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class="font-sans flex divide-x gap-4 divide-double divide-alternate-500 py-2 flex-row uppercase **:pr-4 text-xs bg-blend-hard-light  z-100 absolute bottom-1 left-0 right-0 items-center justify-center text-white"><a class="hover:underline" href="/">Home</a> <a class="hover:underline" href="/tag/news">News</a><a class="hover:underline" href="/tag/rumors">Rumors</a><a class="hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a><a class="hover:underline" href="/tag/utah-royals">Utah Royals</a></nav></header><div class="mt-48 invisible"> </div></div><main class="gap-x-8 grid grid-rows-[auto_1fr_auto] gap-y-8 xl:max-w-6xl 2xl:max-w-384"><div class="space-y-12"><section class="max-w-4xl mx-auto"><div class="flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6"><h2 class="text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline">The Latest</h2></div><ul class="grid grid-flow-row"><li class="group grid gap-x-4 gap-y-2 py-4 border-b border-gray-200 last:border-b-0 dark:border-gray-700 sm:gap-x-6 grid-cols-[1fr_auto]"><div class="col-start-1 col-span-2 row-start-1 sm:col-span-1 flex justify-between items-center font-sans font-semibold uppercase text-xs text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300"><div><a class="self-start tracking-wide text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a></div><div>October 12</div></div><div class="col-start-1 row-start-2 grid gap-y-2"><a href="/post/2026-10-12/7334/rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-medium">RSL loses to Philadelphia, as expected<span class="ml-2 inline-flex items-center gap-x-1 align-middle text-xs font-body font-light text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></h2></a><p class="text-md leading-tight text-pretty">On feeling resigned, not disappointed</p></div></li><li class="group grid gap-x-4 gap-y-2 py-4 border-b border-gray-200 last:border-b-0 dark:border-gray-700 sm:gap-x-6 grid-cols-[1fr_auto]"><div class="col-start-1 col-span-2 row-start-1 sm:col-span-1 flex justify-between items-center font-sans font-semibold uppercase text-xs text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300"><div><a class="self-start tracking-wide text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a></div><div>September 27</div></div><div class="col-start-1 row-start-2 grid gap-y-2"><a href="/post/2026-09-27/7332/rsl-recovers-with-3-0-win-over-error-prone-new-england-revolution"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-medium">RSL recovers with 3-0 win over error-prone New England Revolution<span class="ml-2 inline-flex items-center gap-x-1 align-middle text-xs font-body font-light text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></h2></a><p class="text-md leading-tight text-pretty">RSL beat the Revs in an important 3-0 victory, with Sergi Solans and Aiden Hezarkhani providing the difference.</p></div></li><li class="group grid gap-x-4 gap-y-2 py-4 border-b border-gray-200 last:border-b-0 dark:border-gray-700 sm:gap-x-6 grid-cols-[1fr_auto]"><div class="col-start-1 col-span-2 row-start-1 sm:col-span-1 flex justify-between items-center font-sans font-semibold uppercase text-xs text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300"><div><a class="self-start tracking-wide text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a></div><div>September 24</div></div><div class="col-start-1 row-start-2 grid gap-y-2"><a href="/post/2026-09-24/7331/plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-medium">Plummeting RSL find seventh loss in eight games; Seattle wins 2-0<span class="ml-2 inline-flex items-center gap-x-1 align-middle text-xs font-body font-light text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></h2></a><p class="text-md leading-tight text-pretty">We can&#x27;t keep doing this, can we?</p></div></li><li class="group grid gap-x-4 gap-y-2 py-4 border-b border-gray-200 last:border-b-0 dark:border-gray-700 sm:gap-x-6 grid-cols-[1fr_auto]"><div class="col-start-1 col-span-2 row-start-1 sm:col-span-1 flex justify-between items-center font-sans font-semibold uppercase text-xs text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300"><div><a class="self-start tracking-wide text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a></div><div>September 20</div></div><div class="col-start-1 row-start-2 grid gap-y-2"><a href="/post/2026-09-20/7330/rsl-loses-again-at-home-and-its-looking-bleak"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-medium">RSL loses again at home, and it&#x27;s looking bleak<span class="ml-2 inline-flex items-center gap-x-1 align-middle text-xs font-body font-light text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></h2></a><p class="text-md leading-tight text-pretty">I go stream-of-consciousness while watching a shameful 3-0 loss</p></div></li><li class="group grid gap-x-4 gap-y-2 py-4 border-b border-gray-200 last:border-b-0 dark:border-gray-700 sm:gap-x-6 grid-cols-[1fr_auto]"><div class="col-start-1 col-span-2 row-start-1 sm:col-span-1 flex justify-between items-center font-sans font-semibold uppercase text-xs text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300"><div><a class="self-start tracking-wide text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a></div><div>September 13</div></div><div class="col-start-1 row-start-2 grid gap-y-2"><a href="/post/2026-09-13/7329/rsl-now-11-games-without-a-league-win"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-medium">RSL now 11 games without a league win<span class="ml-2 inline-flex items-center gap-x-1 align-middle text-xs font-body font-light text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></h2></a><p class="text-md leading-tight text-pretty">After a 2-0 loss to NYCFC and 11 games without a win, how do we reckon with how bad RSL has been?</p></div></li><li class="group grid gap-x-4 gap-y-2 py-4 border-b border-gray-200 last:border-b-0 dark:border-gray-700 sm:gap-x-6 grid-cols-[1fr_auto]"><div class="col-start-1 col-span-2 row-start-1 sm:col-span-1 flex justify-between items-center font-sans font-semibold uppercase text-xs text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-300"><div><a class="self-start tracking-wide text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">Columns</a></div><div>August 20</div></div><div class="col-start-1 row-start-2 grid gap-y-2"><a href="/post/2026-08-20/7328/good-grief-rsl-drops-home-points-again"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-medium">Good grief: RSL drops home points again<span class="ml-2 inline-flex items-center gap-x-1 align-middle text-xs font-body font-light text-gray-500 dark:text-gray-400"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-3.5 h-3.5 fill-current"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></h2></a><p class="text-md leading-tight text-pretty">I don&#x27;t know what to think about this team right now.</p></div></li></ul></section><section><div class="flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6"><h2 class="text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline">Match Coverage</h2><a class="text-sm font-semibold text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/match-coverage">View all →</a></div><div class="grid gap-8 grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4"><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-10-12/7334/rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7334"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">October 12</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-10-12/7334/rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">RSL loses to Philadelphia, as expected</h2></a></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-09-24/7331/plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7331"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">September 24</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-09-24/7331/plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">Plummeting RSL find seventh loss in eight games; Seattle wins 2-0</h2></a></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-08-20/7328/good-grief-rsl-drops-home-points-again"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7328"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">August 20</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-08-20/7328/good-grief-rsl-drops-home-points-again"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">Good grief: RSL drops home points again</h2></a></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-08-16/7327/rsl-dropping-points-winning-position"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7327"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">August 16</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-08-16/7327/rsl-dropping-points-winning-position"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">For fourth time in five matches, RSL drops points from winning position</h2></a></div></div></div></section><section><div class="flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6"><h2 class="text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline">News and Rumors</h2><a class="text-sm font-semibold text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/news+rumors">View all →</a></div><div class="grid gap-8 grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4"><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">News</span><a class="aspect-video relative post-image lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-03-05/7300/piol-2026-season-ended-after-achilles-injury-surgery"><img alt="Piol set to miss 2026 season after achilles injury, surgery" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all object-cover" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" sizes="400px" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">March 5</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-03-05/7300/piol-2026-season-ended-after-achilles-injury-surgery"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">Piol set to miss 2026 season after achilles injury, surgery</h2></a></div></div><div class="grid aspect-square"><div class="inset-0 relative"><a class="absolute inset-0 block overflow-hidden rounded-sm" href="/post/2026-02-26/462/utah-royals-release-2026-jersey"><div class="absolute z-10 bg-primary/30 rounded-sm px-2 left-2 top-2"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm text-white font-sans uppercase font-black">Utah Royals</span></div><img alt="Utah Royals release 2026 jersey" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-75 hover:brightness-110 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" sizes="400px" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fanmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80"/></a><div class="absolute bottom-0 left-0 right-0 bg-linear-to-t from-black/70 to-transparent rounded-sm text-white px-3 py-2 pointer-events-none"><a class="pointer-events-auto block" href="/post/2026-02-26/462/utah-royals-release-2026-jersey"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-3xl font-semibold text-white text-shadow-primary/40 text-shadow-sm">Utah Royals release 2026 jersey</h2></a><div class="text-xs mt-auto lg:pt-2 font-body flex flex-row justify-between pointer-events-auto"><div class="">February 26</div><div class="font-semibold"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/2/lucas-muller">Lucas Muller</a></span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="grid aspect-square"><div class="inset-0 relative"><a class="absolute inset-0 block overflow-hidden rounded-sm" href="/post/2026-02-11/456/real-salt-lake-release-2026-home-jersey"><div class="absolute z-10 bg-primary/30 rounded-sm px-2 left-2 top-2"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm text-white font-sans uppercase font-black">News</span></div><img alt="Real Salt Lake release 2026 home jersey" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-75 hover:brightness-110 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" sizes="400px" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-cms%2Fsz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80"/></a><div class="absolute bottom-0 left-0 right-0 bg-linear-to-t from-black/70 to-transparent rounded-sm text-white px-3 py-2 pointer-events-none"><a class="pointer-events-auto block" href="/post/2026-02-11/456/real-salt-lake-release-2026-home-jersey"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-3xl font-semibold text-white text-shadow-primary/40 text-shadow-sm">Real Salt Lake release 2026 home jersey</h2></a><div class="text-xs mt-auto lg:pt-2 font-body flex flex-row justify-between pointer-events-auto"><div class="">February 11</div><div class="font-semibold"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/2/lucas-muller">Lucas Muller</a></span></span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Rumors</span><a class="aspect-video relative post-image lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-02-05/455/ruiz-move-off-gozo-links-grow-and-rocio-linked-with-loan"><img alt="Ruiz move off, Gozo links grow, and Rocio linked with loan move" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all object-cover" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" sizes="400px" srcSet="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=300&amp;q=80 300w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=400&amp;q=80 400w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=800&amp;q=80 800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=1200&amp;q=80 1200w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w, /_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80 1800w" src="/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.wasatch.soccer%2Fwss-galleries%2FDSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg&amp;w=1800&amp;q=80"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">February 5</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-02-05/455/ruiz-move-off-gozo-links-grow-and-rocio-linked-with-loan"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">Ruiz move off, Gozo links grow, and Rocio linked with loan move</h2></a></div></div></div></section><section><div class="flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6"><h2 class="text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline">Columns</h2><a class="text-sm font-semibold text-primary hover:underline" href="/tag/columns">View all →</a></div><div class="grid gap-8 grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4"><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-10-12/7334/rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7334"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">October 12</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-10-12/7334/rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">RSL loses to Philadelphia, as expected</h2></a></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-09-27/7332/rsl-recovers-with-3-0-win-over-error-prone-new-england-revolution"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7332"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">September 27</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-09-27/7332/rsl-recovers-with-3-0-win-over-error-prone-new-england-revolution"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">RSL recovers with 3-0 win over error-prone New England Revolution</h2></a></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-09-24/7331/plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7331"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">September 24</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-09-24/7331/plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">Plummeting RSL find seventh loss in eight games; Seattle wins 2-0</h2></a></div></div><div class="group grid-flow-row grid gap-y-2 grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr]  relative"><span class="px-1 text-xs font-bold text-primary shadow-2xl ring-alternate font-sans uppercase text-xs rounded-sm ">Columns</span><a class="aspect-video relative rounded-sm overflow-hidden lg:aspect-4/3" href="/post/2026-09-20/7330/rsl-loses-again-at-home-and-its-looking-bleak"><img alt="" aria-hidden="true" loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-nimg="fill" class="rounded-sm object-cover brightness-90 group-hover:brightness-100 transition-all" style="position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent" src="/api/placeholder/7330"/><span class="absolute bottom-2 right-2 fill-white bg-black/60 text-white flex items-center gap-x-2 text-xs mr-1 mb-1 rounded-sm p-1 font-body font-light "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" height="48" viewBox="0 96 960 960" width="48" aria-label="Comments" class="w-4 h-4"><path d="M240 656h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm0-130h480v-60H240v60Zm640 580L720 816H140q-23 0-41.5-18.5T80 756V236q0-23 18.5-41.5T140 176h680q24 0 42 18.5t18 41.5v740ZM140 236v520h605l75 75V236H140Zm0 0v595-595Z"></path></svg></span></a><div class="grid grid-rows-[min-content_min-content_1fr] gap-2 font-sans"><div><div class="flex flex-row justify-between text-xs"><div class="text-right">September 20</div><div class="font-semibold text-gray-700 dark:text-white"><span class="comma-separated-list"><span itemProp="author"><a rel="author" href="/authors/1/matt-montgomery">Matt Montgomery</a></span></span></div></div></div><a href="/post/2026-09-20/7330/rsl-loses-again-at-home-and-its-looking-bleak"><h2 class="font-headline text-pretty group-hover:text-primary transition-colors text-2xl font-semibold">RSL loses again at home, and it&#x27;s looking bleak</h2></a></div></div></div></section><section><ul class="grid grid-flow-row gap-4"><li><a class="block p-4 rounded-sm border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 hover:border-primary hover:text-primary transition-colors font-headline font-semibold" href="/archive">Archive</a></li><li><a class="block p-4 rounded-sm border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 hover:border-primary hover:text-primary transition-colors font-headline font-semibold" href="/about">About Wasatch Soccer Sentinel</a></li><li><a class="block p-4 rounded-sm border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 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And honestly, I don’t really know how to break it down.\n\nPhiladelphia Union were the better side coming in, and they exited the significantly better side, too. The metrics all point in that direction, too — a better expected goals mark (1.56 to 0.84), a much better transition xG (0.22 to 0.05) and a signfiicantly better possession xG (1.21 to 0.46). (Futi is the source on the data — it’s a great app; check it out.)\n\nAnd so it is that I don’t *really* care to write about the match itself. I watched it immediately after a small home painting project, and that was significantly more satisfying than this match. I could write about painting, but nobody needs that. I’ll give you some scattered thoughts instead.\n\n- Sergi Solans simply has to be better about being offside in key moments. It’s just not good enough, and improving there could spell significant improvement in his game.\n- Dominic Marczuk is baffling to me. I don’t know what else to say.\n- I was glad to see Luc de Fougerolles come off the bench, and I hope we see him start soon. Does he solve all this side’s problems? Absolutely not, but there’s a real lack of quality among the center backs right now.\n- But like I said, it doesn’t solve all the problems. DeAndre Yedlin, for example, remains dismal as a center back, which is a shame given he does still have good right back quality. Watch him on Philadelphia’s first goal. He just loses his mark completely, and whiel there’s certainly a cocahing element to that, he’s made RSL suffer. Of course, if you watch that, you also see Kobi Henry and Philip Quinton sort of marking Milan Iloski together, neither of whom is close to him, which brings me back to the real point here: de Fougerolles doesn’t solve all our problems, and I’m not sure he solves the most important ones.\n- Commentary’s good on that one: “Everybody’s ball-watching for RSL.”\n- I know 17-year-old Cavan Sullivan is impressive, but RSL looked like they had no plan to deal with him on that first goal.\n- RSL continues to give players time and space outside the box. It hurts the team consistently, though it didn’t directly this time. I dunno, that’s gotta be fixable.\n- Philadelphia’s second goal should have been dealth with better, and I think that starts with Rafa Cabral, whose rebound doesn’t give RSL much of a chance in the first place.\n- de Fougerolles’s assist for Saba Lobjanidze’s goal was lovely. I like that. But why is our new center back a more creative midfielder than our midfielders, I wonder? Stray thoughts.\n- Ari Piol came back two months early. Good for him for working hard.\n- That said — I had my doubts about Piol well before his injury, and those doubts haven’t changed. He took no shots, attempted just one pass, and performed two defensive actions. He had three touches in the attacking third. I’m glad he got his return, but certainly he didn’t do much to influence the match at all.\n- Where’s Taylor Booth? Apparently he’s a healthy scratch from the bench. Just incredible stuff.\n\nAnyway, I expected a loss, I got a loss, and I should feel disappointed in myself for that. Instead I feel resigned. Talk soon.1d:T1539,Well, I never! What a game to have been at. We traveled to Salt Lake for my brother’s wedding, which was a lovely occasion, and we were able to attend Saturday’s very nice 3-0 victory over New England Revolution.\n\nLife has a funny way of mixing tragedy with joy, doesn’t it? This isn’t about Real Salt Lake (though I am grateful for a match and victory I could comfortably applaud), but life is so rarely straightforward. If you’ve read last match’s column, you’ll understand (and things aren’t improving, if you’re curious.) The weight of things was served an important distraction over the weekend, but waiting to enter the stadium brought everything into a sort of sharp focus. Spending time with friends, many of whom I hadn’t seen since before the birth of our younger child, brought that into focus, too.\n\nI also read about the [passing of Tom Biro](https://weareecs.com/2026/09/14/tom-biro-eternal-blue-forever-green/) today, former co-president of Seattle supporters group Emerald City Supporters. I don’t know that I ever met Tom, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I had during one of several trips to Seattle. His efforts with that group are absolutely to be applauded; the organization’s statement on that is all you need to read.\n\nhttps://bsky.app/profile/sounderatheart.com/post/3mwhkpaow6k2j\n\nLife is a precious thing.\n\nLet’s move on to the game. Bullet points from a vacation rental this time around.\n\n---\n\n- What a start. What a start! Aiden Hezarkhani had such a great start to his season, scoring in two of his first three matches, but he faded off as RSL rotated in more senior players in the attack. His goal in the second minute was so similar to his first goal for RSL, shot high from a tight angle. His second was also sent into the roof. I don’t think he had the biggest impact on the match otherwise, and in fact, he held the lowest player involvement percentage from Futi during the match. That said, he’s clearly dangerous, and he formed part of a good defensive setup throughout his appearance.\n- To that end, Hezarkhani actually ended with a near-worst rating of ‘1’ from Futi — I’m not sure how he landed a 1 with a goal, but if he hadn’t scored, we’d be wondering what he was doing on the pitch. It felt less like he was part of a two-10s setup, which I think helped RSL significantly from a defensive posture.\n- New England have only themselves to blame for this outcome. RSL was good, but their mistake-to-goal-conceded ratio approaches 1.0. That’s a recipe for disaster, as RSL has seen so, so many times in the last 14 games.\n- Sergi Solans is … a mystery, right? That’s the best I can figure. The kid scores two goals, but he also has two big chances go completely begging. Twice he had the width of the goal to aim at, once in a one-on-one, and twice he put the ball right at the goalkeeper. The first goal he scored saw him take a poor touch, and it was just a New England mistouch that put the ball back into his path. Once the ball was back at his feet, he made no mistake with his first otuch and shot. The finish for his second goal — back the way it came, into the far corner where Matt Turner had no chance of reaching it — was special if he meant it, and incredibly lucky if he didn’t. I’m inclined to think he meant it, and his run to meet Guilavogui’s cross was perfect. What a strange, mysterious player.\n- Morgan Guilavogui was involved all over the place. I don’t always love his defensive stance, but he was where he needed to be at nearly every turn. His passing was especially incisive last night.\n- I think what we saw was a departure from the two-10s look that RSL has relied on this season, and it couldn’t have come soon enough. (It absolutely should have happened sooner.) There was considerably less cohesive midfield play, but the team also didn’t shove so many players into attacking and, more importantly, non-defending positions as readily. It worked well, at least from a goalscoring perspective.\n- In fact, looking at the charts, goalscoring is maybe the only way the tactical outlay worked well. It’s a jumble, a mish-mash. You get no sense of formation from it. About the only thing you really get is that RSL didn’t play with a double-10 system. (There’s a reason you don’t see that setup at big clubs — it leaves you incredibly open to have three players given roughly free roles, given Solans also doesn’t track back most of the time. I get why, given he’s dangerous on the counter, though I would *love* if he scored more one-on-ones…)\n- Do I think this gets RSL out of the rut? Not particularly. Was this an important win all the same? Absolutely. With how dire it’s been, having something to feel good about should ease some of the tensions we’re seeing.\n- Do I think this was a win derived from coaching changes? Ah, maybe — like I said, the more defensive setup mattered. But I also think New England conceding in the second minute from a controllable (from their perspective) situation mattered more.\n- I don't know if I love Sergi Solans coming off on a hat trick. I get it, but I think he could have had a third. That said, the injury crisis is bad, so I won't complain ... it's just something Pablo Mastroeni does a lot. Hat tricks are fun!\n- In four of RSL's five longest winless streaks, the match that stops the slide has been a 3-0 victory. Isn't that strange?1e:T25e7,It’s a weird one tonight. Real Salt Lake lost 2-0 to Seattle Sounders. I’m happy for Seattle, in all honesty. I’m kind of happy for RSL, too, if it gets us closer to actual, demonstrable change in our front office and coaching setups. I fear it won’t, but at this point, seven losses in eight games isn’t something you can explain without pointing any number of fingers.\n\nIt’s a weird one tonight, too, because a good friend of mine in Seattle is in the hospital. He’s one of the desperately unlucky few to have contracted ALS, a condition for which there is no cure. It’s a disease that progresses incredibly quickly. It’s a disease that’s impacted the RSL family acutely.\n\nMy friend, for whom we named our firstborn, is a fan of Seattle Sounders, having moved there some 20-some-odd years ago. When I first explored my interest in soccer, he was somebody I talked with all the time about the game. We watched the 2006 World Cup together; when we were in high school together, I watched his games (and left early with him after a red card; we ate at Wendy’s.) My relationship with soccer has been intertwined with our friendship. Today, with my friend struggling more than usual — and struggling significantly — it’s hard to get truly mad about this game, but it’s plenty easy to be sad about this historically bad run of form for Real Salt Lake.\n\nI’m not going to make today’s post just about my friend, but I can’t separate this game from our friendship. If you know anything about ALS, you know how devastating it inevitably it is. If you have the means, [consider a donation to the ALS Association](https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/133271855). You might remember [John Genna, who was Real Salt Lake’s VP of communications and public relations](https://www.rsl.com/news/genna-strong-always), and the fundraising efforts to which readers of this site contributed in 2022.\n\nToday, Real Salt Lake feels like the least important thing we could be discussing, but I’m going to let it distract me. We’re going to talk about the game. But I thought it was important to recognize that soccer is more than just a game of wins and losses, and it’s likely we’ve all made friendships around the beautiful game. I hope you all feel the joy of that at times, even when Real Salt Lake is at their very, very worst.