RSL walks disciplinary tightrope as playoff race heads to Austin
Oct 28, 2026, 12:18 AM
Photo courtesy of Real Salt Lake.
HERRIMAN — Real Salt Lake has spent much of the second half of the MLS season looking up at the Western Conference playoff line.
With three matches remaining, the Claret-and-Cobalt can finally climb back above it.
RSL travels to Q2 Stadium on Wednesday to face Austin FC, the first of three matches in 11 days that will determine whether Pablo Mastroeni’s side extends its postseason streak to six consecutive seasons.
After Austin, RSL visits San Jose on Halloween before hosting the Galaxy on Decision Day, Nov. 7.
Three key figures, however, are one yellow card away from suspension.
Pre-rodeo rundown
In English: https://t.co/uvxd5fD16S
En Español: https://t.co/XDtcJRxDRl https://t.co/VU4SwIQM7u— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 27, 2026
A disciplinary balancing act
Defender DeAndre Yedlin, designated player Morgan Guilavogui and Mastroeni are all one caution away from an automatic suspension, according to the club’s official disciplinary report.
Five more players, Juan José Arias, Lineker Rodrigues, Noel Caliskan, Zach Booth and Colin Guske, are two cautions away from suspension.
A yellow card for Guilavogui or Yedlin Wednesday would rule him out of Saturday’s visit to San Jose. Mastroeni would also face a one-match touchline suspension were he to take a yellow.
Guilavogui, however, finds himself in an unusually precarious position. He is one caution-free match away from a yellow-card reduction through MLS’s Good Behavior Incentive program. So avoiding a booking Wednesday would give him additional breathing room heading into the final two regular-season matches, while a caution would trigger a suspension.
Guilavogui has four goals and 10 assists in his first MLS season, becoming just the ninth RSL player to record double-digit assists in a campaign.
He assisted twice in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over St. Louis CITY SC and scored twice in the previous weekend’s 3-1 win at Sporting Kansas City.
Finding form at the right time
Three wins and 10 points from its last five matches have breathed new life into RSL’s postseason aspirations.
Saturday’s victory over St. Louis featured another brace from rookie striker Sergi Solans, who now has 14 MLS goals and 18 across all competitions.
Solans is three goals shy of matching both RSL’s single-season league scoring record of 17, shared by Álvaro Saborío and Cristian Arango, and the MLS rookie record established by Cyle Larin in 2015.
Solans and Dominik Marczuk, who scored a spectacular long-range goal against St. Louis, both earned MLS Team of the Matchday honors for their performances.
RSL notched its sixth clean sheet of the season in the win over St. Louis.
The defensive improvement has coincided with the emergence of Kobi Henry and the addition of Luc de Fougerolles, along with the return of veteran Justen Glad from a five-month injury absence.
“I just feel like we’ve been very focused defensively, being aggressive and also being organized in our defense,” Henry said following Tuesday’s training session.
The 22-year-old defender has embraced his increased responsibility.
“My personal focus is just to keep defending, keep being a dog, keep trying to keep goals out the net,” Henry said. “I’ll let the attackers deal with the scoring part.”
A difficult road ahead
Salt Lake defeated Austin 2-1 at America First Field on March 14, when Stijn Spierings scored a late winner.
But Salt Lake has won just twice and drawn thrice in 15 MLS away matches this season, with its victory at Kansas City on Oct. 17 ending a 13-match road winless streak across all competitions.
Now the club must play consecutive away matches in Austin and San Jose before returning home for Decision Day.
“What gives me confidence is the fact that the last away game we had, we won, we played well, I thought,” Caliskan said Tuesday.
He also pointed to the importance of maintaining the confidence RSL has developed in recent weeks.
“I think for the group, it’s just riding the wave that we’re on right now,” Caliskan said. “We got a couple good results in the last couple of weeks.”
Austin, meanwhile, has struggled to find consistency, losing three of its last four matches before defeating Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Saturday.
Designated player Myrto Uzuni scored both goals in that come-from-behind victory, bringing his season total to nine in MLS play, tied for the team lead with Christian Ramírez.
Austin interim coach Davy Arnaud shuffled his backline and also made a change in goal against Kansas City, starting Damian Las in place of longtime No. 1 Brad Stuver.
“We lost three games in a row, and there’s just decisions that you make sometimes that you feel like can give the group a little jolt,” Arnaud said following Saturday’s victory.
Arnaud added that Las had earned the opportunity through his performances and work in training.
Playoff implications
RSL’s injury situation has improved considerably, although midfielders Diego Luna and Emeka Eneli are out for the season.
“We suddenly have a very deep squad,” Caliskan said. “I think it’s very good for the coaches so they can choose the right team.”
RSL sits 2 points behind the ninth-place LA Galaxy, with Wednesday’s opponent Austin also fighting to keep its postseason hopes alive.
“Galaxy and Austin are down there with us fighting for playoff spots,” Caliskan said. “They’re direct opponents.”
Despite the stakes, Caliskan sees no reason to change RSL’s approach.
“We shouldn’t overthink it,” he said. “Just doing what we’ve done the last couple weeks because I guess it’s been working.”
Match information
Who: Real Salt Lake at Austin FC
When: Wednesday, October 28, 6:30 p.m. MT
Where: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas
Watch: Apple TV
Standings: RSL 10th, 39 points (11-14-6); Austin 14th, 34 points (8-13-10)
