SANDY, Utah (Saturday, July 15, 2023) – Real Salt Lake (10-7-7, 37 points, T-2nd West) dominated the New York Red Bulls in a 3-1 victory at America First Field, spurred on by a record-breaking performance from 19-year-old midfielder **Diego Luna** and his two goals on either side of the halftime break, along with an insurance dagger from the Club’s 2023 leading scorer **Jefferson Savarino**.
Real Salt Lake started the match fast and furious, taking the lead in the 2nd minute, when Savarino took a **Chicho Arango** service and the Venezuelan’s cross found the right foot of Luna, who hit a low-bouncing shot past the goalkeeper to net his second goal of the season and give the Claret-and-Cobalt its earliest advantage of the season.
The Red Bulls looked to recover from their one-goal deficit and nearly had the equalizer in the 23rd minute, but Cory Burke was unable to land his open-goal opportunity, sending his chip wide left. Despite Real Salt Lake’s continued advances, the team was unable to find the elusive second goal before the end of the first half, settling for the 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
The second half would prove to be as dominant as the first, with Luna netting his first career brace in the 53rd minute, connecting on an intricate give-and-go inside the six from **Danny Musovski** to secure the 2-0 lead.
New York was able to pull one back in the 80th minute, with a goal from Frankie Amaya. However, RSL was quick to respond, scoring its third goal of the night just a minute later, when second-half substitute Bryan Oviedo found Savarino outside the 18-yard-box for the Designated Player to curl into the far post. The Claret-and-Cobalt were able to close out the remaining 10 minutes with ease, securing the 3-1 victory at home heading into the inaugural Leagues Cup tournament, a 47-team/77-game setup between MLS and Liga MX with three CONCACAF Champions Cup berths at stake.
UP NEXT: Real Salt Lake will now switch its focus to the inaugural Leagues Cup, hosting Seattle Sounders (MLS) on Saturday, July 22 and CF Monterrey (Liga MX) on Wednesday, July 26; kickoff for both games is set for 7:30 p.m. MT at America First Field.
GOAL-SCORING SUMMARY:
RSL: Diego Luna (Jefferson Savarino, Chicho Arango) 2nd minute: Arango hit a short pass to Savarino on the wing, where the Venezuelan winger took two touches inside before curving a cross into the box. A streaking Luna landed on the end of the service and one-touched a low bouncing shot inside the far post.
RSL: Diego Luna (Danny Musovski) 53rd minute: A determined Luna picked up a loose ball at the top of the 18-yard-box before slipping a short pass for Musovski, who sent it right back for the young midfielder to slot into the far corner for his second of the night.
RBNY: Frankie Amaya (Kyle Duncan) 80th minute: Duncan hit a hard cross to the middle of the penalty box, where an awaiting Amaya was able to redirect the ball with one touch into the back of the net.
RSL: Jefferson Savarino (Bryan Oviedo) 81st minute: From the wing, Oviedo hit a short pass to Savarino, who drove around his defender to set up a deep shot from five yards outside the 18-yard-box. Savarino rocketed a right-footed shot into the far post.
NOTES:
- 19-year-old Midfielder Diego Luna netted his second and third RSL goals, bringing his career tally to three goals and two three assists in eight matches since returning from the U-20 FIFA World Cup in early June.
- Luna’s two-goal performance made him the youngest player in Real Salt Lake history to record a multi-goal performance, doing so at 19 years and 311 days old.
- The victory marked RSL’s ninth consecutive result, the fourth-longest unbeaten run in the Club’s history, going 5-0-4 (W-L-D) during that time, outscoring its opponents 17 to seven.
- With his assist in the second minute, RSL Designated player Chicho Arango became the first-ever player in RSL’s 19-year, 200-player, 604-game history to score or assist in each of his first three contests with the Club
- RSL improved to 4-4-4 this year at home, as well as 7-0-3 since its last loss (May 31); unbeaten in the months of June and July across both MLS and Open Cup play.
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake (4-4-2): Zac MacMath; Bode Hidalgo, Justen Glad, Brayan Vera, Andrew Brody; Diego Luna (Bryan Oviedo 75’), Braian Ojeda, Pablo Ruiz (Nelson Palacio 75’), Jefferson Savarino (Andres Gomez 86’), Chicho Arango (Damir Kreilach 75’), Danny Musovski (Anderson Julio 65’)
Subs not used: Gavin Beavers, Emeka Eneli, Marcelo Silva, Jasper Löffelsend
New York Red Bulls (4-3-3): Carlos Coronel; Andres Reyes, Sean Nealis, John Tolkin; Peter Stroud, Cameron Harper, Wikelman Carmona (Kyle Duncan 46’), Omir Fernandez (Luquinhas 46’), Daniel Edelman (Frankie Amaya 56’); Cory Burke (Tom Barlow 46’), Dante Vanzeir
Subs not used: Ryan Meara, Elias Manoel, Ronald Donkor, Hassan Ndam
Stats Summary RSL/RBNY
Shots: 9 / 13
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 3 / 1
Corner Kicks: 2 / 6
Fouls: 19 / 6
MISCONDUCT SUMMARYRBNY: John Tolkin (caution) 55’
RSL: Andrew Brody (caution) 83’
RSL: Bryan Oviedo (caution) 84’
RSL: Anderson Julio (caution) 90’