\n\n---\n\nYou know what? We’re just going to bullet points today.\n\n- There are people that are going to talk about the injury crisis, about international absences. To my mind, those excuses died about — I don’t know — 8 games ago? 13 games without a win is tremendously poor form (hi, Seattle Sounders) and it’s been the case through any number of injuries. The only consistent injury is Justen Glad, and while I think his absence has had a significant impact, it wasn’t a surprise going in to the World Cup. Excusing the team’s performance for that should have us questioning other parts of the organization.\n- Signing a young center back with World Cup experience is fine and good, but finalizing that signing at the very, very end of a long transfer window has meant that any delay has been particularly problematic. We can blame external factors there, but we’re not the only club dealing with these conditions. We should know by now that obtaining a work visa is extremely chaotic at the best of times in 2026.\n- The last time RSL won an away match is March 7. The last time before that is July 16, 2025.\n- If we look at the statistical positions of players, this played out as a 4-2-2-2, with Sam Junqua playing as a left back, DeAndre Yedlin at right back, and Philip Quinton and Kobi Henry at center back, more or less. That was a forced move after Alex Katranis was forced out of the lineup with an injury during warm-ups. I don’t want to get conspiratorial about this time and injuries, but there sure to seem to be a lot of them right now, and they’re not just freak accident sort of things. I dunno.\n- “I think the guys executed the game plan to a T.” Pablo Mastroeni, everyone. “It’s tough. Going\u0010 from our last game, did we compete the right way? Every one of our guys said yes. Did you work extremely hard for the guy next to you? Absolutely. Tactically, between the boxes, did we execute the game plan? Yes. It just leaves the boxes again.”\n- Pablo continues by talking about players playing out of position, and you know what? I’m exhausted by this. He talks about Sam Junqua having to play in a new position, but by the looks of it, he just played at left back. Is Pablo Mastroeni mistaken about what he played? Is he lying? It’s one of the two, because it’s honestly very clear cut to my eyes. But I guess if I’m being generous to Mastroeni, I could see the argument that maybe Junqua didn’t play the role the way he would have hoped. I guess I’d buy that. The team does still regress to a back five out of position. But I’d ask a bigger question: Why are you playing a style that demands players play out of position? Why are you putting Sam Junqua, who has significant minutes for this team at left back, in a position where he’s trying to play some extremely misguided formational approach?\n- And I guess I should be more generous to Pablo, because rewatching does show Sam Junqua playing very high at times in the first half. But why? Why in the world are we persisting with a 3-5-2 with all these players out? Why is he playing Luca Moisa as one of two “10s”? Why persist with the chaos-reigns approach that worked wonders with Diego Luna at his best and Zavier Gozo making incredible runs?\n- Dominik Marczuk remains absolutely dire. That we couldn’t execute a loan for him during the offseason is perhaps a benefit to us, because I don’t know who plays there, but hey wait! I’ve got an idea — what if DeAndre played right back instead?\tWhat if we played a classic 4-4-2, ditched the nonsense, and just went back to basics? Because we now have Pablo Mastroeni after the match talking about how Sam Junqua is going to be playing left wing back in the next match, and I’m just asking: Can you be normal for once? If we can’t try a 4-4-2 during an injury crisis, if we can’t simplify what we’re doing? What’s the point? I don’t know how we got here from complaining about Marczuk, but what did he bring to proceedings?\n- If Real Salt Lake wants to be a development team, they have to be able to sell players and not have that immediately lead to a complete collapse. We saw it with Andres Gomez (though there are some clear mitigating factors that we won’t discuss today), we saw it with Zavier Gozo. In this case, I wonder further if we can’t have a coach that adjusts a system when a vital player in that system leaves. Seems nice, right? But this system exists without regard for the players, and Gozo isn’t coming back. This isn’t 2011 Real Salt Lake, when Javier Morales went down with a nasty ankle injury, but they persisted with the diamond all the same. He came back. Zavier Gozo isn’t.\n- It sometimes feels like Real Salt Lake thinks they’re the smartest team in the room, at least from a coaching perspective. They’re not. The chip on the shoulder isn’t justified; it’s a lie the coaching staff must be telling themselves.\n- Sergi Solans is great, and I’m glad we’ve got him, but he’s not a natural finisher in one-on-one situations. He creates so many of them, but he so rarely scores with them. That said — our approach cannot simply be “Solans scores with all his shots,” because that just not realistic.\n- Danny Musovski’s goal. What in the world is this team doing trying to build so poorly? Morgan Guilavogui puts just about the worst possible touch he could on play, then doesn’t track back. (You’ve got to track back when you make a mistake like that.) If you free the frame right before Musovski’s shot, you’ll see that Kobi Henry is close — but he has to shift over because there’s just no organizational sense about this team.\n- Albert Rusnak’s goal. We saw it so many times. He’s good from those positions. He finds space well.\n- I think Philip Quinton was fine. Not great. Not awful. He’s getting stick again, and yes, he had a poor moment playing out of the back, but you know what? This team should stop playing out of the back under pressure. It so, so rarely leads to the desired outcome, where the team takes advantages of players pressing high to create a numerical advantage further up the field. Instead, When the team plays out of the back well, it leads to them most often recycling play to the back once the opposition has moved back defensively. I even think he wasn’t at fault for the Rusnak goal, which was preceded by the team giving up possession far, far too easily. Yes, he’s not an organizing defender (I don’t think Justen Glad is, either), but if you pause at Rusnak’s shot, you can see Jordan Morris could easily have received a pass there and been onside. He would almost certainly have scored it. There’s another pass open to his left. He took the shot, but none of the options were defended particularly well.\n- So I guess what I’m trying to say is that Philip Quinton isn’t a singular problem, but he’s part of a host of defensive problems. Start with playing out of the back in ways that don’t actually benefit play, progress to a generally poor midfield setup, and finally get to attacking players having a wealth of options because honestly, nobody knows how to coach this team. It feels pretty evident watching them defend.\n- If I don’t see another shot from distance taken so inaccurately, it’ll be too soon.\n- A deep, prolonged sigh.1f:T275e,I didn’t watch this match live. Family things, you know? And I’d rather family things than watch this team live right now. That should probably always be the case, but there’s no conflict there right now. There’s no pull from my team. But I still don’t want to write about a match I haven’t seen, so I open Apple TV.\n\nWidow’s Bay. I’ve been wanting to watch that. It’s greeting me when I open the app, and I want to click. I’d rather watch whatever Widow’s Bay is (no spoilers, please) than watch this team and write about it. Come to think of it, there are a lot of things I’d rather do than watch this team in this form, especially because I don’t have a lot of interest in remaining unspoiled about the outcome of the match. I know the result already. Still, I watch anyway. I’m a little tempted to just watch the match recap. I don’t.\n\nI do fast forward through certain moments. The black-and-white starting-soon screen? I only watch a few moments of it. The national anthem, I happen to land on. Nice harmonies. They’re more together than I expect this team will be, given the scoreline and what I’ve already heard. It’s rare I stick around for the anthem, especially on a broadcast, but tonight I do. I know it doesn’t get any better from here. I know Brian White’s about 12 minutes from scoring, give or take. I think about how it might be fun to hear God Save the King on a Premier League broadcast, but perhaps mostly for the crowd reaction.\n\nMLS on Apple TV will resume shortly. And it does, because I scrub the video forward.\n\nI’m thinking about Diego Luna. We’re a minute in, and I’m not convinced he would have made a substantial difference. Brian Dunseth talks about all the hamstring injuries. He doesn’t say what I’m thinking, but I don’t think he’s saying much by accident.\n\nA 4-4-2. Is that what we’re seeing? A 4-2-3-1? I don’t know. It does feel like it’s either by necessity or by choice, but it’s clear that the necessity isn’t center back availability — it’s the lack of a right back available. Or a right wing back. Or whatever Pablo Mastroeni wants to call it.\n\nFive minutes in. This crowd is empty. It doesn’t look like the reported 20,000-plus. Tickets sold, I guess? But maybe that’s worse, tickets sold and deemed not worth using. RSL’s competitive, though. Not threatening, particularly. A cross to switch play with nobody around; that’s about right. Guilavogui’s getting involved and forcing Vancouver to foul him. Sergi Solans is offisde once again.\n\n9 minutes. Here we go. It’s getting hairy. Brian White, of course. Philip Quinton’s getting the blame, which happens a lot. But have you seen a team so reliably disorganized as RSL without Justen Glad? These aren’t spring chickens. Once again, it’s somebody lurking outside the box, and there’s just no awareness from this team. There’s no defensive plan. This is not Philip Quinton’s fault, at least not entirely. He’s one man, and there are eight in the box. Why are two players at right back? Why are they three players standing in a line near Brian White? Why is Noel Caliskan standing at the penalty spot with nobody around him?\n\nNone of these questions are about individual mistakes. This is a team that can’t defend as a unit. A great defense defends as a unit. At this point, the match is paused. I’m just watching the ball fizz back to the top of the box, a moment in time, the crowd struggling to fill one-third of those seats. I’m going frame-by-frame, because I want to see when Brian White got free. He gets past Quinton, and there’s still another center back that could pay attention there. I wonder if Brian White might be offside, but then I see that the ball might have glanced off Colin Guske. I can’t remember if that matters. He’s making a play at the ball. That probably resets offside if he gets it, right?\n\nThere’s a funny thing about a goalkeeper coming forward to complain about an offside call not given, isn’t there? Of all the players on the field, the goalkeeper has the worst view of offside, unless, I suppose, they have superhuman depth perception.\n\nI’m still thinking about Philip Quinton. I’ve seen worse center backs get exposed less often, but I think that’s because they had Kyle Beckerman in front of them. That makes a difference, doesn’t it? Noel Caliskan is good, but is he that? I think he’s probably more of an eight — a connector. What is he connecting now? I don’t know. Maybe that’s Colin Guske, now. It isn’t Stijin Spierings, though, is it? It hasn’t been, at least.\n\nThree losses in a low for the second time this year. Six losses in seven. It’s a dark time for Real Salt Lake followers. The only fun thing we’ve really had is Sergi Solans running around wildly. He’s a fun player, isn’t he? In the last five games, RSL has as many losses as they did in the first 14 games of the season.\n\nIt’s 21 minutes in now. RSL hasn’t created a single thing. I’m thinking about Philip Quinton again. I guess my position is this: If you’ve had a faulty tool in your toolbox for three years, can you complain when it doesn’t work as well as you’d hoped?\n\nBrian Dunseth just said something I’m going to transcribe for you. It’s worth paying attention. “I just don’t understand. In 11 matches without a win, how in the world is Thomas Muller untouched at the back post for an uncontested header? It makes zero sense to me in a time of urgency and margins that seemingly everything has gone against Real Salt Lake. Controlling controllables and staying touch-tight on your mark is one of the easiest things you can control.”\n\nAnyway. This match is a great reminder that I really, really don’t think altitude is a significant advantage for Real Salt Lake. It’s certainly not an advantage if you don’t make your opposition run or really break a defensive sweat.\n\nThomas Muller. Inevitable, I guess. What is RSL doing? This is a team that doesn’t know. I don’t know. I’m glad the dozen Vancouver fans up in the corner had a good time, I guess. This team is a disaster. The midfielders aren’t defending. They’re jogging along until things get difficult, then they’re sprinting away. It just takes three players making runs, and somehow — somehow! — there are still four players defending three, and Thomas Muller is running all alone. There are four players in entirely non-defensive positions. Muller is free. I know he’s one of the greats, but he doesn’t have to show it right now, does he? It’s funny. They’ve made this look like a breakaway. It wasn’t. Vancouver had possesion for a bit.\n\nI don’t really want to watch the rest of this match. I will, I think. I see Morgan Guilavogui step on a player. Why? I don’t know.\n\nIt feels like this team isn’t coached, really. This feels like a team that trains, sure. They understand each other, generally. They don’t understand what they’re doing on the field. Sometimes, the human spirit is enough. For 12 games, it hasn’t been. Saba is being asked to play deep, now. It’s the 35th minute. He half-raises his arms toward Pablo Mastroeni. It feels like he’s’ having to be told repeatedly. I don’t know who’s responsible for tactics. Is it a coach? I think probably so.