RSL needs win against struggling Seattle, but Mastroeni wants urgency without desperation

HERRIMAN — Real Salt Lake desperately needs a win.

The last thing Pablo Mastroeni wants his players thinking about Wednesday night in Seattle is how desperately they need a win.

RSL travels to Lumen Field looking for its first MLS victory since May 16 after Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Vancouver extended its league winless streak to 12 matches.

Seattle can relate.

The Sounders haven’t won a league match since May 13 and enter Wednesday on a 13-match winless streak of their own. They have drawn five straight, most recently rallying from a 3-1 deficit to earn a 3-3 draw at Colorado on Saturday.

For Mastroeni, escaping RSL’s slide starts with tweaking the team’s mentality without allowing the urgency of the situation to turn into desperation.

“We still wanna be brave with the ball, but we need to be braver in our duels,” Mastroeni said Tuesday. “We need to be braver in 50/50 balls, braver in those moments that dictate possession so that we can be brave with the ball.”

Mastroeni was visibly angry after the loss to Vancouver, repeatedly lamenting RSL’s performance in individual duels and a lack of grit.

“When things aren’t humming, we have to almost flip that on its head and say, ‘We need more commitment, more focus, more determination on the defensive side of the game,’” Mastroeni said after training on Tuesday. “Not concede goals so that we can play with the game in front of us, play with the scoreline in front of us.”

“The moment you’re in a bad run of form and you concede a goal, the demons from the past start flooding your mind,” Mastroeni said. “I’ve been there as a player. I know exactly how it works.”

Matchday in the PNW pic.twitter.com/vG13yCfmBE

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 23, 2026

First goal could be critical

RSL defender Sam Junqua offered a similar assessment.

Junqua said the emphasis during the winless stretch has been to “double down defensively” and give RSL a foundation from which it can attack.

“If we can just keep zeros in the back, then we’ll have our chances,” Junqua said.

Seattle’s rally Saturday provided some encouragement for a team that had not scored three goals in an MLS match since its last league victory. Cristian Roldan, Dejan Joveljic and Caden Clark scored, with Clark’s equalizer coming in second-half stoppage time.

The Sounders still conceded three, and head coach Brian Schmetzer identified defending as one of the primary reasons his team left Colorado with only a point.

Seattle is also shorthanded. Pedro de la Vega, Jesus Ferreira, Nikola Petkovic and Paul Rothrock are out with injuries, while Yeimar Gomez Andrade is questionable. Joveljic, who has scored three goals in four appearances since joining the Sounders, is unavailable while on international duty with Serbia. 

With both teams trying to break lengthy winless runs, Junqua believes the opening stages could shape what follows.

“We talk a lot on this team about the psychology going into games,” Junqua said. “I think it’s really important that we start strong, give them the impression that they’re not gonna be able to break us down and kind of grow into the game.

“The first goal’s gonna be critical, and that’s gonna set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Mastroeni sees an opportunity for the pressure to shift onto Seattle if RSL can keep the match under control early.

“Every 10 minutes that goes on, more pressure doesn’t build on you, it builds on your opponents at home that have to make the game,” he said.

Back to the familiar

Mastroeni moved from his usual five-man back line to a back four against Vancouver in an effort to keep Saba Lobjanidze higher up the field.

RSL struggled with Vancouver’s movement and repeatedly lost possession with players caught ahead of the ball. Mastroeni switched back to five defenders during the match and afterward acknowledged, “In hindsight, we should have kept it in a five.”

Tuesday, he indicated RSL would return to its more familiar shape against Seattle.

“I think going back to the way we typically play will allow us to have moments of respite with the ball and control the game with the ball,” Mastroeni said.

RSL will again be short-handed. Juan Manuel Sanabria and Luc de Fougerolles are away on international duty, while injuries have already limited Mastroeni’s options.

Kobi Henry, Morgan Guilavogui and Saba Lobjanidze had the opportunity to leave for international duty but elected to remain with RSL, a decision Mastroeni said after Saturday’s loss gave him confidence that the locker room remained together.

Sergi Solans said absences and injuries cannot become an excuse.

“We can’t think about or make excuses for the guys who aren’t here, because they won’t be here,” Solans said. “Those of us who are here have to give 100 percent, with the right mentality, the right attitude and the effort necessary to win.”

For all the talk of urgency, Junqua said focusing too much on finally ending the streak could be counterproductive.

“What happens when you concede a goal? Maybe you start chasing it and you start losing your discipline,” Junqua said. “We can’t be focusing on the result, even though it’s a results-based business and we need the result.

“How we’re gonna get that and how we’re gonna do it is by focusing on the individual actions and our jobs.”

How to watch

Who: Real Salt Lake at Seattle Sounders FC

Where: Lumen Field, Seattle

When: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. MDT

TV/Streaming: Apple TV