HERRIMAN, UT (Thursday, May 14, 2026) – Following his first-ever Major League Soccer brace during the second half of Real Salt Lake’s 3-0 home win over Houston Wednesday, emerging RSL star Zavier Gozo has been named to MLSSoccer.com’s “Team of the Matchday” Best XI for 2026 MLS Matchday 13. With the pair of goals, West Valley-born and Eagle Mountain-raised Utah native Gozo moves into the Claret-and-Cobalt’s 2026 Golden Boot lead, with five goals and four assists in 12 games this season, matching rookie striker Sergi Solans’ goal total.
In the home victory for the Utah side, Gozo became the youngest player in RSL’s 22-year history to record multiple goals in the same game, at just 19 years and 54 days old; eclipsing the previous mark set nearly three years ago by current teammate and U.S. World Cup hopeful Diego Luna, who was 19 years and 311 days old back on July 15, 2023.
Despite the brace, Gozo’s pursuit of Major League Soccer’s all-time record for game-winning goal contributions by a teenager is still in effect, due to the early second-half Houston own goal and RSL’s second clean sheet in its last three games deciding the game-winning statistic. With his five goals/assists to clinch the three points in RSL’s first 12 matches still tied with three others in the 31-year history of MLS, Gozo remains three GWCs shy of Diego Fagundez’ mark of eight game-winning contributions in 31 games for the 2013 New England Revolution.
Wednesday's win improved RSL’s 2026 home record to six wins against just one loss, with RSL scoring multiple goals for the eighth time in its last 11 matches. At its America First Field home, RSL has now won 14 games, drawing two and dropping just four of its last 20 matches since June 1, 2025, at its home fortress in Sandy, with an overall streak of 12 consecutive sellouts extended by the 3-0 win over the Dynamo.
Bouncing back from the weekend loss at Dallas, RSL has now suffered back-to-back losses just 19 times in the 195-game Pablo Mastroeni era, demonstrating nearly five years’ worth of grit, tenacity and resilience in winning 34 games and drawing 16 matches in results following a loss.
Scoring first is critical to RSL’s success, as the Claret-and-Cobalt now boast 52 wins and 19 draws against just 10 losses in 195 games when drawing first blood since Mastroeni seized the reins in August, 2021.
RSL now hosts one more match at America First Field in Sandy this Saturday, May 16, in the first of two Rocky Mountain Cup tilts against Colorado this year, the Club’s final home match ahead of the summer FIFA World Cup hiatus (7:30p MT kickoff on Apple TV). Limited tickets remain for all RSL home games, and can be purchased via www.RSL.com/tickets.
The complete Matchday 13 results for MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Matchday can be found below.
F: Zavier Gozo (RSL), Julian Hall (RBNY), Lionel Messi (MIA)
M: David Vazquez (SD), Bryan Acosta (NSH), Sebastian Berhalter (VAN), Calvin Harris (SKC)
D: Nouhou (SEA), Lucas Herrington (COL), Tomas Totland (STL)
GK: Chris Brady (CHI)
Coach: B.J. Callaghan (NSH)
Bench: Matt Freese (NYC), Jeisson Palacios (NSH), Yannick Bright (MIA), Matty Longstaff (MTL), Pedro Soma (SD), Cavan Sullivan (PHI), Cade Cowell (RBNY), Cristian Espinoza (NSH), Martín Ojeda (ORL)