\n\nA couple corner kicks, now. Nothing comes of it. This match is getting tiring. It’s getting late. It’s thankfully halftime, and the crowd does seem a bit fuller on the edge of it here. They’re doing the lights-off thing that stadiums love to do now that most have LEDs instead of (what I’ve just looked up) metal halide bulbs.\n\nSergi Solans just hit the post. I’m glad I saw that moment. There’s life in this old thing yet. Not a lot of it, though. Not enough to make watching this match interesting. Dominik Marczuk enters the field at right wing back. There’s a reminder that RSL tried to send him on loan. That attempted was unsuccessful. \n\n62:45. The ball is just leaving the feet of Rafa Cabral. His pass to Sam Junqua puts the defender under pressure, and he sends an errant pass to the eventual goalscorer. I don’t know. I’m annoyed by that goal because it’s entirely preventable. I don’t know how nobody gets in front of him, because there was certainly opportunity.\n\nEmeka Eneli enters. 65th minute. Taylor Booth, too. Cool. I’m genuinely happy for Eneli, whose return has been long-awaited. I’m starting to drift, though.\n\nThis team. I just don’t get this team. 12 games without a win, no win since the World Cup break. I’m just not seeing anything from this team that makes me think they’ve got another win in them this season. I’m sure it’ll happen, but I think it’ll be a surprise. They don’t look better than any team, and certainly, they don’t look better than their own flaws. Taylor Booth looks fun coming on, though. Maybe he’s a miracle worker.\n\nMorgan Guilavogui increasingly looks frustrated. He’s getting into scuffs and making bad decisions off the ball. Juanma Sanabria looks a little worse for wear. RSL’s defending seems to be getting worse. Thomas Muller keeps working hard, 87 minutes in. After the whistle, Pablo Mastroeni is arguing with the referee. I don’t know what any complaint he might have would have to do with the utter failure of a performance from Salt Lake.\n\nNext time out, it seems we’ll be missing a few more players. We’re facing Seattle Sounders, who have drawn five consecutive matches after losing eight consecutive before that. I would really love RSL to not be the team that gives them their first win after 13 without one.\n\nI guess the question I’m left with: Where does the buck stop? Right now, it doesn’t look anybody in any position at the club bears any responsibility for what’s going on. If the goal of this club is to make money for its owners, I guess lucking into Zavier Gozo’s meteoric rise is good enough for them. As a fan of this club, as insufficient as the term may be, that’s not good enough for me.20:T97a,11 games. It’s now been 11 games since Real Salt Lake last won a game in Major League Soccer.\n\nEleven.\n\nIt’s the team’s fourth-longest such streak, having undergone longer streaks twice in their early years (18 games between 2005 and 2006, then 15 games in 2007) and once more recently (13 games between 2016 and 2017). It’s hard to overstate how disappointing it is for the team I’ve been writing about for 15 years to be in such utterly dire straits.\n\nThat’s amplified by a deepening sense of dread, amplified by two things: First, I don’t expect anything will change with the construction of the coaching staff and front office. Second, even if something did change, I’m not confident the choices made by those in power would be any better than what we have now.\n\nOf course, the team, despite a complete collapse through a third of the season, sits at most three points away from a playoff spot. This is MLS, and results truly aren’t that important.\n\nWatching tonight’s match, I noticed a few things that I’ll just throw into a slew of bullet points, simply because I don’t have the emotional energy to do much more than that.\n\n- Lineker Rodrigues looks more and more like an MLS Next Pro player at best. He’s 24.  He’s not going to get much better. He keeps getting minutes, though, and at this point, I’d rather those minutes go to someone else.\n- I cannot rule out something at training being amiss when looking at player injury records. I can’t say anything definitive in either direction, but now Diego Luna’s out with an apparent knee injury.\n- This team occasionally looks really, really good in the attack. The number of times that’s undone at the back? Far too many.\n- I’d love to go more in-depth on this some day, but I cannot fathom why RSL continues with this misguided 3-4-2-1. Instead, we persist in playing DeAndre Yedlin at center back, and I think it’s clear by now that he’s just not that. I’m generally comfortable enough with his defense in wide positions, but centrally? No thank you.\n\nIf RSL misses the playoffs, which is looking increasingly likely, there needs to be considerable change. I don’t want to just see the coaching staff swapped out, like they have been under Pablo Mastroeni twice already. As fans, we need to see real change for once — and not change that’s forced because of the bad behavior of a coach or a coach deciding to depart.21:T115e,In the immortal words of Charlie Brown: Good grief.\n\nGood grief, indeed. Six league games without a win. How is this the same team we’ve been watching in Leagues Cup?\n\nI could talk about what went wrong. A lot clealry did. But honestly, talking about how Philip Quinton, Juan Jose Arias and Lukas Engel, all together, played with the quality of 1.5 good center backs? It just isn’t exciting. Talking about how Diego Luna can look like the best player on the pitch, then immediately play selfishly and lose possession? The same.\n\nOf course, we should probably mention that Arias committed the cardinal sin of trying a backheel in his own box, and it led directly to a Dallas goal. And we should probably also mention that Quinton and Arias had basically no coordination between the two of them. \n\nAnd here’s the really frustrating part: It looked like RSL was going to at least draw the match, and while that’s not great, it’s still better than a loss. But no, here we are, sitting with a loss. In the final moment, RSL failed. They gave up a set piece in the middle of the field, packed the box with players — six of them! — and couldn’t defend a player cutting inside. Real Salt Lake in 2026 in tactically and defensively naive. The goals come, but more goals go.\n\nSo I guess I’d like to talk about something else. Still something frustrating, because I think it’s worth talking about how we neded up here — how we ended up in a position where we’ve gone six consecutive matches without a victory. Only once in the last five years have we gone longer without a win — and that’s seven games last year.\n\nOnly one team in MLS currently has fewer points in their last five games, and that’s the absolutely calamitous Seattle Sounders, who have managed exactly zero points in their last *eight* games.\n\nSo, how did we get here? I’ve got some (scattered) thoughts.\n\n- There’s a problem in defense that Justen Glad solved — is it a coincidence that he’s now gone seven MLS games without playing? I don’t think it’s just a talent issue, though he certainly is more talented than our center back corps. Without him, there’s very little pace on the back line, and more alarmingly, there’s very little organization. Just watch the goals back that FC Dallas scored and you’ll get a very clear picture.\n- The insistence on playing a 3-4-3 (or whatever the team wants to call it) is causing problems. DeAndre Yedlin is neither a true center back nor a right wing back, and while I don’t think the formation is universally a disaster, he’s being put in a difficult position here. Especially with Zavier Gozo gone, does it make sense to continue down this tired path?\n- There’s clearly some sort of rotational something going on, because Morgan Guilavogui and Sergi Solans both coming off killed a lot of our attack. From that point forward, RSL managed three shots, and each of them was from a very deep position. More concerningly, they also managed just three passes originating from inside the box. There was just no danger.\n- The substitutes, bar one or two, are just not anywhere close to good enough. Victor Olatunji hasn’t scored in 14 games. He has eight shots on target in 16 games played. Our newly signed ‘depth’ piece, Lineker Rodrigues, doesn’t look close to MLS-ready. On the other hand, Saba Lobjanidze looks very much the part, and I’m eager to see him in a starting position, and Pablo Ruiz looks better than I’d have expected, given his lack of minutes over the last five years. (He hasn’t had a 2,000-minute season since 2022.) And for some reason, Aiden Hezarkhani isn’t getting off the bench, despite a strong start to the season. (Remember that? It was so long ago.) RSL’s U-22 right wing back, Dominik Marczuk,  didn’t even make the bench.\n\nI wish this was all simple. I think a couple signings could help, but they’ll just paper over the cracks. A great team is more than the sum of its parts. A good team has good parts, and it’s equal to the sum of its parts. And what we’re seeing now? I don’t know. It’s either a good team that’s less than the sum of its parts, it’s not a good team, or it’s both in some degree.\n\nIt’s bleak out there. Maybe the $15 million Zavier Gozo transfer will lead to great things for this team, but until that happens, I’m not going to get excited about a transfer fee. I want to get excited about good players.11:[\"$\",\"$L1a\",null,{\"postIds\":[7334,7332,7331,7330,7329,7328,7334,7331,7328,7327,7300,462,456,455,7334,7332,7331,7330],\"children\":[\"$\",\"main\",null,{\"className\":\"gap-x-8 grid grid-rows-[auto_1fr_auto] gap-y-8 xl:max-w-6xl 2xl:max-w-384\",\"children\":[false,false,[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"space-y-12\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"$L1b\",\"0\",{\"posts\":[{\"id\":7334,\"headline\":\"RSL loses to Philadelphia, as expected\",\"slug\":\"rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected\",\"body\":\"$1c\",\"summary\":\"On feeling resigned, not disappointed\",\"published\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:40.146Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null},{\"id\":7332,\"headline\":\"RSL recovers with 3-0 win over error-prone New England Revolution\",\"slug\":\"rsl-recovers-with-3-0-win-over-error-prone-new-england-revolution\",\"body\":\"$1d\",\"summary\":\"RSL beat the Revs in an important 3-0 victory, with Sergi Solans and Aiden Hezarkhani providing the difference.\",\"published\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:49.296Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null},{\"id\":7331,\"headline\":\"Plummeting RSL find seventh loss in eight games; Seattle wins 2-0\",\"slug\":\"plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0\",\"body\":\"$1e\",\"summary\":\"We can't keep doing this, can we?\",\"published\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:31:21.658Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null},{\"id\":7330,\"headline\":\"RSL loses again at home, and it's looking bleak\",\"slug\":\"rsl-loses-again-at-home-and-its-looking-bleak\",\"body\":\"$1f\",\"summary\":\"I go stream-of-consciousness while watching a shameful 3-0 loss\",\"published\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:50.763Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"The Salt\",\"slug\":\"the-salt\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null},{\"id\":7329,\"headline\":\"RSL now 11 games without a league win\",\"slug\":\"rsl-now-11-games-without-a-league-win\",\"body\":\"$20\",\"summary\":\"After a 2-0 loss to NYCFC and 11 games without a win, how do we reckon with how bad RSL has been?\",\"published\":\"2026-09-13T10:23:17.308Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-13T10:23:17.308Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-13T10:23:17.393Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-13T10:24:33.644Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-13T10:23:17.393Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-13T10:23:17.393Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null},{\"id\":7328,\"headline\":\"Good grief: RSL drops home points again\",\"slug\":\"good-grief-rsl-drops-home-points-again\",\"body\":\"$21\",\"summary\":\"I don't know what to think about this team right now.\",\"published\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:19.946Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:19.946Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:20.043Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:49.186Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:20.043Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:20.043Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null}],\"title\":\"The Latest\",\"viewAllUrl\":null}],\"$L22\",\"$L23\",\"$L24\",\"$L25\"]}]]}]}]\n"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1,"26:I[78219,[\"$5\",\"$6\",\"$16\",\"$17\"],\"Post\"]\n27:Tcb7,I expected a loss in this match, and I was met with a loss. And honestly, I don’t really know how to break it down.\n\nPhiladelphia Union were the better side coming in, and they exited the significantly better side, too. The metrics all point in that direction, too — a better expected goals mark (1.56 to 0.84), a much better transition xG (0.22 to 0.05) and a signfiicantly better possession xG (1.21 to 0.46). (Futi is the source on the data — it’s a great app; check it out.)\n\nAnd so it is that I don’t *really* care to write about the match itself. I watched it immediately after a small home painting project, and that was significantly more satisfying than this match. I could write about painting, but nobody needs that. I’ll give you some scattered thoughts instead.\n\n- Sergi Solans simply has to be better about being offside in key moments. It’s just not good enough, and improving there could spell significant improvement in his game.\n- Dominic Marczuk is baffling to me. I don’t know what else to say.\n- I was glad to see Luc de Fougerolles come off the bench, and I hope we see him start soon. Does he solve all this side’s problems? Absolutely not, but there’s a real lack of quality among the center backs right now.\n- But like I said, it doesn’t solve all the problems. DeAndre Yedlin, for example, remains dismal as a center back, which is a shame given he does still have good right back quality. Watch him on Philadelphia’s first goal. He just loses his mark completely, and whiel there’s certainly a cocahing element to that, he’s made RSL suffer. Of course, if you watch that, you also see Kobi Henry and Philip Quinton sort of marking Milan Iloski together, neither of whom is close to him, which brings me back to the real point here: de Fougerolles doesn’t solve all our problems, and I’m not sure he solves the most important ones.