against the 2018 MLS expansion side, with the Black-and-Gold giving RSL its worst-ever home loss with a 5-1 win in that year’s Sandy opener.

Saturday at a standing-room only America First Field – hosting its 15^th consecutive MLS sellout, dating back to last August – could see the debuts of two RSL newcomers, with Eden, Utah native and former RSL Academy player Taylor Booth potentially seeing action in the venue which inspired him to pursue a professional career. Newly-acquired FW Jason Shokalook could also join the elder Booth in becoming all-time RSL player No. 241/242. Last week at Colorado, another of RSL’s all-time Club-high seven summer window additions, MF Colin Guske, became No. 240 in RSL’s 22-year history to see MLS action, the loanee from Orlando playing the final 20+ minutes in Colorado.

Saturday’s RSL v LAFC contest on Apple TV features Brian Dunseth and Max Bretos on the primary English-language call, while Diego Pessolano and Daniel Chapela will provide the Spanish-language analysis. Simultaneously, the KSL Radio team of David James and Jay Nolly return to the mic, with Nelson Moran – now in his 22^nd RSL season as RSL’s Spanish radio voice – conducting the Spanish call on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM.

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

The Adobe PDF version of the 2026 RSL Game Guide in advance of Saturday’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 returns home to America First Field for the first time since mid-August, looking to extend the Club’s recent home dominance. Despite the late-summer trend of dropped points late – the 81^st-minute concession in a 2-1 loss at Orlando fresh in the collective soul following a 3-4 home loss against FC Dallas on August 19 – RSL does boast an impressive 10-2-2 (W-L-T) overall on Utah soil in 2026. Back on August 15, 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 match against LAFC marks the 11^th amidst a critical stretch of 13 games in 44 days for RSL across both MLS and Leagues Cup competitions, 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 two-game winless run at home Saturday against LAFC.

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has now managed the Club in 209 matches across all competitions, registering 85 wins, 75 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 23 occasions in those 209 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 at home.