Back in black: RSL looks to carry Leagues Cup momentum into MLS play against Minnesota

SANDY — Real Salt Lake will look different Saturday night.

The important question is whether it continues to play differently.

RSL returns to MLS play against Minnesota United wearing its new Black Diamond third kit for the first time, fresh off a strong Leagues Cup run.

After opening the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Tigres before losing the ensuing shootout, RSL rolled past Atlante 4-0 and FC Juárez 3-0 to advance out of the opening phase.

Eight goals from six different players. Nineteen different starters. And, perhaps most encouragingly for head coach Pablo Mastroeni, an active 264-minute shutout streak.

RSL will “host” Liga MX’s León in the quarterfinals Aug. 25 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, with America First Field previously booked by a musical act.

For now, RSL wants to bring its torrid Leagues Cup form back to MLS.

“I think it was three good games,” defender Philip Quinton said Friday. “Nice to be back at home. I think that’s always important for us. So now that it’s back to MLS play, kind of the same objective, approach each game as an important one and try to get back on track in MLS play.”

That last part matters.

Despite its Leagues Cup success, RSL hasn’t won an MLS match since May 16 and enters Saturday fifth in the Western Conference with an 8-6-3 record.

The opponent that began that four-match league winless run?

Minnesota.

Back to playing like RSL

When RSL visited the Loons on May 23, Zach Booth’s first MLS goal gave the visitors a first-half lead they held for roughly 70 minutes before conceding from a set piece in injury time and settling for a 1-1 draw.

A lot has changed since.

RSL returned from the World Cup break with road losses to LAFC and Portland before drawing St. Louis, then used three home Leagues Cup matches to start playing more like itself.

“I think we like the intensity we showed in those three games,” Quinton said. “We thought we got back to playing our style a little bit more. So I think we’re trying to stay consistent with that and keep the momentum going.”

RSL has not conceded since Tigres scored in the 6th minute of the Leagues Cup opener. It followed that match with consecutive clean sheets for the first time since July 2025.

The timing is interesting, considering RSL’s current MLS winless run began when it conceded that late set-piece equalizer to the Loons in May.

After Tuesday’s win, Mastroeni described a defensive “click” within his team, crediting not merely the defenders but the willingness of the entire group to stay connected.

DeAndre Yedlin sees the same thing.

“I think a lot of people look just to the back line and the goalkeeper for that, but that’s the whole team,” Yedlin said Friday. “When we attack, it’s the whole team. When we defend, it’s the whole team.”

That means attackers doing work that doesn’t appear on a scoresheet.

“It’s a credit to those guys ahead of us because it’s not easy being an attacker and still trying to have that defensive mindset,” Yedlin said. “I think as we’ve seen the last kind of three games, we’ve really started to come together.”

Next man up

Maintaining that cohesion Saturday will require RSL to do it with different pieces.

Yedlin will miss the match due to yellow-card accumulation, while Morgan Guilavogui is unavailable after suffering an injury against Juárez.

And, of course, Zavier Gozo is no longer in Utah. His move to Crystal Palace had not been made official as of Friday afternoon, but Gozo is already in England.

But Leagues Cup may have helped RSL answer some of the questions created by those absences.

Mastroeni used 19 different starters over the three matches, and players further down the depth chart took advantage of the minutes on offer.

Lineker Rodrigues signed his first-team contract Monday, then scored his first RSL goal a day later against Juárez. 

Pablo Ruiz returned to the starting lineup and scored against Tigres and Atlante, then sent JuanMa Sanabria into the box with an exquisite through ball that led to RSL’s opening goal from the penalty spot against Juárez. 

Chadwick “Zach” Booth started all three matches and scored against Atlante.

“I think the great part about this group is it’s always been a next-man-up mentality,” Quinton said. “We have guys who are ready to step up, and we have no doubt that we’ll be able to continue.”

Familiar opposition

Minnesota head coach Cam Knowles is a part of RSL history.

RSL selected Knowles in the fourth round of the club’s inaugural 2005 MLS SuperDraft. He appeared in four matches during the club’s first season, logging 346 minutes in Claret and Cobalt. More than two decades later, he returns to Sandy in charge of the opposition.

The Loons played the same three Liga MX opponents as RSL during Leagues Cup, losing 2-1 to Juárez, drawing Tigres 0-0 before losing the shootout, and beating Atlante 3-1.

Minnesota enters Saturday tied for eighth in the Western Conference (6-6-6, 24 points), three places and three points back of RSL.

Kelvin Yeboah leads the Loons with eight MLS goals, while Joaquín Pereyra has seven assists to go with one goal. RSL counters with club scoring leader Sergi Solans (7 goals, 3 assists in league play) and Diego Luna (4 goals, 3 assists).

Solans has also scored in three of RSL’s four August matches across all competitions.

Yedlin believes the results have restored some of the confidence lost during the club’s difficult return to MLS play.

“We’ve got our confidence back,” he said. “I think it’s big that we got those three results heading back into MLS.”

A new look, hopefully the same RSL

There will at least be one unmistakable change Saturday.

RSL will debut its Black Diamond kit, the club’s new black, red and gold third uniform inspired by Utah and the Wasatch Mountains.

Yedlin, one of the players featured in the kit’s rollout, called it one of his favorite uniforms he has worn.

He also believes there can be something psychological about putting on something new.

“If I get a new haircut, I just feel new. New clothes, I feel new,” Yedlin said. “It’s kind of like when you’re a kid and you get new boots and when you step on the field you almost feel like a different person in them.”

RSL doesn’t need to become a different team Saturday.

After the last three matches, it would probably rather be the same one.

How to watch

Who: Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota United FC
When: Saturday, Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m. MT
Where: America First Field, Sandy
TV/Streaming: Apple TV