RSL Captain and “Iron Man” Rafael Cabral Sweeps Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year Honors, with USMNT Playmaker Diego Luna Capturing 2025 Golden Boot and Humanitarian Recognition
HERRIMAN, Utah (Tuesday, October 28, 2025) – Real Salt Lake’s locker room today unveiled its 2025 Team Award Winners, following the 40-game campaign that saw RSL compete in four distinct competitions, finishing ninth overall in the Western Conference and qualifying for its fifth consecutive postseason. Due to the “Decision Day” Wild Card qualification with a dramatic 2-2 draw at St. Louis, the Claret-and-Cobalt have earned one of 18 MLS berths in the 2025 Leagues Cup, while participation in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is anticipated as well after RSL earned its 15th postseason appearance in the last 18 years and RSL’s sixth MLS Cup Playoff berth in the last eight seasons ended with last week’s 3-1 loss at Portland in the West Wild Card matchup.
A mix of statistical, community-service oriented and peer-selected honors, RSL’s 2025 Team Awards recognize just two different players – first-year GK Rafael Cabral (Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year) and M/F Diego Luna (Golden Boot and Humanitarian of the Year) – for their contributions to Real Salt Lake’s 21st season, on and off the pitch.
“IRON MAN” CABRAL NAMED 2025 RSL MVP :: “Iron Man” GK Rafael Cabral – who also wore the Captain’s armband for 23 consecutive games to finish the 40-game campaign since Emeka Eneli’s May 24 injury – established a NEW all-time RSL record with 3,600 minutes played in 2025. As the lone player to start each of RSL’s 40 games across multiple competitions this year, Cabral played each and every one of 34 MLS reg. season games (3,060 minutes) to match Zac MacMath’s MLS mark, set in the 2022 campaign. With the additional 540 minutes played – at an impressive level of excellence in CONCACAF Champions Cup, the 2025 Leagues Cup and the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs – first-year GK Cabral set a new standard for RSL this season.
After making global headlines for his historic penalty-kick shootout performance in July against Club América, in Leagues Cup, Cabral was one of five MLS ‘keepers to appear in all 34 reg. season contests for their clubs. The 35-year-old veteran Brazilian led MLS with four regulation penalty-kick saves during a year that included nine clean sheets, including one on his debut Feb. 19 in Costa Rica and his latest in the Oct. 4 home win against Colorado. Midway through the 2025 campaign, Cabral saw his RSL contract extended after coming up big multiple times to keep RSL close this season, now ranking amongst the top 10 MLS ‘keepers in saves this season. Cabral boasts numerous honors from his 462-game career prior to the Utah move, Cabral playing with legendary global clubs such as Santos (Brazil), Napoli (Italy), Reading (England) and Cruzeiro (Brazil). Cabral won the 2011 Copa Libertadores with Santos, the most prominent honor amongst his nine career trophies. Known for his ability to play the ball with his feet, Cabral’s “sweeper-keeper” tendencies mesh well with RSL’s back three setup in possession.
LUMINESCENT LUNA EARNS 2025 RSL GOLDEN BOOT :: The face of the Gold Cup, reigning MLS Young Player of the Year, burgeoning USMNT playmaker, 2024/25 MLS All-Star and Utah Male Professional Athlete of the Year Diego Luna won RSL’s 2025 Golden Boot, with 10 goals and 7 assists across all competitions this season.
Luna – who scored his team-high 10th goal across all competitions Sept. 13 – took the field for the first time with BOTH Rwan Cruz and Victor Olatunji in the two mid-Sept. KC/LAFC games, after starting in the U.S. friendly loss to South Korea and coming off the bench in the win over Japan in the most recent international window, making 14 of a possible 15 appearances for Mauricio Pochettino’s team in the 2025 calendar year.
