Welcome to the fifth installment of The Playoff Countdown, our newest Storylines subseries, which has taken narrative center stage in these final weeks of the domestic season, and explores all of the pertinent, pressing questions regarding the contemporary outlook, ramifications, possibilities, and all there is on Real Salt Lake’s 2025 MLS Cup Playoff quest.
This week, the antagonist of our latest rendering bears a particular familiar flavor.
RSL’s pursuit of postseason salvation was infused with a fresh lease on hopeful life last time out, as Pablo Mastroeni’s men laid out a comfortable 3-1 home thrashing of opponents Austin FC, leaving the Claret-and-Cobalt with not only a chance of postseason qualification, but even the possibility of hosting the West play-in match.
In the service of that mission, the next assignment for the Claret-and-Cobalt lies in a blockbuster Rocky Mountain Cup derby, as Mastroeni and Co. welcome bitter perennial rivals Colorado Rapids to America First Field in what certainly promises to be an enthralling affair between two teams with desperate playoff ambitions.
Storylines runs the rule — as is customary tradition — on the most captivating narratives, information, and implications of which to be cognizant ahead of this weekend’s latest renewal between old foes.
Playoff outlook: perseverance for the fight
Just when you thought it might be over, when all appeared finally done-and-dusted, another twist of good fortune in the form of three home points, a wave of the magician’s wand to draw you in all over again.
Real Salt Lake remain in the hunt for the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, looking to extend its Conference-best run to five years, seven of the last 10, and 15 of the last 18 — only just, but perhaps just enough.
Time, in the end, will surely tell.
In unabashed truth, whether RSL will eventually manage qualification to the league’s postseason festivities, come the end of the regular campaign, is a question that thus far persistently continues to evade all attempts at a definitive resolution. But Mastroeni and Co. ensure, at the very least, it is consistently being asked time and time again.
With opportunity on the line, Mastroeni’s men ensured there were no lingering hangovers from the preceding week’s double-defeat to LAFC, keeping themselves in the race with a comprehensive 3-1 trouncing of sixth-placed Austin FC - also an Open Cup finalist - at America First Field last weekend.
Goals from midfielder Braian Ojeda and defender DeAndre Yedlin (his first in RSL colours) put the Claret-and-Cobalt in firm control of the tie, and striker Victor Olatunji continued his impressive goalscoring start with the third goal, an instinctive lob over the goalkeeper late on to put the final seal on the victory.
In a game navigated, in truth, with a minimum of fuss, Mastroeni’s men were equal parts ruthless and entertaining in a generally-commanding performance and triumph which never truly looked much in danger at any point during the night.
The result meant the Claret-and-Cobalt concluded the matchday in 11th spot in the West standings, on 37 points, three points behind eighth-placed rivals Colorado Rapids and only a single point behind ninth-placed San Jose, with a game in hand on both teams. Mastroeni’s side also sit a single point behind 10th-placed FC Dallas, with the position in itself being of naught consequence in the playoff race, but manager Eric Quill’s side constitute another of the teams currently above RSL and also in the same pursuit for a postseason berth, on an equal amount of games played.
Last season, the Vancouver Whitecaps managed to advance to the Western Conference quarterfinals of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, following an eighth-place league table finish, via a victory over ninth-placed Portland Timbers in the customary “play-in” precursor to determine which of the two positions gets the reward of postseason proper against the No. 1 overall seed
Again this season, the traditional playoff rules dictate that the top nine teams at the end of the regular season each stand a chance of postseason contention, but only after the 8th v 9th play-in round, which will pit the bottom two eligible teams against each other.
Victory on Saturday against Colorado could potentially catapult RSL all the way to 8th place, provided results elsewhere prove favorable, but with just three matches left, and the regular season end now appearing precariously on the horizon, the play-in route increasingly appears to be RSL’s likeliest path into the playoffs.
A two-for-the-price-of-one-type affair
RSL v Colorado arrives crucially now at the business end of the season, with plenty and more on offer. Both teams remain critically locked in at this season’s late stage for a postseason spot but the renewal of rivalries at the weekend also presents the opportunity for pride and, even more importantly, a piece of silverware, and the kind of momentum it could promise for the victors in the final few games of the campaign.
Both teams have already met once earlier in the year, when a second-half Đjorđie Mihailović strike condemned Mastroeni’s men to a 1-0 defeat at DSG Park in mid-May.
RSL remain record holders of the Rocky Mountain Cup — with 15 titles compared to Colorado's meager five (not including the disputed 2020 affair) — but Mastroeni’s men go into the weekend’s latest iteration of this bitter rivalry filled with the knowledge that only a multi-goal win for RSL will prevent manager Chris Armas’ Rapids from successfully defending a title they reclaimed in 2024 and lift the fan-created trophy for the second successive year.
Overcoming recent history, however, will be the order of the day for Mastroeni and Co. — the Rapids have won each of the last two meetings between the two sides, with RSL’s last victory in the tie arriving all the way back in May 2024, the last time both teams met at America First Field, where goals from former stars Cristian Arango (two), Andres Gomez (two), and Anderson Julio led the Claret-and-Cobalt to a comprehensive 5-3 comeback in an enthralling home contest.
This year, the Claret-and-Cobalt will surely be buoyed by a number of in-form players, led by star midfidfielder Diego Luna. RSL’s diminutive creator-in-chief conjured two impressive assists last time out in the 3-1 win against Austin FC, as the icing on the cake on a dominant team performance. Alongside him, striker Olatunji will also be raring to go and aiming to continue his own encouraging start to life on the Wasatch Front, with two goals in his opening five appearances.
Midfielder Braian Ojeda continues to constitute the surprise goalscoring package, with five goals across all competitions this season making him the team’s second highest goalscorer in all 36 games, while the likes of Diogo Goncalves, DeAndre Yedlin, and Brayan Vera did themselves no manner of disservice whatsoever with each of their level of performance, and goalkeeper Rafael Cabral also continues to set the standard with a consistent level of performance in such a manner that now goes even without saying.
Saturday’s opponents, however, arrive at the Wasatch Front on the back of a draw and one defeat in their last two outings, with Armas side’s 1-1 stalemate against Minnesota last weekend precipitated by a 1-3 defeat away at Dallas the Saturday prior.
RSL convene at America First Field on a slight ripple of positivity safe in the knowledge that victory against its rivals will be crucial in the form of winning precious points off a direct playoff challenger and should push Mastroeni’s men one step closer towards a fifth successive playoff berth.
Remaining 2025 schedule
The conclusion of Saturday’s home affair will leave Mastroeni and Co. with merely two matches left to decide their playoff destiny.
Saturday, October 11th: Away at Seattle (fifth West)
Saturday, October 18th: Away at St. Louis (13th West).
Secure your tickets for the weekend’s contest of consequence in Sandy, right here.