\n- Commentary’s good on that one: “Everybody’s ball-watching for RSL.”\n- I know 17-year-old Cavan Sullivan is impressive, but RSL looked like they had no plan to deal with him on that first goal.\n- RSL continues to give players time and space outside the box. It hurts the team consistently, though it didn’t directly this time. I dunno, that’s gotta be fixable.\n- Philadelphia’s second goal should have been dealth with better, and I think that starts with Rafa Cabral, whose rebound doesn’t give RSL much of a chance in the first place.\n- de Fougerolles’s assist for Saba Lobjanidze’s goal was lovely. I like that. But why is our new center back a more creative midfielder than our midfielders, I wonder? Stray thoughts.\n- Ari Piol came back two months early. Good for him for working hard.\n- That said — I had my doubts about Piol well before his injury, and those doubts haven’t changed. He took no shots, attempted just one pass, and performed two defensive actions. He had three touches in the attacking third. I’m glad he got his return, but certainly he didn’t do much to influence the match at all.\n- Where’s Taylor Booth? Apparently he’s a healthy scratch from the bench. Just incredible stuff.\n\nAnyway, I expected a loss, I got a loss, and I should feel disappointed in myself for that. Instead I feel resigned. Talk soon.22:[\"$\",\"section\",\"1\",{\"children\":[[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"h2\",null,{\"className\":\"text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline\",\"children\":\"Match Coverage\"}],[\"$\",\"$L18\",null,{\"prefetch\":false,\"href\":\"/tag/match-coverage\",\"className\":\"text-sm font-semibold text-primary hover:underline\",\"children\":\"View all →\"}]]}],[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"grid gap-8 grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7334\",{\"id\":7334,\"headline\":\"RSL loses to Philadelphia, as expected\",\"slug\":\"rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected\",\"body\":\"$27\",\"summary\":\"On feeling resigned, not disappointed\",\"published\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:40.146Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":0}],\"$L28\",\"$L29\",\"$L2a\"]}]]}]\n2b:T42d,RSL striker Ari Piol has undergone a successful surgery on a torn achilles, the club announced today. The striker is expected to miss the remainder of the 2026 season.\n\nPiol, 21, suffered the injury during a non-contact event during Saturday's match against Seattle Sounders.\n\nThe injury leaves RSL somewhat short at forward, with fellow striker Victor Olatunji currently out with an eye injury, which is apparently a scratch. Of the replacements, newcomer Morgan Guilavogui and hot-shot winger Zavier Gozo are the most likely to be conscripted into the role.\n\nPiol has had some ups and downs during his time at RSL, having arrived at the start of the 2025 season. He scored one goal and had two assists last season, and he scored against Seattle Sounders this season.\n\nIt remains to be seen if Real Salt Lake will look to the transfer market to replace Piol in the short-term. Sergi Solans and Jesus Barea, both recent draft picks, offer immediate depth options, and Aiden Hezarkhani and Marcos Zambrano are both youth options that could potentially fit into the role.23:[\"$\",\"section\",\"2\",{\"children\":[[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"h2\",null,{\"className\":\"text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline\",\"children\":\"News and Rumors\"}],[\"$\",\"$L18\",null,{\"prefetch\":false,\"href\":\"/tag/news+rumors\",\"className\":\"text-sm font-semibold text-primary hover:underline\",\"children\":\"View all →\"}]]}],[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"grid gap-8 grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7300\",{\"id\":7300,\"headline\":\"Piol set to miss 2026 season after achilles injury, surgery\",\"slug\":\"piol-2026-season-ended-after-achilles-injury-surgery\",\"body\":\"$2b\",\"summary\":\"After suffering an achilles injury against Seattle Sounders, Ari Piol will likely miss the remainder of the season.\",\"published\":\"2026-03-06T03:34:48.801Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-03-06T03:34:48.801Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-03-06T03:14:28.763Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-03-16T02:13:28.524Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"leadPhoto\":{\"id\":0,\"url\":\"https://media.wasatch.soccer/wss-galleries/DSC_3234_e38fdc960a.jpg\",\"alternativeText\":null,\"caption\":null,\"credit\":\"Lucas Muller | Wasatch Soccer Sentinel\",\"width\":0,\"height\":0},\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-03-06T03:14:28.763Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-03-06T03:14:28.763Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":3,\"name\":\"News\",\"slug\":\"news\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":0}],[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"462\",{\"id\":462,\"headline\":\"Utah Royals release 2026 jersey\",\"slug\":\"utah-royals-release-2026-jersey\",\"body\":\"Utah Royals FC have released their 2026 away jersey. This new uniformed, named the Swarm Kit, is a darker look than anything we've seen from the team in the past. Though simple at first glance, this kit packs a ton of fun detail. \",\"summary\":\"Utah Royals FC have released their 2026 jersey - dubbed the Swarm Kit\",\"published\":\"2026-02-26T23:16:43.800Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-02-26T23:16:43.800Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-02-26T10:31:33.682Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-03-16T02:13:28.316Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":\"PHOTO_STORY\",\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":\"PHOTO_STORY\",\"leadPhoto\":{\"id\":0,\"url\":\"https://media.wasatch.soccer/wss-cms/anmmsjoibqnikv5njhhj.jpg\",\"alternativeText\":null,\"caption\":null,\"credit\":\"Lucas Muller | Wasatch Soccer Sentinel\",\"width\":0,\"height\":0},\"authors\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Lucas Muller\",\"slug\":\"lucas-muller\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-02-26T10:31:33.682Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-02-26T10:31:33.682Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":6,\"name\":\"Utah Royals\",\"slug\":\"utah-royals\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":3,\"name\":\"News\",\"slug\":\"news\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":1}],\"$L2c\",\"$L2d\"]}]]}]\n2e:Tcb7,I expected a loss in this match, and I was met with a loss. And honestly, I don’t really know how to break it down.\n\nPhiladelphia Union were the better side coming in, and they exited the significantly better side, too. The metrics all point in that direction, too — a better expected goals mark (1.56 to 0.84), a much better transition xG (0.22 to 0.05) and a signfiicantly better possession xG (1.21 to 0.46). (Futi is the source on the data — it’s a great app; check it out.)\n\nAnd so it is that I don’t *really* care to write about the match itself. I watched it immediately after a small home painting project, and that was significantly more satisfying than this match. I could write about painting, but nobody needs that. I’ll give you some scattered thoughts instead.\n\n- Sergi Solans simply has to be better about being offside in key moments. It’s just not good enough, and improving there could spell significant improvement in his game.\n- Dominic Marczuk is baffling to me. I don’t know what else to say.\n- I was glad to see Luc de Fougerolles come off the bench, and I hope we see him start soon. Does he solve all this side’s problems? Absolutely not, but there’s a real lack of quality among the center backs right now.\n- But like I said, it doesn’t solve all the problems. DeAndre Yedlin, for example, remains dismal as a center back, which is a shame given he does still have good right back quality. Watch him on Philadelphia’s first goal. He just loses his mark completely, and whiel there’s certainly a cocahing element to that, he’s made RSL suffer. Of course, if you watch that, you also see Kobi Henry and Philip Quinton sort of marking Milan Iloski together, neither of whom is close to him, which brings me back to the real point here: de Fougerolles doesn’t solve all our problems, and I’m not sure he solves the most important ones.\n- Commentary’s good on that one: “Everybody’s ball-watching for RSL.”\n- I know 17-year-old Cavan Sullivan is impressive, but RSL looked like they had no plan to deal with him on that first goal.\n- RSL continues to give players time and space outside the box. It hurts the team consistently, though it didn’t directly this time. I dunno, that’s gotta be fixable.\n- Philadelphia’s second goal should have been dealth with better, and I think that starts with Rafa Cabral, whose rebound doesn’t give RSL much of a chance in the first place.\n- de Fougerolles’s assist for Saba Lobjanidze’s goal was lovely. I like that. But why is our new center back a more creative midfielder than our midfielders, I wonder? Stray thoughts.\n- Ari Piol came back two months early. Good for him for working hard.\n- That said — I had my doubts about Piol well before his injury, and those doubts haven’t changed. He took no shots, attempted just one pass, and performed two defensive actions. He had three touches in the attacking third. I’m glad he got his return, but certainly he didn’t do much to influence the match at all.\n- Where’s Taylor Booth? Apparently he’s a healthy scratch from the bench. Just incredible stuff.\n\nAnyway, I expected a loss, I got a loss, and I should feel disappointed in myself for that. Instead I feel resigned. Talk soon.24:[\"$\",\"section\",\"3\",{\"children\":[[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"flex items-baseline justify-between pb-4 border-b-4 border-primary mb-6\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"h2\",null,{\"className\":\"text-2xl xl:text-3xl font-headline\",\"children\":\"Columns\"}],[\"$\",\"$L18\",null,{\"prefetch\":false,\"href\":\"/tag/columns\",\"className\":\"text-sm font-semibold text-primary hover:underline\",\"children\":\"View all →\"}]]}],[\"$\",\"div\",null,{\"className\":\"grid gap-8 grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 xl:grid-cols-4\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7334\",{\"id\":7334,\"headline\":\"RSL loses to Philadelphia, as expected\",\"slug\":\"rsl-loses-to-philadelphia-as-expected\",\"body\":\"$2e\",\"summary\":\"On feeling resigned, not disappointed\",\"published\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:40.146Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-10-12T21:35:24.373Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":0}],\"$L2f\",\"$L30\",\"$L31\"]}]]}]\n25:[\"$\",\"section\",\"4\",{\"children\":[\"$undefined\",[\"$\",\"ul\",null,{\"className\":\"grid grid-flow-row gap-4\",\"children\":[[\"$\",\"li\",\"0\",{\"children\":[\"$\",\"$L18\",null,{\"prefetch\":false,\"href\":\"/archive\",\"className\":\"block p-4 rounded-sm border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 hover:border-primary hover:text-primary transition-colors font-headline font-semibold\",\"children\":\"Archive\"}]}],[\"$\",\"li\",\"1\",{\"children\":[\"$\",\"$L18\",null,{\"prefetch\":false,\"href\":\"/about\",\"className\":\"block p-4 rounded-sm border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 hover:border-primary hover:text-primary transition-colors font-headline font-semibold\",\"children\":\"About Wasatch Soccer Sentinel\"}]}],[\"$\",\"li\",\"2\",{\"children\":[\"$\",\"$L18\",null,{\"prefetch\":false,\"href\":\"/masthead\",\"className\":\"block p-4 rounded-sm border border-gray-200 dark:border-gray-700 hover:border-primary hover:text-primary transition-colors font-headline font-semibold\",\"children\":\"Masthead\"}]}]]}]]}]\n"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1,"32:T25e7,It’s a weird one tonight. Real Salt Lake lost 2-0 to Seattle Sounders. I’m happy for Seattle, in all honesty. I’m kind of happy for RSL, too, if it gets us closer to actual, demonstrable change in our front office and coaching setups. I fear it won’t, but at this point, seven losses in eight games isn’t something you can explain without pointing any number of fingers.\n\nIt’s a weird one tonight, too, because a good friend of mine in Seattle is in the hospital. He’s one of the desperately unlucky few to have contracted ALS, a condition for which there is no cure. It’s a disease that progresses incredibly quickly. It’s a disease that’s impacted the RSL family acutely.\n\nMy friend, for whom we named our firstborn, is a fan of Seattle Sounders, having moved there some 20-some-odd years ago. When I first explored my interest in soccer, he was somebody I talked with all the time about the game. We watched the 2006 World Cup together; when we were in high school together, I watched his games (and left early with him after a red card; we ate at Wendy’s.) My relationship with soccer has been intertwined with our friendship. Today, with my friend struggling more than usual — and struggling significantly — it’s hard to get truly mad about this game, but it’s plenty easy to be sad about this historically bad run of form for Real Salt Lake.\n\nI’m not going to make today’s post just about my friend, but I can’t separate this game from our friendship. If you know anything about ALS, you know how devastating it inevitably it is. If you have the means, [consider a donation to the ALS Association](https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/133271855). You might remember [John Genna, who was Real Salt Lake’s VP of communications and public relations](https://www.rsl.com/news/genna-strong-always), and the fundraising efforts to which readers of this site contributed in 2022.\n\nToday, Real Salt Lake feels like the least important thing we could be discussing, but I’m going to let it distract me. We’re going to talk about the game. But I thought it was important to recognize that soccer is more than just a game of wins and losses, and it’s likely we’ve all made friendships around the beautiful game. I hope you all feel the joy of that at times, even when Real Salt Lake is at their very, very worst.