Fresh legs: RSL heads to Orlando with Leagues Cup quarterfinal looming

HERRIMAN — Real Salt Lake needs points in Orlando.

It also needs some players to sit down.

RSL visits Orlando City Saturday night, its third match in eight days and the beginning of a three-game road trip that will take the club from Florida to Colorado, where Liga MX side Leon awaits Tuesday in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.

Something has to give.

Head coach Pablo Mastroeni made clear after Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to FC Dallas that it will be his lineup.

“We’re gonna put some fresh legs out for Orlando,” Mastroeni said. “We’re gonna learn these lessons, and we’re gonna get back to the team that we can be.”

Wednesday was RSL’s sixth match in 19 days, a stretch that has included three Leagues Cup matches and three MLS games. Saturday will make it seven in 22, with another match coming just three days later.

Mastroeni blamed fatigue, both physical and mental, for some of RSL’s defensive failures against Dallas. The visitors scored three times in the first half and, after RSL rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the match, found the winner in stoppage time.

The problem now is finding enough rested bodies to fix those frailties.

Justen Glad remains out, Juan Arias is still working his way back after not playing since October, and the loss of Zavier Gozo to Crystal Palace was compounded by an almost immediate injury to Zach Booth, leaving RSL particularly thin at wingback.

DeAndre Yedlin started there Wednesday despite playing primarily at right center back this season.

“We’re stretched so thin across the back line,” Mastroeni said. “It’s a sheet that’s only, you’re covering your feet or covering your head, right?”

laying the groundwork in Orlando pic.twitter.com/LLmU2G2SlZ

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) August 21, 2026

The performance staff, Mastroeni said, is also monitoring players who have entered what he called the “red zone” physically.

And then there is Tuesday.

RSL advanced from the opening phase of Leagues Cup. Leon now stands between them and a place in the semifinals.

Because America First Field was previously booked, the quarterfinal will be played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.

“Now we’re in the midst of all these games and now we travel to Orlando. It’s gonna be hot and humid, right?” Mastroeni said. “And then we have our biggest game of the season shortly after that, that has a lot more at stake.”

“If we can take three points in Orlando, and we can get onto the next round on Tuesday, it’d be amazing. It’d be amazing. But it’s really a tough ask at the moment.”

A new face from the other locker room

One of those fresh sets of legs comes from an unexpected place.

RSL announced Friday it acquired 19-year-old midfielder Colin Guske from Orlando City, sending Orlando $50,000 in general allocation money for a loan through the remainder of the season, with an option to buy. 

That means Guske’s first game as an RSL player could come against the only professional organization he’s known.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity with RSL,” Guske said. “I’ve always seen this club with passionate supporters, a team with a strong identity, clearly focused on growth and development, while finding ways to win.”

The 6-foot defensive midfielder joined Orlando’s academy in 2021 and was playing regularly for Orlando City B by 17. He played against his new teammate Luca Moisa in the 2024 MLS NEXT All-Star Game and subsequently signed a Homegrown contract with Orlando’s first team.

Guske has made six MLS appearances, including two starts, this season for Orlando, logging 284 minutes. He also went 90 minutes in Orlando’s Leagues Cup match against Atlético San Luis just 10 days ago.

Primarily a No. 6, Guske has also spent time at center back. His game is built more around defensive positioning, ball security and winning possession than creating chances or scoring goals.

Guske appeared in all six U.S. matches at this summer’s Concacaf U-20 Championship, starting four, including the quarterfinal and the championship match against Mexico. He played 90 minutes in both.

Whether he can immediately help an exhausted RSL team remains to be seen, but the reason Orlando sent him West was straightforward: minutes.

“This loan gives him the chance to gain valuable experience and consistent minutes at a high level in the short term,” Orlando general manager Ricardo Moreira said.

His first opportunity is Saturday night.

Rotation in Orlando, Leon waits in the wings

Orlando enters Saturday with 21 points after a 2-1 loss to Chicago on Wednesday, meaning RSL isn’t the only team playing its second match in four days.

RSL, meanwhile, is tied for seventh in the West with 28 points after the Dallas loss.

RSL scored three goals, repeatedly attacked vertically and nearly took a 4-3 lead before Dallas goalkeeper Michael Collodi robbed the resurgent Pablo Ruiz late.

“We need verticality,” Mastroeni said. “That was a big positive aspect of our attack today.”

The challenge Saturday will be deciding which players have enough left in their legs and minds to provide it.

Because three days later, Leon will be waiting.

How to watch
Who: Real Salt Lake at Orlando City SC
When: Saturday, Aug. 22, 5:30 p.m. MT
Where: Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando, Florida
TV/Streaming: Apple TV