Real Salt Lake’s Season Ends With Playoff Loss In Portland
Oct 22, 2025, 10:43 PM | Updated: Oct 23, 2025, 9:44 am
PORTLAND, OREGON - OCTOBER 22: Felipe Mora #9 of Portland Timbers heads the ball under pressure from Brayan Vera #4 of Real Salt Lake during the first half of an MLS Western Conference Wild Card match at Providence Park on October 22, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
(Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, Oregon – Real Salt Lake couldn’t muster the defensive effort needed to keep the season alive, falling 3-1 to the Portland Timbers in an MLS Cup Wild Card match.
RSL opened the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday, October 22, by facing the Portland Timbers at Providence Park.
RELATED: RSL Clinches Spot In Postseason For Fifth Straight Season
Final.#PORvRSL | @SelectHealth pic.twitter.com/JfuKOAFsVI
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 23, 2025
Justen Glad scored the only postseason goal for the Claret & Cobalt.
First Half
The first ten minutes played quietly. Portland generated the only shot attempt, a David Ayala left-footed boot that sailed over the crossbar.
The Timbers came up empty on consecutive corners in the 14th minute as they built a little momentum.
After threatening for several minutes, Portland finally broke through in the 24th minute. Off a set-piece, Felipe Mora’s first attempt was turned away by Rafael Cabral, but the rebound was too juicy.
Mora blasted the ball past a helpless defense for a 1-0 lead.
Felipe Mora strikes! 💥@TimbersFC open the scoring for @TimbersFC against RSL in the Wild Card // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/AI6PPrxbCi
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 23, 2025
Minutes later, Victor Olatunji sailed a shot wide for RSL.
Mora gave his club a 2-0 lead in the 35th minute with another rebound goal. After his initial header was stopped, the run of play brought Mora and the ball back together for an easy brace.
First-half brace for Felipe Mora! 😤@TimbersFC lead RSL 2-0 // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/AflreNKjHu
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 23, 2025
Real Salt Lake didn’t blink.
Homegrown defender Justen Glad cut the deficit in half when he scored an unassisted 39th-minute goal.
Diogo Gonçalves drops a dime! 👀
Justen Glad heads it in! 💥@realsaltlake cut the deficit in half // Audi MLS Cup Playoffs pic.twitter.com/aPfR0Ko6rL— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 23, 2025
The score remained 2-1 in favor of Portland at halftime.
Second Half
Emeka Eneli replaced Noel Caliskan to open the second 45 for RSL.
45' | making a switch after the break #PORvRSL | @SJ_Utah pic.twitter.com/ilX6R8XdUU
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 23, 2025
The visitors pressed the attack, trailing by one in the do-or-die match. RSL had a 54th-minute goal wiped away when three players were offside on a rebound.
Eneli and DeAndre Yedlin took consecutive shots moments later and were stoned by Portland’s James Pantemis.
Portland appeared willing to sit back and let the game come to them with the one-goal advantage.
Two RSL equalizers in the second half and both have been waved off #RSL
— RSL Show on KSL 🎙️⚡️ (@rslshow) October 23, 2025
Real Salt Lake continued pressuring the Timbers, with no better chance coming than a William Agada bicycle attempt that caromed off the crossbar and bounded away.
Portland’s Kamal Miller took advantage of a failed Real Salt Lake clearance attempt. Miller received a perfect pass from Ariel Lassiter for a header and a 3-1 lead.
The Timbers withstood seven minutes of stoppage time to seal the two-goal victory.
How To Watch Real Salt Lake
All Major League Soccer games are broadcast on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.
All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2024 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.
For more Real Salt Lake coverage and analysis, subscribe to The RSL Show and follow them on Instagram.
You can find KSL Sports coverage of Real Salt Lake here.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