\n\n---\n\nYou know what? We’re just going to bullet points today.\n\n- There are people that are going to talk about the injury crisis, about international absences. To my mind, those excuses died about — I don’t know — 8 games ago? 13 games without a win is tremendously poor form (hi, Seattle Sounders) and it’s been the case through any number of injuries. The only consistent injury is Justen Glad, and while I think his absence has had a significant impact, it wasn’t a surprise going in to the World Cup. Excusing the team’s performance for that should have us questioning other parts of the organization.\n- Signing a young center back with World Cup experience is fine and good, but finalizing that signing at the very, very end of a long transfer window has meant that any delay has been particularly problematic. We can blame external factors there, but we’re not the only club dealing with these conditions. We should know by now that obtaining a work visa is extremely chaotic at the best of times in 2026.\n- The last time RSL won an away match is March 7. The last time before that is July 16, 2025.\n- If we look at the statistical positions of players, this played out as a 4-2-2-2, with Sam Junqua playing as a left back, DeAndre Yedlin at right back, and Philip Quinton and Kobi Henry at center back, more or less. That was a forced move after Alex Katranis was forced out of the lineup with an injury during warm-ups. I don’t want to get conspiratorial about this time and injuries, but there sure to seem to be a lot of them right now, and they’re not just freak accident sort of things. I dunno.\n- “I think the guys executed the game plan to a T.” Pablo Mastroeni, everyone. “It’s tough. Going\u0010 from our last game, did we compete the right way? Every one of our guys said yes. Did you work extremely hard for the guy next to you? Absolutely. Tactically, between the boxes, did we execute the game plan? Yes. It just leaves the boxes again.”\n- Pablo continues by talking about players playing out of position, and you know what? I’m exhausted by this. He talks about Sam Junqua having to play in a new position, but by the looks of it, he just played at left back. Is Pablo Mastroeni mistaken about what he played? Is he lying? It’s one of the two, because it’s honestly very clear cut to my eyes. But I guess if I’m being generous to Mastroeni, I could see the argument that maybe Junqua didn’t play the role the way he would have hoped. I guess I’d buy that. The team does still regress to a back five out of position. But I’d ask a bigger question: Why are you playing a style that demands players play out of position? Why are you putting Sam Junqua, who has significant minutes for this team at left back, in a position where he’s trying to play some extremely misguided formational approach?\n- And I guess I should be more generous to Pablo, because rewatching does show Sam Junqua playing very high at times in the first half. But why? Why in the world are we persisting with a 3-5-2 with all these players out? Why is he playing Luca Moisa as one of two “10s”? Why persist with the chaos-reigns approach that worked wonders with Diego Luna at his best and Zavier Gozo making incredible runs?\n- Dominik Marczuk remains absolutely dire. That we couldn’t execute a loan for him during the offseason is perhaps a benefit to us, because I don’t know who plays there, but hey wait! I’ve got an idea — what if DeAndre played right back instead?\tWhat if we played a classic 4-4-2, ditched the nonsense, and just went back to basics? Because we now have Pablo Mastroeni after the match talking about how Sam Junqua is going to be playing left wing back in the next match, and I’m just asking: Can you be normal for once? If we can’t try a 4-4-2 during an injury crisis, if we can’t simplify what we’re doing? What’s the point? I don’t know how we got here from complaining about Marczuk, but what did he bring to proceedings?\n- If Real Salt Lake wants to be a development team, they have to be able to sell players and not have that immediately lead to a complete collapse. We saw it with Andres Gomez (though there are some clear mitigating factors that we won’t discuss today), we saw it with Zavier Gozo. In this case, I wonder further if we can’t have a coach that adjusts a system when a vital player in that system leaves. Seems nice, right? But this system exists without regard for the players, and Gozo isn’t coming back. This isn’t 2011 Real Salt Lake, when Javier Morales went down with a nasty ankle injury, but they persisted with the diamond all the same. He came back. Zavier Gozo isn’t.\n- It sometimes feels like Real Salt Lake thinks they’re the smartest team in the room, at least from a coaching perspective. They’re not. The chip on the shoulder isn’t justified; it’s a lie the coaching staff must be telling themselves.\n- Sergi Solans is great, and I’m glad we’ve got him, but he’s not a natural finisher in one-on-one situations. He creates so many of them, but he so rarely scores with them. That said — our approach cannot simply be “Solans scores with all his shots,” because that just not realistic.\n- Danny Musovski’s goal. What in the world is this team doing trying to build so poorly? Morgan Guilavogui puts just about the worst possible touch he could on play, then doesn’t track back. (You’ve got to track back when you make a mistake like that.) If you free the frame right before Musovski’s shot, you’ll see that Kobi Henry is close — but he has to shift over because there’s just no organizational sense about this team.\n- Albert Rusnak’s goal. We saw it so many times. He’s good from those positions. He finds space well.\n- I think Philip Quinton was fine. Not great. Not awful. He’s getting stick again, and yes, he had a poor moment playing out of the back, but you know what? This team should stop playing out of the back under pressure. It so, so rarely leads to the desired outcome, where the team takes advantages of players pressing high to create a numerical advantage further up the field. Instead, When the team plays out of the back well, it leads to them most often recycling play to the back once the opposition has moved back defensively. I even think he wasn’t at fault for the Rusnak goal, which was preceded by the team giving up possession far, far too easily. Yes, he’s not an organizing defender (I don’t think Justen Glad is, either), but if you pause at Rusnak’s shot, you can see Jordan Morris could easily have received a pass there and been onside. He would almost certainly have scored it. There’s another pass open to his left. He took the shot, but none of the options were defended particularly well.\n- So I guess what I’m trying to say is that Philip Quinton isn’t a singular problem, but he’s part of a host of defensive problems. Start with playing out of the back in ways that don’t actually benefit play, progress to a generally poor midfield setup, and finally get to attacking players having a wealth of options because honestly, nobody knows how to coach this team. It feels pretty evident watching them defend.\n- If I don’t see another shot from distance taken so inaccurately, it’ll be too soon.\n- A deep, prolonged sigh.28:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7331\",{\"id\":7331,\"headline\":\"Plummeting RSL find seventh loss in eight games; Seattle wins 2-0\",\"slug\":\"plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0\",\"body\":\"$32\",\"summary\":\"We can't keep doing this, can we?\",\"published\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:31:21.658Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":1}]\n33:T115e,In the immortal words of Charlie Brown: Good grief.\n\nGood grief, indeed. Six league games without a win. How is this the same team we’ve been watching in Leagues Cup?\n\nI could talk about what went wrong. A lot clealry did. But honestly, talking about how Philip Quinton, Juan Jose Arias and Lukas Engel, all together, played with the quality of 1.5 good center backs? It just isn’t exciting. Talking about how Diego Luna can look like the best player on the pitch, then immediately play selfishly and lose possession? The same.\n\nOf course, we should probably mention that Arias committed the cardinal sin of trying a backheel in his own box, and it led directly to a Dallas goal. And we should probably also mention that Quinton and Arias had basically no coordination between the two of them. \n\nAnd here’s the really frustrating part: It looked like RSL was going to at least draw the match, and while that’s not great, it’s still better than a loss. But no, here we are, sitting with a loss. In the final moment, RSL failed. They gave up a set piece in the middle of the field, packed the box with players — six of them! — and couldn’t defend a player cutting inside. Real Salt Lake in 2026 in tactically and defensively naive. The goals come, but more goals go.\n\nSo I guess I’d like to talk about something else. Still something frustrating, because I think it’s worth talking about how we neded up here — how we ended up in a position where we’ve gone six consecutive matches without a victory. Only once in the last five years have we gone longer without a win — and that’s seven games last year.\n\nOnly one team in MLS currently has fewer points in their last five games, and that’s the absolutely calamitous Seattle Sounders, who have managed exactly zero points in their last *eight* games.\n\nSo, how did we get here? I’ve got some (scattered) thoughts.\n\n- There’s a problem in defense that Justen Glad solved — is it a coincidence that he’s now gone seven MLS games without playing? I don’t think it’s just a talent issue, though he certainly is more talented than our center back corps. Without him, there’s very little pace on the back line, and more alarmingly, there’s very little organization. Just watch the goals back that FC Dallas scored and you’ll get a very clear picture.\n- The insistence on playing a 3-4-3 (or whatever the team wants to call it) is causing problems. DeAndre Yedlin is neither a true center back nor a right wing back, and while I don’t think the formation is universally a disaster, he’s being put in a difficult position here. Especially with Zavier Gozo gone, does it make sense to continue down this tired path?\n- There’s clearly some sort of rotational something going on, because Morgan Guilavogui and Sergi Solans both coming off killed a lot of our attack. From that point forward, RSL managed three shots, and each of them was from a very deep position. More concerningly, they also managed just three passes originating from inside the box. There was just no danger.\n- The substitutes, bar one or two, are just not anywhere close to good enough. Victor Olatunji hasn’t scored in 14 games. He has eight shots on target in 16 games played. Our newly signed ‘depth’ piece, Lineker Rodrigues, doesn’t look close to MLS-ready. On the other hand, Saba Lobjanidze looks very much the part, and I’m eager to see him in a starting position, and Pablo Ruiz looks better than I’d have expected, given his lack of minutes over the last five years. (He hasn’t had a 2,000-minute season since 2022.) And for some reason, Aiden Hezarkhani isn’t getting off the bench, despite a strong start to the season. (Remember that? It was so long ago.) RSL’s U-22 right wing back, Dominik Marczuk,  didn’t even make the bench.\n\nI wish this was all simple. I think a couple signings could help, but they’ll just paper over the cracks. A great team is more than the sum of its parts. A good team has good parts, and it’s equal to the sum of its parts. And what we’re seeing now? I don’t know. It’s either a good team that’s less than the sum of its parts, it’s not a good team, or it’s both in some degree.\n\nIt’s bleak out there. Maybe the $15 million Zavier Gozo transfer will lead to great things for this team, but until that happens, I’m not going to get excited about a transfer fee. I want to get excited about good players.29:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7328\",{\"id\":7328,\"headline\":\"Good grief: RSL drops home points again\",\"slug\":\"good-grief-rsl-drops-home-points-again\",\"body\":\"$33\",\"summary\":\"I don't know what to think about this team right now.\",\"published\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:19.946Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:19.946Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:20.043Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:49.186Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:20.043Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-08-20T10:45:20.043Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":2}]\n34:T135e,For the fourth time in five league matches, Real Salt Lake has dropped points after holding a leading position. And for the fifth time in five matches, Real Salt Lake has failed to win a match.\n\nForgive me for not being totally optimistic about this team.\n\nRSL has, of course, looked good in Leagues Cup play. Some of you are probably dimsissing those first two statements because of that fact. I understand why people are excited about Leagues Cup this year, \n\nOf course, four of RSL’s last five league matches have been on the road. That’s why I’m not particularly focused here on RSL dropping points in five consecutive matches — home matches remain more probable results for all MLS sides, and I want to be sympathetic to playing so much on the road.\n\nWhat I’m not sympathetic about is dropping points from a leading position, and that’s what we’ve seen a lot of lately. Perhaps I should also add some praise here to RSL for going ahead in these matches, but I don’t know. It seems like faint praise to me.\n\nI’d like to speculate about some reasons why this might be occurring, and I’ll try to cite real evidence.\n\n**Aug. 15: RSL 1-1 Minnesota United**\n\nRSL missed an 86th minute opportunity to go 2-0 up, and that’s the most proximate major error. RSL had only gone ahead in the 82nd minute through Sergi Solans, who scored a difficult opportunity. Immediately following that, RSL makes two substitutions: Aiden Hezarkhani on for Diego Luna and Victor Olatunji on for Sergi Solans. The goal comes two minutes after the substitutions.\n\nThe 89th minute has my biggest complaint: RSL plays backward to Rafa Cabral, who boots it long under basically no pressure. His clearance goes basically to Minnesota’s goalkeeper, who sends it long to Marcus Caldeira. Caldeira wins his header far too easily, and Juanma Sanabria lets Joaquin Pereyra sprint past him. Pereyra then chips Cabral to equalize. But here’s the thing — it never should have happened. RSL surrendered possession cheaply and cowardly, and rather than taking up a compact defensive stance, the team is fully stretched.