An eventful June/July saw Luna back in Utah on July 12 after having scored three goals and adding two assists in the Quarterfinal and Semifinal stages for team USA earlier this summer, prior to dropping the Sunday, July 6 Gold Cup final against Mexico. Luna returned to Utah on Monday, took Tuesday off – just one of three days off offered by Mastroeni and staff – resumed training Wednesday, held a press conference that Thursday and played the full 90 in the July 12, 1-0 home win over Houston … At the MLS All-Star Game in Austin, Luna was one of MLS’ featured faces, participating heavily in the MLS Skills Challenge and playing the final 45 minutes of the MLS 3-1 win over the Liga MX All-Stars.
Luna scored his team-high ninth MLS goal of the year Sept. 13 v Kansas City, while providing the team-leading sixth and seventh assists two weeks later v Austin. Luna’s individual brilliance on May 10 at Dallas and a late penalty scored May 3 at Vancouver came on the heels of his second “brace” of his season, the third two-goal performance of his career in the 3-1 win at San Diego April 26. Back on April 5 at home against the LA Galaxy, Luna recorded a five-minute brace to lead RSL, and capture MLS Team of the Matchday honors for the second time this season. In mid-March for the U.S. Men’s National Team, Luna provided the assist in a first-half equalizer of an eventual third-place game loss to Canada.
For RSL, Luna started and went the full 90 in recent weeks in San Jose and against Seattle, starting against the Earthquakes after not training with the group due to the shattered nose suffered in the USA’s 3-0 win over Costa Rica on Jan. 22. The creator of six big chances in 45 minutes that day, Luna recovered quickly from a gruesome 20th-minute broken nose to set up the game-winning assist to Brian White. Praised by Pochettino for his “Big Balls!” on the TNT postgame, Luna has regained fitness in recent weeks, wearing a protective mask for his nose, with the “Batman” look expected to be omnipresent for the next three months while his nasal cavities recover from the trauma, which included several broken bones. A year ago, Luna had 8 goals and 12 assists en route to a spectacular MLS All-Star campaign, the now 22-year-old playmaker leading RSL in 2025 … Luna signed a new contract in mid-2024, now considered a U22 player for MLS roster designations, inked to RSL through the 2028 season.
CABRAL DOUBLES UP WITH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD ::
For just the third time in 21 seasons all-time (Nick Rimando 2012/2013), an RSL goalkeeper was named the Club’s Defensive Player of the Year, Cabral selected this season to snap a run that had seen RSL Homegrown defenders snare the peer-voted honor (Justen Glad (2016, 2017, 2024); Andrew Brody (2022); Brooks Lennon (2018); and Aaron Herrera (2019, 2020, 2021) earned the award over the last decade, along with Brayan Vera (2023).
LUNA NAMED COMMUNITY MVP :: As previously announced, fourth-year RSL attacker Diego Luna was named the Club’s Jordan Guernsey Humanitarian of the Year for his wide-ranging and extensive work in the community this season, advocating for mental health awareness and supporting numerous Special Olympics initiatives.
Earlier this year, Luna was named the state of Utah’s Male Professional Athlete of the Year by the Governor’s office and the Utah Sports Commission, highlighting not only his on-field play but also Luna’s three-year / four-season history on the Wasatch Front of positively impacting the community and relationship with local youth teams, especially as it relates to mental health and therapy advocacy.
Specifically, Luna has worked closely with local Salt Lake City schools, Utah, Salt Lake and Davis County youth soccer clubs and numerous after-school programs to highlight the importance of addressing one’s mental health and pursuing the help that therapy can offer. Luna has dedicated himself to breaking the stigma around mental health and therapy, particularly in communities where seeking support is still misunderstood or seen as a sign of weakness.
“I’ve come to appreciate the privilege I have with this professional sports platform to help inspire and be a voice for positive change, and I’m honored to be recognized as the Club’s 2025 Humanitarian of the Year,” said Luna, as RSL competes for its fifth-consecutive postseason berth and the U.S. National Team prepares for its upcoming international friendlies. “Giving back to the great State of Utah and all of our Claret-and-Cobalt communities has become such an important part of my life, and through this recognition I’m now even further committed to driving forward progress in this special place that means so much to me.”
