Real Salt Lake Heads To Texas To Face Austin FC As Playoffs Approach
Sep 28, 2024, 1:22 AM | Updated: 4:10 pm
Diego Lunes and Dominik Marczuk celebrate Lunes' goal vs the Portland Timbers. Photo courtesy of Real Salt Lake.
SALT LAKE CITY – After a rollercoaster ride to draw versus the Portland Timbers last Saturday, Real Salt Lake was able to walk out of America First Field having clinched a spot in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, earning RSL their fourth appearance in the four years under Pablo Mastroeni. Entering Saturday’s fixture with Austin FC, Real Salt Lake looks to learn from and fix mistakes made versus Portland and build momentum in the last four games of the regular season.
Over the last two home games, the Claret-And-Cobalt have scored six goals. Anderson Julio has played into fantastic form, newcomers Dominik Marczuk and Diogo Gonçalves have found the scoresheet with first-time goals, and it seems that the ship has been righted after a midseason skid. Holding onto second place in the Western Conference, every point down the stretch matters when it comes to playoff positioning. So, can Coach Mastroeni and Real Salt Lake add the finishing touches and make a deep playoff run? We will begin to find out on Saturday against Austin FC.
Real Salt Lake Lose Steam In Draw With Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake looked to be well on their way to a second consecutive win as they held a 2-0 lead through 60 minutes.
Dominik Marczuk opened the scoring for RSL in the 10th minute with his first MLS goal, as he showed good footwork in the box, putting away a cross from Anderson Julio. RSL’s second goal came off the foot of fan-favorite Diego Luna as his own pass into the box wound up bouncing off a few players before finding its way back to him near the spot where he sent it into a wide-open net.
Despite the sizable lead, Portland was in a playoff push of their own and was desperate for points. The Oregonians scored twice in 14 minutes, both off of set pieces. The first was a corner put away by Antony, and the second was a stunning free kick from Evander.
The madness in the last half hour continued with Diogo Gonçalves scoring what RSL fans thought to be the winner in the 89th minute only for Portland to equalize three minutes later with a counterattack turned header.
Walked away with one point #RSLvPOR | @Xfinity pic.twitter.com/X1NolVMYdu
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 24, 2024
Following the draw with the Portland Timbers, Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni joined DJ & PK to talk about how the team can improve as they enter the home stretch.
“…I’ve liked the mentality that I’ve seen in the last two games,” Pablo said, “the way we’ve approached it, the way we’ve played really on both sides of the ball, and now it’s about understanding game management and not giving up silly fouls in and around the box, defending set pieces better, and… you’ve just gotta tighten everything up.”
One chink in RSL’s armor that became apparent against the Timbers was the defense of set pieces. The two goals that tied the game from Portland were a corner kick and a free kick, and this came after conceding another free kick to FC Dallas in the previous match.
RELATED STORIES
“When you get to this part of the season, there’s no break and there’s no time off. What I have kind of noticed on the set pieces… it was a bit nieve on our part where we feel like they’re gonna give us time to set up so we can turn our backs to the ball, and there’s not a real sense of urgency to organize our group… You bet that we sat on Tuesday and went through those set pieces.” Mastroeni emphasized when he talked about preparation.
When it comes to the new additions, Coach Pablo Mastroeni is pleased with how they are fitting into the group and playing the Real Salt Lake brand of soccer. He gave praise to his long-time players when it came to leading by example.
“Peer to peer is gonna be the most contagious, the most pronounced way of expressing who we are as a group,” Mastroeni mentioned, “The more guys we get that are exhibiting the behaviors that encapsulate our mentality, the quicker, the easier, and more importantly, the more successful we’re gonna be as a team.”
Real Salt Lake Taking On Austin FC
Real Salt Lake and Austin FC will kick off from Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas at 6:30 p.m. MT.
Some quick facts about Los Verdes #ATXvRSL | @EnglandLogistic pic.twitter.com/N4PuC32WeJ
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 27, 2024
Austin FC is currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. They sit at 11th place in the west, nine points from a wild card spot, almost certainly meaning that Austin will miss the playoffs. Austin FC has been sliding, with only one win and three losses in their last five matches. However, preparing for the hot and humid climate could prove pivotal as RSL has lost their last two games they have played in the state of Texas.
Chicho Arango will once again have the opportunity to break the single-season goal record for Real Salt Lake. Arango has not scored a goal since the beginning of July and hopes to use the last four games of the regular season to reignite his goal-scoring threat ahead of the playoffs.
With the Colorado Rapids only sitting a point behind in third place, Real Salt Lake will also be playing the three more points that could get them even closer to locking up second place in the Western Conference, which would mean home-field advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Pablo Mastroeni will also start to nail down his playoff rotation, needing to determine where new additions like Dominik Marczuk and Diogo Gonçalves fit in.
After their bout with Austin FC, Real Salt Lake will return home to take on Minnesota United FC on Wednesday, October 2, at 7:30 p.m. MT.
How To Watch Real Salt Lake
All Major League Soccer games are broadcasted 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.
