Real Salt Lake won its third consecutive game, securing a 2-1 home victory over Austin FC at America First Field Saturday night.
Real Salt Lake responds to early goal by Austin FC
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni made one change to his starting lineup after last week’s 3-2 win at Atlanta. He brought in homegrown midfielder, Griffin Dillon, who made his first MLS start, after coming on as a halftime substitute last week.
In the 18th minute, Austin seized control when defender Jon Bell headed in a cross from Facundo Torres, giving Austin a 1-0 lead.
After multiple attempts on goal, the Claret-and-Cobalt continued applying pressure. Opportunity struck in the 25th minute when RSL midfielder Noel Caliskan delivered a wicked cross into the box that deflected off Austin defender Oleksandr Svatok into Austin’s own goal, leveling the match 1-1 for Real Salt Lake.
Captain Rafael Cabral made crucial back-to-back saves in the 42nd minute to keep the match even at halftime.
Quotable
“That’s what’s special about our group, is that everyone is selfless, everyone understands, everyone knows that it’s a long season. When called upon, the guys that came into the game did an exceptional job of changing the pace of the game,” Mastroeni said. ”Diego Luna, Stijn Spierings and Victor Olatunji did a really good job...and I think that’s really important for this game but also for the season. To have that kind of quality and belief coming into each week definitely puts us in a great position moving forward.”
Spierings scores game-winning goal in 88th minute
Early in the second half of the match, RSL substituted in striker Olatunji and playmaker Luna, both returning to the pitch for the first time this season due to preseason injuries.
In the 81st minute, Danish midfielder Spierings entered, making his MLS debut. Spierings brought with him energy and momentum, providing the game-winning goal in the 88th minute, taking a pass from veteran Justen Glad. Spierings collected the ball 30 yards from goal, then turned and rifled a shot into the bottom-left corner of the net, becoming the quickest debutant of 240 all-time players in RSL’s 22-year history to score in his first ever match, giving RSL the 2-1 victory.
Tonight’s win marks a three-game win streak for the Claret-and-Cobalt — something that happened just once in 2025 across 40 matches — RSL winning five of six all-time against Austin FC on Utah soil, outscoring the 2020 expansion team 14-8.
Up next
Real Salt Lake travels to face San Diego FC at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, March 22, at 5:00 p.m. MDT. Tickets for RSL’s next home match, on Saturday, April 4, are available for purchase at via RSL.com.