\n\nIt’s an awful goal to give up and entirely avoidable.\n\n**Aug. 1: St. Louis 1-1 RSL**\n\nThis one’s frustrating. RSL is playing out of pressure well enough, trying to keep possession, and Noel Caliskan plays a backward pass to Rafa Cabral. Cabral takes the ball somewhat casually, and he attempts a pass back to Caliskan that never would have come off. Instead, it lands at the feet of Marcel Hartel, and he scores immediately. It’s an individual mistake, but there’s also a pattern-of-play issue here: Why did RSL just cycle back to Cabral in the first place? He was immediately under pressure, and while he let the team down with his decision-making, the team likewise let him down, putting him in that dangerous position.\n\n**July 25: Portland 2-1 RSL**\n\nMorgan Guilavogui was shown a 33rd minute red card. He made a mistake. I’m not inclined to pile on here, as these situations aren’t usually repeatable in the same way.\n\n**May 23: Minnesota United 1-1 RSL**\n\nIt’s a late equalizer for Minnesota, and this one’s in stoppage time. In the 91st minute, RSL is holding possession and Victor Olatunji has a great moment of strength to keep the ball. Up 1-0, he opts for a low-probability pass to Sergi Solans instead of a safe possession play.\n\nStill, the team manages to get compact in the 93rd minute, and they let Minnesota come at them. Minnesota’s Pereyra swings in a cross after a throw-in, and Mauricio González heads home. He should never have had the opportunity — Justen Glad and Sam Junqua just aren’t coordinated in their set piece defense. Junqua had only just come into the match, subbing on for an injured Lukas Engel.\n\nMy biggest problem here is not *necessarily* that Junqua and Glad couldn’t figure out who was marking whom, but more that Pereyra was given a free cross. Minnesota’s set piece plans there weren’t masked; Pereyra was just standing in a good crodssing position, and RSL was locked in their own box. There was no reason to leave Pereyra free — it was naive.\n\n---\n\nWhat can we learn from all this? I suppose for me, it all comes down to a bit of naivity in the team’s play. Putting Rafa Cabral under immediate pressure in two of these four matches — that’s wholly unnecessary, and it’s exposed a real weakness in Cabral’s game. At 36 years old, he’s not getting any better — so why is the team putting their goalkeeper in these positions?\n\nThese are the moments that separate good teams from mediocre teams. At the start of the season, it looked very much like RSL could be one of those good teams. Today? I certainly don’t think they’re a bad team — but can they prove they’re more than mediocre? There’s plenty of time — the team’s only halfway through the season. But if this midseason slump isn’t corrected, I fear the answer will be entirely too clear.2a:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7327\",{\"id\":7327,\"headline\":\"For fourth time in five matches, RSL drops points from winning position\",\"slug\":\"rsl-dropping-points-winning-position\",\"body\":\"$34\",\"summary\":\"It's all looking a little dour right now for Real Salt Lake.\",\"published\":\"2026-08-16T23:05:55.076Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-08-16T23:05:55.076Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-08-16T23:05:37.304Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-08-16T23:06:26.089Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-08-16T23:05:46.783Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-08-16T23:05:46.783Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":3}]\n2c:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"456\",{\"id\":456,\"headline\":\"Real Salt Lake release 2026 home jersey\",\"slug\":\"real-salt-lake-release-2026-home-jersey\",\"body\":\"Real Salt Lake's new home kit, dubbed the Switchback Kit, features classic RSL colors in a new format. \\n\\nThis is the team's first time wearing horizontal stripes, and the blue and red colors makes this feel like a classic Barcelona kit. The shirt features faint mountains on the front, a nod to the Wasatch Mountains that overlooks the club's home. \",\"summary\":\"We take a closer look at the brand new RSL shirt\",\"published\":\"2026-02-11T23:08:25.953Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-02-11T23:08:25.953Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-02-11T11:41:38.596Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-03-16T02:13:27.636Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":\"PHOTO_STORY\",\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":\"PHOTO_STORY\",\"leadPhoto\":{\"id\":0,\"url\":\"https://media.wasatch.soccer/wss-cms/sz1fjyldosobygepaumq.jpg\",\"alternativeText\":null,\"caption\":null,\"credit\":\"Lucas Muller | Wasatch Soccer Sentinel\",\"width\":0,\"height\":0},\"authors\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Lucas Muller\",\"slug\":\"lucas-muller\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-02-11T11:41:38.596Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-02-11T11:41:38.596Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":3,\"name\":\"News\",\"slug\":\"news\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":2}]\n35:T118a,A happy Thursday to you all; I hope the day finds you well. Our transfer window coverage continues today with a look at two moves — one that's apparently not happening and one that might be. We'll start with the one not happening.\n\n### Pablo Ruiz likely not headed to Colo-Colo\n\nDespite a persistent rumor linking Pablo Ruiz to Colo-Colo — one repeated somewhat widely in Chilean media — that particular deal appears to be off. Some discussion has centered around Colo-Colo dropping their bid, then reviving it shortly after, only to have it rebuffed; whether any of that is true, the [interest appears to have been genuine](https://www.lacuarta.com/deportes/noticia/entorno-de-pablo-ruiz-destroza-a-colo-colo-y-daniel-moron-no-le-gusta-que-ilusionen-a-la-gente/).\n\nIt's not clear if he'll stay at Real Salt Lake, and I'm still uncertain how the midfield works with him in it — at least with Diego Luna in a floating attacking role, with Ruiz's specialty being a bit more focused on finding wingers high up the pitch, rather than connecting players in possession.\n\n### Academy graduate Diego Rocio targeted by Club America for loan, potential purchase\n\n**Update: [This move was made official today](https://www.rsl.com/news/real-salt-lake-fw-diego-rocio-loaned-to-liga-mx-powerhouse-club-america)**\n\nHaving signed Diego Rocio only recently to a first-team contract, it appears he could be off already: Club America have targeted him for a loan move, according to reports in Mexico. Real Salt Lake acquired the homegrown rights to Rocio in May, at which time he signed a deal to play with Real Monarchs in 2025 before a first-team deal kicked in. The move, per the reports (all unsourced on social media, as is the way with soccer these days) would put Rocio at the Mexican side on a year-long loan, and the club would hold a purchase option.\n\nIt's hard to have too many feelings about this one, as he has only just signed a first-team deal, and we've not seen him play. Hope it's a good move for the kid.\n\n### Zavier Gozo rumors heating up\n\nThe list of clubs keeping tabs on 18-year-old Zavier Gozo just keeps growing. That list now includes Aston Villa, Villareal, Brighton, Atletico Madrid and AS Monaco. Given the recent transfer of Seattle's Obed Vargas to Atletico, all of these clubs sort of make sense. I'd argue they're players at similar levels of talent, and we know that European clubs are regularly scouting MLS youngsters.\n\nI'm not quite ready for Gozo to go, personally. I don't think we have to be excited about the financial aspect of any deal. We can be pleased for the kid getting a great deal, and we can be excited to see him grow on the international stage, but let's not pretend as fans that we must simply accept the reality of the situation and move on. The more we see a homegrown player at our stadium, the more we grow connected to their journey, and it's only natural to want to see them lead our club to glory. When we're deprived of that opportunity, it's only natural to feel a little aggrieved, however that may come out.\n\nFrom a financial perspective, the allocation money is worth caring about, I suppose, but I find it difficult to believe the mega-rich folks who own football clubs these days couldn't just invest that money themselves, should they truly desire. And as we saw with the Andres Gomez sale, we often don't have strong reasons to believe that the club will either invest all of that money into players, or that they will invest successfully when given the opportunity.\n\nRealistically, holding on to every talented young player is never going to happen. But as fans, we needn't live fully in reality — otherwise, we're not fans, we're just neutral observers, right?\n\nAnyway, everything's pointing until after the World Cup for this move, which makes a fair bit of sense from a summer transfer window perspective, what with the European windows closed.\n\n### Diogo Goncalves lands at Turkish outfit Konyaspor\n\nIt didn't take long for Diogo Goncalves to find his new club, as he's been announced as a new signing at the Turkish club Konyaspor, who currently sit 14th in the Süper Lig. One would assume that such a move was likely in progress before the announcement of his release — it seems most likely to me that Goncalves and the club came to an understanding about his future.\n\nWhile I'm not upset by his departure, it does lead one to wonder: How did it come to this? How did he go from a DP roster slot to a quiet departure?2d:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"455\",{\"id\":455,\"headline\":\"Ruiz move off, Gozo links grow, and Rocio linked with loan move\",\"slug\":\"ruiz-move-off-gozo-links-grow-and-rocio-linked-with-loan\",\"body\":\"$35\",\"summary\":\"Ruiz not off to Colo-Colo, Gozo linked with even more European sides, and youngster Rocio linked with Club America\",\"published\":\"2026-02-06T00:43:30.489Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-02-06T00:43:30.489Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-02-05T02:28:49.018Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-03-16T02:13:27.570Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"leadPhoto\":{\"id\":0,\"url\":\"https://media.wasatch.soccer/wss-galleries/DSC_2118_88bb03c5c1.jpg\",\"alternativeText\":\"Zavier Gozo dribbles with the ball in a match against Houston Dynamo\",\"caption\":null,\"credit\":\"Lucas Muller | Wasatch Soccer Sentinel\",\"width\":0,\"height\":0},\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-02-05T02:28:49.018Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-02-05T02:28:49.018Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":14,\"name\":\"Rumors\",\"slug\":\"rumors\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":3}]\n36:T1539,Well, I never! What a game to have been at. We traveled to Salt Lake for my brother’s wedding, which was a lovely occasion, and we were able to attend Saturday’s very nice 3-0 victory over New England Revolution.\n\nLife has a funny way of mixing tragedy with joy, doesn’t it? This isn’t about Real Salt Lake (though I am grateful for a match and victory I could comfortably applaud), but life is so rarely straightforward. If you’ve read last match’s column, you’ll understand (and things aren’t improving, if you’re curious.) The weight of things was served an important distraction over the weekend, but waiting to enter the stadium brought everything into a sort of sharp focus. Spending time with friends, many of whom I hadn’t seen since before the birth of our younger child, brought that into focus, too.\n\nI also read about the [passing of Tom Biro](https://weareecs.com/2026/09/14/tom-biro-eternal-blue-forever-green/) today, former co-president of Seattle supporters group Emerald City Supporters. I don’t know that I ever met Tom, though I wouldn’t be surprised if I had during one of several trips to Seattle. His efforts with that group are absolutely to be applauded; the organization’s statement on that is all you need to read.\n\nhttps://bsky.app/profile/sounderatheart.com/post/3mwhkpaow6k2j\n\nLife is a precious thing.\n\nLet’s move on to the game. Bullet points from a vacation rental this time around.\n\n---\n\n- What a start. What a start! Aiden Hezarkhani had such a great start to his season, scoring in two of his first three matches, but he faded off as RSL rotated in more senior players in the attack. His goal in the second minute was so similar to his first goal for RSL, shot high from a tight angle. His second was also sent into the roof. I don’t think he had the biggest impact on the match otherwise, and in fact, he held the lowest player involvement percentage from Futi during the match. That said, he’s clearly dangerous, and he formed part of a good defensive setup throughout his appearance.\n- To that end, Hezarkhani actually ended with a near-worst rating of ‘1’ from Futi — I’m not sure how he landed a 1 with a goal, but if he hadn’t scored, we’d be wondering what he was doing on the pitch. It felt less like he was part of a two-10s setup, which I think helped RSL significantly from a defensive posture.\n- New England have only themselves to blame for this outcome. RSL was good, but their mistake-to-goal-conceded ratio approaches 1.0. That’s a recipe for disaster, as RSL has seen so, so many times in the last 14 games.\n- Sergi Solans is … a mystery, right? That’s the best I can figure. The kid scores two goals, but he also has two big chances go completely begging. Twice he had the width of the goal to aim at, once in a one-on-one, and twice he put the ball right at the goalkeeper. The first goal he scored saw him take a poor touch, and it was just a New England mistouch that put the ball back into his path. Once the ball was back at his feet, he made no mistake with his first otuch and shot. The finish for his second goal — back the way it came, into the far corner where Matt Turner had no chance of reaching it — was special if he meant it, and incredibly lucky if he didn’t. I’m inclined to think he meant it, and his run to meet Guilavogui’s cross was perfect. What a strange, mysterious player.