In September, Audi of America, Major League Soccer (MLS) and The Players’ Tribune announced that Real Salt Lake playmaker and U.S. Men’s National Team star Diego Luna would be featured in the Celebrating Impact content series for his demonstration of excellence in driving progress in his community.
Working directly with Luna – RSL’s leading scorer in 2025 (10 goals, seven assists) and the Club’s first back-to-back MLS All-Star in nearly a decade – to spotlight causes that are important to him, content was unveiled through written, video, and social across The Players’ Tribune’s and MLS’ channels, amplifying the power of Luna’s unique voice and raising awareness for charities close to his heart.
In support of Diego Luna’s incredible work driving progress off the field, Audi made a $50,000 contribution through the Audi Goals Drive Progress fund to the nonprofit organizations selected by Luna: Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital and the Wasatch Canyons Behavioral Health Center.
In 2015, the club announced that the Humanitarian of the Year Award would be named in honor of one of Real Salt Lake’s biggest fans, the late Jordan Guernsey, whose passion for work in the community embodied the spirit of the award. Each player who receives the award is presented the award by Guernsey’s wife Paola and their children, Izzy and Kyle, along with the RSL Community Relations group, and RSL/URFC President John Kimball.
ALL-TIME RSL SEASON-ENDING AWARD HONOREES ::
RSL Most Valuable Player: Rafael Cabral (2025), Emeka Eneli (2024), Pablo Ruiz (2023), Justen Glad (2022), Damir Kreilach (2021), Damir Kreilach (2020), Everton Luiz (2019), Damir Kreilach (2018), Albert Rusnák (2017), Kyle Beckerman (2016), Javier Morales (2015), Joao Plata (2014), Kyle Beckerman (2013), Kyle Beckerman (2012), Kyle Beckerman (2011), Javier Morales (2010), Nat Borchers (2009), Javier Morales (2008), Nick Rimando (2007), Jeff Cunningham (2006), Andy Williams (2005)
RSL Golden Boot Award: Diego Luna (2025), Chicho Arango (2024), Jefferson Savarino (2023), Sergio Cordova (2022), Damir Kreilach (2021), Damir Kreilach (2020), Albert Rusnák (2019), Damir Kreilach (2018), Albert Rusnák (2017), Joao Plata (2016), Javier Morales (2015), Joao Plata (2014), Álvaro Saborío (2013), Álvaro Saborío (2012), Álvaro Saborío (2011), Álvaro Saborío (2010), Robbie Findley (2009), Yura Movsisyan (2008), Robbie Findley (2007), Jeff Cunningham (2006), Jason Kreis (2005)
RSL Defensive Player of the Year: Rafael Cabral (2025), Justen Glad (2024), Brayan Vera (2023), Andrew Brody (2022), Aaron Herrera (2021), Aaron Herrera (2020), Aaron Herrera (2019), Brooks Lennon (2018), Justen Glad (2017), Justen Glad (2016), Aaron Maund (2015), Chris Schuler (2014), Nick Rimando (2013), Nick Rimando (2012), Nat Borchers (2011), Nat Borchers (2010), Jamison Olave (2009), Nat Borchers (2008), Eddie Pope (2007), Carey Talley (2006), Eddie Pope (2005)
Jordan Guernsey Humanitarian of the Year: Diego Luna (2025), Matt Crooks (2024), Zac MacMath (2023), Damir Kreilach (2022), Zac MacMath (2021), Kyle Beckerman (2020), Kyle Beckerman (2019), Kyle Beckerman (2018), Justin Schmidt (2017), Jordan Allen and Justen Glad (2016), Abdoulie Mansally (2015), Abdoulie Mansally (2014), Chris Wingert (2013), Will Johnson (2012), Jean Alexandre (2011), Jean Alexandre (2010), Robbie Russell (2009), Nat Borchers (2008), Carey Talley (2007), Seth Trembly (2006), Brian Kamler (2005)
