Storylines | Real Salt Lake Welcomes Defending West Champion Vancouver

Unable to earn an MLS win since returning from the international break, recently falling to New York City FC at home, Real Salt Lake now looks ahead to this weekend’s matchup against Vancouver as it remains at home for the third of four September Saturday home games. RSL now looks to win in front of yet another capacity home crowd as new talent emerges to bolster Mastroeni’s forces.  

This edition of Storylines introduces the new faces added to the Real Salt Lake roster during the the summer transfer window, while exploring the Club’s history against the Whitecaps.

Real Salt Lake’s New Faces  

The most recent summer transfer window saw multiple additions to the roster, including Utah native and former RSL Academy product Taylor Booth, standout MLS NEXT Pro striker Jason Shokalook, Canadian World Cup defender Luc de Fougerolles, former Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske, Georgian attacker Saba Lobjanidze, and Serbian winger Dušan Žagar.

Taylor Booth, older brother of current RSL midfielder Zach Booth, made his debut last weekend during its matchup against New York City FC, coming on in the 76th minute. With the substitution, the Eden, Utah native became the 243rd all-time player for Real Salt Lake in the Club’s 22-year history, and the third Utahn to represent the Claret-and-Cobalt this season. Booth returns to his hometown Club at least through June, 2027, after spending the last several seasons in the Netherlands with FC Utrecht.

Jason Shokalook, acquired from Chicago Fire FC, made his initial appearance for Real Salt Lake against LAFC back on September 5, after subbing on in the 89th minute. The following match, Shokalook made his first-ever start for RSL in the heartbreaking, 87th-minute loss away at Houston. A standout in MLS NEXT Pro, Shokalook finished the 2025 season as an MVP candidate, after securing the MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot, scoring 20 goals in his 22 appearances for Chicago Fire II last year. Shokalook was drafted with the 35th overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft to the Fire out of the University of Akron, where he enjoyed a storied NCAA career.

Real Salt Lake is hopeful in anticipating the debut of Canadian international Luc de Fougerolles, acquired via loan from Fulham FC of the English Premier League. The latest arrival in the MLS’ summer 2026 transfer window, the centerback made five 2026 FIFA World Cup appearances this summer, with four starts in the once-in-a-lifetime quadrennial on home soil. Pending his P-1 visa approval, the 2025 Canada Soccer Young Player of the Year’s young experience should stabilize the oft-injured RSL back line. 

Holding midfielder Colin Guske made his first appearance for Salt Lake during a 1-0 loss at Colorado on August 29, subbing on in the 72nd minute just a week after being acquired via loan from Orlando City. The 19-year-old midfielder then made his first-ever RSL start at Houston on September 9. Guske notched 16 first-team appearances and four starts during his time with Orlando, where he was a 2024 MLS NEXT All-Star, racking up 45 matches with the Florida MLS NEXT Pro side, including one goal and four assists. 

Back on July 1, attacker Saba Lobjanidze was acquired from Atlanta United FC, where he recorded 17 goals and 24 assists in 100 appearances across all competitions in three-plus seasons. In 2026 alone, Saba notched two goals and one assist in 13 MLS games with Atlanta. The midfielder scored 10 goals during his first full season in MLS back in 2024, in addition to seven assists, giving him a career-high 17 goal contributions. The 31-year-old international from Tbilisi, Georgia, made his first appearance for Salt Lake on July 22 at LAFC, coming on for Diego Luna in the second half, assisting on Lukas Engel’s goal in his Claret-and-Cobalt debut. Saba has now notched two goals for RSL, the first against LAFC on September 5, and the second the following match against Houston Dynamo, the first back-to-back games with goals in his 113-game MLS career. 

Lastly, Dušan Žagar has signed with the RSL squad as the latest U22, but has yet to arrive stateside due to the visa process since being transferred from FK IMT Belgrade of the Serbian Super Liga. The 19-year-old notched 42 appearances for IMT Belgrade as a teenager, scoring three goals. With several young, emerging talents joining a squad that blends familiar faces with new additions, Real Salt Lake now has 10 reg. season games remaining in the 2026 season to integrate its newest players and capitalize on the depth they bring to the roster, with the ultimate goal to achieve its eighth postseason berth in the last nine years (2020 the exception) and its 16th in 19 seasons dating back to its maiden 2008 playoff run.

RSL v VAN: The History

The Claret-and-Cobalt opened its 2026 MLS campaign away at Vancouver back on Saturday, February 21, the match ending a 1-0 loss at B.C. Place, a controversial 57th-minute goal from the Whitecaps the difference. While the result was not ideal, the match was full of milestones for the Club. Utah-native Zach Booth, then-17-year old homegrown Luca Moisa, and rookie Sergi Solans each made their RSL / MLS debuts during the match, with another teenage homegrown, Aiden Hezarkhani, earning his first-ever RSL start during the season opener.

Solans has been critical to RSL’s success during both the first half of the season and its quarterfinal Leagues Cup run, having notched 13 goals overall and a team-high nine so far during the MLS reg. season.. That starting XI for the season opener at Vancouver featured five RSL Academy homegrowns, including veteran poster boy Justen Glad and 2026 MLS All-Star Zavier Gozo in addition to Booth, Moisa, and Hezarkhani, marking one of the most homegrown-heavy lineups in Real Salt Lake’s Club history.

RSL and Vancouver have met 36 times since 2011, with the Whitecaps holding a narrow edge in the all-time series, winning 16 games and dropping 15, with five draws - however, Vancouver has won each of the last three head-to-head matchups. Last year, Salt Lake saw a narrow 2-1 loss in Canada on May 3, 2025, before returning home on May 24, where Gozo netted his first-ever MLS goal just minutes after kickoff, before ultimately falling at the death to Vancouver. 

Vancouver ended last season as the Western Conference Champions before falling 3-1 to Miami in MLS Cup on December 6, 2025. The deep playoff run - sparked by the arrival of German legend Thomas Müller - gave the Whitecaps plenty of momentum as they headed into the 2026 campaign. The Canadian standouts enter Saturday’s matchup sitting atop this year’s West standings, with a record of 12W-6L-4D and 46 pts., making them a formidable foe. Vancouver has seen mixed results in September, finding just four points out of 12 this month and getting knocked out of the Canadian Cup at Montreal on Wednesday. Last weekend in MLS action, Vancouver suffered a 1-2 defeat to Austin FC on Sunday. 

Vancouver’s Brian White is the current Golden Boot leader for the Whitecaps this season, having notched 15 goals during the 2026 campaign. White has previously won the club’s Golden Boot award in 2025, with 16 regular-season goals and two additional scores during playoffs.  White was a force to be reckoned with during a previous meeting against RSL, notching a brace on May 24, 2025, leading to the dramatic 3-2 comeback victory, and will be a player to watch for in the upcoming matchup. 

As Salt Lake looks to end its drought of 11 games winless in MLS regular-season play, it will rely on both familiar and new faces, the Club looking to make the most of its new additions as the season enters its final third. Saturday’s clash is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. MT at America First Field, with tickets still available to purchase.

Looking Ahead 

Following the home match against Vancouver, RSL then heads to Lumen Field in Seattle to take on the Sounders next Wednesday, September 23, with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. MT (the match is available to stream on AppleTV). Salt Lake will then return home yet again to America First Field - where it is 10-3-3 across all competitions at home this year, and 7-2-3 (W-L-T) in MLS action - hosting the visiting New England Revolution next Saturday, September 26, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available for the match at www.RSL.com/tickets.