Storylines returns this week in the whirlwind of a torrent.
A distressing season-opening quarter sets the stage for a consequently tempestuous – certainly mildly, at the very least – backdrop as the foundation upon which this week’s fresh slew of renderings and narratives can be built.
RSL next renew acquaintances with ninth-placed FC Dallas away at Toyota Stadium for the final lap of the Claret-and-Cobalt’s grinding three-game road gauntlet, in what will be the second meeting already between both sides just one-third into the season.
Recent form, burgeoning stars, and returning heroes… the plots continue to arrive thick, with no definitive endzone seemingly in sight. And, as always, our author takes you through some of the most pertinent themes for which to consider ahead of the weekend’s Texan Duel.
Zavier Gozo: A ray of hope
Not many 18-year-olds can boast the impressiveness of two high-profile MLS starts.
Zavier Gozo can.
But then again, Gozo isn’t much like many other 18-year-olds. Last Saturday, the RSL Academy product made only his second-ever start in the American top flight, proving the team’s best outfield performer in the arduous defeat, and impressed mightily with his skill, bravery, and conviction in possession, prompting Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni to echo the teenager’s praises in the post-game press conference, saying:
“I think Gozo is doing all the right things. I think having speed on the field makes us a little more dynamic in the attack. He stretched their back line well, and his one-v-ones going at the defender created quite a few good crossing opportunities, especially the one where he played it back post to Alex in the first half – that was really good,” RSL’s head coach explained to the assembled media.
“The run he went on to get the PK – that’s top stuff from that position. He’s breaking into the team at a moment where he’s playing with confidence and the defending he does on that side is relentless.
The current USA U-20 international has enjoyed a steady rise through the ranks over the years at RSL, making only two first-team appearances throughout 2023 and 2024 whilst consistently standing out on a near-weekly basis for developmental side Real Monarchs during that period, often juggling Academy, Monarchs and national team duties while training with the RSL first team, before finally being drafted at the start of the year as a consistent fixture for Mastroeni’s squad.
“I think that’s really a superpower of his,” Mastroeni finished. “He’s right on the cusp of breaking through and either scoring a goal or setting one up. He’s putting himself in great positions and doing all the right things. I’m just really proud of the way he’s coming into the team. He’s been with us in preseason for the last three years. You never know when the moment’s going to come, and he’s really taken advantage of his opportunities and played really well.”
At the start of the year, winger Dominik Marczuk was seen as the team’s near-undisputed starting right winger. Whilst the Polish international - now back from a lower leg injury that prevented him from traveling to San Diego two weeks ago, opening the door for Gozo - continues to possess a distinct effectiveness owing to his pace, it’s difficult now to unsee Gozo from the position on the basis of the teenager’s recent performances.
A troubling recent form, a beleaguered opening quarter
Real Salt Lake’s search for consistency continues. Though, in truth, a more candid summary of the current situation might perhaps be as being a ‘search for security’ rather than any sort of motion towards consistency. This is a team at the moment still struggling to keep its head above water – moreso than it is trying to maintain any sort of steady pace.
The gauntlet, thus, is set and the mission for Mastroeni and Co. is laid crystal bare.
At this same stage last season, 11 games in, the Claret-and-Cobalt sat assuringly atop the Western Conference standings – a position the team held onto for a total of four months – boasting a record of six wins, two draws, and merely two defeats, forming part of a 15-game unbeaten run where Mastroeni’s juggernauts swatted aside anyone and almost everyone who dared cross their path.
Recent results have paled sorely in comparison to the previous season’s equivalents at this equal stage and, thus, the team’s current form will most doubtlessly constitute the primary source of address for Mastroeni – but amidst what has been a testing campaign has still regularly emerged shoots of reprieve and encouragement.
Goalkeeper Rafael Cabral, naturally, remains the only player to have played every minute of RSL’s campaign up until this point and represents one of the team’s most consistent, dependable pillars, alongside Luna, whose six goals at this point of the campaign are already only two less than he managed across the entirety of last term, and currently makes him the team’s top goalscorer in 2025.
18-year-old academy starlet Zavier Gozo has also emerged most recently as one of Mastroeni’s brightest, budding prospects, with consecutive encouraging displays during the Vancouver defeat and 3-1 away win against San Diego a fortnight ago, whilst captain Emeka Eneli continues to set a consistent standard with his performances in a manner that almost goes without saying.
RSL endured an unceremonious evening the last time both teams met, at America First Field, with striker Ari Piol suffering an early sending-off in the first half – in a game mired by much officiating controversy – which consequently aided in condemning the hosts to a cruel defeat.
Mastroeni, moreso than most, will no doubt be hoping for a greater turn of fortune when his side line up at Toyota Stadium on Saturday.
Anderson Julio: from friend to foe
“When striker Anderson Julio scored his first goal, and RSL’s second, of Wednesday night’s affair midway through the first half, teammate Dominik Marczuk placed both of his hands on the back of his head, his face overcome with pure astonishment, in raw, utter disbelief….” – was the opening paragraph to a club rhetoric near the end of last season in startling exaltation of Anderson Julio’s exploits.
The 28-year-old former RSL forward scored a brace, during the September of the 2024 campaign, in a narrow 3-2 home win against Saturday’s Texan opponents – an enthralling contest during which Julio also netted a spectacular goal of the season contender, an audacious 57-yard chip from near the halfway line which sailed over the opposition goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
“A goal from the heavens!” was this author’s description of it at the time. “‘Anderson the Glorious,’ for what was a truly glorious, audacious strike.”
On Saturday, America First Field’s former favorite prince squares up to crush the hearts of the faithful who once adored him, and will doubtlessly constitute a potent force Mastroeni and Co. will be desperate to try and stifle – the dynamics of which are sure to make for an exciting evening at Toyota Stadium.
The die is cast in the MLS season and every story counts from here. RSL, for its part, will hope the weekend’s concludes on a positive one. The Claret-and-Cobalt go marching in again and may the odds, as always, be ever in our favor.
Watch RSL at Dallas on Saturday, at 6:30p MT on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass.