\n- Morgan Guilavogui was involved all over the place. I don’t always love his defensive stance, but he was where he needed to be at nearly every turn. His passing was especially incisive last night.\n- I think what we saw was a departure from the two-10s look that RSL has relied on this season, and it couldn’t have come soon enough. (It absolutely should have happened sooner.) There was considerably less cohesive midfield play, but the team also didn’t shove so many players into attacking and, more importantly, non-defending positions as readily. It worked well, at least from a goalscoring perspective.\n- In fact, looking at the charts, goalscoring is maybe the only way the tactical outlay worked well. It’s a jumble, a mish-mash. You get no sense of formation from it. About the only thing you really get is that RSL didn’t play with a double-10 system. (There’s a reason you don’t see that setup at big clubs — it leaves you incredibly open to have three players given roughly free roles, given Solans also doesn’t track back most of the time. I get why, given he’s dangerous on the counter, though I would *love* if he scored more one-on-ones…)\n- Do I think this gets RSL out of the rut? Not particularly. Was this an important win all the same? Absolutely. With how dire it’s been, having something to feel good about should ease some of the tensions we’re seeing.\n- Do I think this was a win derived from coaching changes? Ah, maybe — like I said, the more defensive setup mattered. But I also think New England conceding in the second minute from a controllable (from their perspective) situation mattered more.\n- I don't know if I love Sergi Solans coming off on a hat trick. I get it, but I think he could have had a third. That said, the injury crisis is bad, so I won't complain ... it's just something Pablo Mastroeni does a lot. Hat tricks are fun!\n- In four of RSL's five longest winless streaks, the match that stops the slide has been a 3-0 victory. Isn't that strange?2f:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7332\",{\"id\":7332,\"headline\":\"RSL recovers with 3-0 win over error-prone New England Revolution\",\"slug\":\"rsl-recovers-with-3-0-win-over-error-prone-new-england-revolution\",\"body\":\"$36\",\"summary\":\"RSL beat the Revs in an important 3-0 victory, with Sergi Solans and Aiden Hezarkhani providing the difference.\",\"published\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:49.296Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-27T17:35:35.463Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":1}]\n37:T25e7,It’s a weird one tonight. Real Salt Lake lost 2-0 to Seattle Sounders. I’m happy for Seattle, in all honesty. I’m kind of happy for RSL, too, if it gets us closer to actual, demonstrable change in our front office and coaching setups. I fear it won’t, but at this point, seven losses in eight games isn’t something you can explain without pointing any number of fingers.\n\nIt’s a weird one tonight, too, because a good friend of mine in Seattle is in the hospital. He’s one of the desperately unlucky few to have contracted ALS, a condition for which there is no cure. It’s a disease that progresses incredibly quickly. It’s a disease that’s impacted the RSL family acutely.\n\nMy friend, for whom we named our firstborn, is a fan of Seattle Sounders, having moved there some 20-some-odd years ago. When I first explored my interest in soccer, he was somebody I talked with all the time about the game. We watched the 2006 World Cup together; when we were in high school together, I watched his games (and left early with him after a red card; we ate at Wendy’s.) My relationship with soccer has been intertwined with our friendship. Today, with my friend struggling more than usual — and struggling significantly — it’s hard to get truly mad about this game, but it’s plenty easy to be sad about this historically bad run of form for Real Salt Lake.\n\nI’m not going to make today’s post just about my friend, but I can’t separate this game from our friendship. If you know anything about ALS, you know how devastating it inevitably it is. If you have the means, [consider a donation to the ALS Association](https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/133271855). You might remember [John Genna, who was Real Salt Lake’s VP of communications and public relations](https://www.rsl.com/news/genna-strong-always), and the fundraising efforts to which readers of this site contributed in 2022.\n\nToday, Real Salt Lake feels like the least important thing we could be discussing, but I’m going to let it distract me. We’re going to talk about the game. But I thought it was important to recognize that soccer is more than just a game of wins and losses, and it’s likely we’ve all made friendships around the beautiful game. I hope you all feel the joy of that at times, even when Real Salt Lake is at their very, very worst.\n\n---\n\nYou know what? We’re just going to bullet points today.\n\n- There are people that are going to talk about the injury crisis, about international absences. To my mind, those excuses died about — I don’t know — 8 games ago? 13 games without a win is tremendously poor form (hi, Seattle Sounders) and it’s been the case through any number of injuries. The only consistent injury is Justen Glad, and while I think his absence has had a significant impact, it wasn’t a surprise going in to the World Cup. Excusing the team’s performance for that should have us questioning other parts of the organization.\n- Signing a young center back with World Cup experience is fine and good, but finalizing that signing at the very, very end of a long transfer window has meant that any delay has been particularly problematic. We can blame external factors there, but we’re not the only club dealing with these conditions. We should know by now that obtaining a work visa is extremely chaotic at the best of times in 2026.\n- The last time RSL won an away match is March 7. The last time before that is July 16, 2025.\n- If we look at the statistical positions of players, this played out as a 4-2-2-2, with Sam Junqua playing as a left back, DeAndre Yedlin at right back, and Philip Quinton and Kobi Henry at center back, more or less. That was a forced move after Alex Katranis was forced out of the lineup with an injury during warm-ups. I don’t want to get conspiratorial about this time and injuries, but there sure to seem to be a lot of them right now, and they’re not just freak accident sort of things. I dunno.\n- “I think the guys executed the game plan to a T.” Pablo Mastroeni, everyone. “It’s tough. Going\u0010 from our last game, did we compete the right way? Every one of our guys said yes. Did you work extremely hard for the guy next to you? Absolutely. Tactically, between the boxes, did we execute the game plan? Yes. It just leaves the boxes again.”\n- Pablo continues by talking about players playing out of position, and you know what? I’m exhausted by this. He talks about Sam Junqua having to play in a new position, but by the looks of it, he just played at left back. Is Pablo Mastroeni mistaken about what he played? Is he lying? It’s one of the two, because it’s honestly very clear cut to my eyes. But I guess if I’m being generous to Mastroeni, I could see the argument that maybe Junqua didn’t play the role the way he would have hoped. I guess I’d buy that. The team does still regress to a back five out of position. But I’d ask a bigger question: Why are you playing a style that demands players play out of position? Why are you putting Sam Junqua, who has significant minutes for this team at left back, in a position where he’s trying to play some extremely misguided formational approach?\n- And I guess I should be more generous to Pablo, because rewatching does show Sam Junqua playing very high at times in the first half. But why? Why in the world are we persisting with a 3-5-2 with all these players out? Why is he playing Luca Moisa as one of two “10s”? Why persist with the chaos-reigns approach that worked wonders with Diego Luna at his best and Zavier Gozo making incredible runs?\n- Dominik Marczuk remains absolutely dire. That we couldn’t execute a loan for him during the offseason is perhaps a benefit to us, because I don’t know who plays there, but hey wait! I’ve got an idea — what if DeAndre played right back instead?\tWhat if we played a classic 4-4-2, ditched the nonsense, and just went back to basics? Because we now have Pablo Mastroeni after the match talking about how Sam Junqua is going to be playing left wing back in the next match, and I’m just asking: Can you be normal for once? If we can’t try a 4-4-2 during an injury crisis, if we can’t simplify what we’re doing? What’s the point? I don’t know how we got here from complaining about Marczuk, but what did he bring to proceedings?\n- If Real Salt Lake wants to be a development team, they have to be able to sell players and not have that immediately lead to a complete collapse. We saw it with Andres Gomez (though there are some clear mitigating factors that we won’t discuss today), we saw it with Zavier Gozo. In this case, I wonder further if we can’t have a coach that adjusts a system when a vital player in that system leaves. Seems nice, right? But this system exists without regard for the players, and Gozo isn’t coming back. This isn’t 2011 Real Salt Lake, when Javier Morales went down with a nasty ankle injury, but they persisted with the diamond all the same. He came back. Zavier Gozo isn’t.\n- It sometimes feels like Real Salt Lake thinks they’re the smartest team in the room, at least from a coaching perspective. They’re not. The chip on the shoulder isn’t justified; it’s a lie the coaching staff must be telling themselves.\n- Sergi Solans is great, and I’m glad we’ve got him, but he’s not a natural finisher in one-on-one situations. He creates so many of them, but he so rarely scores with them. That said — our approach cannot simply be “Solans scores with all his shots,” because that just not realistic.\n- Danny Musovski’s goal. What in the world is this team doing trying to build so poorly? Morgan Guilavogui puts just about the worst possible touch he could on play, then doesn’t track back. (You’ve got to track back when you make a mistake like that.) If you free the frame right before Musovski’s shot, you’ll see that Kobi Henry is close — but he has to shift over because there’s just no organizational sense about this team.\n- Albert Rusnak’s goal. We saw it so many times. He’s good from those positions. He finds space well.\n- I think Philip Quinton was fine. Not great. Not awful. He’s getting stick again, and yes, he had a poor moment playing out of the back, but you know what? This team should stop playing out of the back under pressure. It so, so rarely leads to the desired outcome, where the team takes advantages of players pressing high to create a numerical advantage further up the field. Instead, When the team plays out of the back well, it leads to them most often recycling play to the back once the opposition has moved back defensively. I even think he wasn’t at fault for the Rusnak goal, which was preceded by the team giving up possession far, far too easily. Yes, he’s not an organizing defender (I don’t think Justen Glad is, either), but if you pause at Rusnak’s shot, you can see Jordan Morris could easily have received a pass there and been onside. He would almost certainly have scored it. There’s another pass open to his left. He took the shot, but none of the options were defended particularly well.\n- So I guess what I’m trying to say is that Philip Quinton isn’t a singular problem, but he’s part of a host of defensive problems. Start with playing out of the back in ways that don’t actually benefit play, progress to a generally poor midfield setup, and finally get to attacking players having a wealth of options because honestly, nobody knows how to coach this team. It feels pretty evident watching them defend.\n- If I don’t see another shot from distance taken so inaccurately, it’ll be too soon.\n- A deep, prolonged sigh.30:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7331\",{\"id\":7331,\"headline\":\"Plummeting RSL find seventh loss in eight games; Seattle wins 2-0\",\"slug\":\"plummeting-rsl-find-seventh-loss-in-eight-games-seattle-wins-2-0\",\"body\":\"$37\",\"summary\":\"We can't keep doing this, can we?\",\"published\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:31:21.658Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-24T06:30:33.160Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":10,\"name\":\"Match Coverage\",\"slug\":\"match-coverage\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":2}]\n38:T275e,I didn’t watch this match live. Family things, you know? And I’d rather family things than watch this team live right now. That should probably always be the case, but there’s no conflict there right now. There’s no pull from my team. But I still don’t want to write about a match I haven’t seen, so I open Apple TV.\n\nWidow’s Bay. I’ve been wanting to watch that. It’s greeting me when I open the app, and I want to click. I’d rather watch whatever Widow’s Bay is (no spoilers, please) than watch this team and write about it. Come to think of it, there are a lot of things I’d rather do than watch this team in this form, especially because I don’t have a lot of interest in remaining unspoiled about the outcome of the match. I know the result already. Still, I watch anyway. I’m a little tempted to just watch the match recap. I don’t.\n\nI do fast forward through certain moments. The black-and-white starting-soon screen? I only watch a few moments of it. The national anthem, I happen to land on. Nice harmonies. They’re more together than I expect this team will be, given the scoreline and what I’ve already heard. It’s rare I stick around for the anthem, especially on a broadcast, but tonight I do. I know it doesn’t get any better from here. I know Brian White’s about 12 minutes from scoring, give or take. I think about how it might be fun to hear God Save the King on a Premier League broadcast, but perhaps mostly for the crowd reaction.\n\nMLS on Apple TV will resume shortly. And it does, because I scrub the video forward.\n\nI’m thinking about Diego Luna. We’re a minute in, and I’m not convinced he would have made a substantial difference. Brian Dunseth talks about all the hamstring injuries. He doesn’t say what I’m thinking, but I don’t think he’s saying much by accident.\n\nA 4-4-2. Is that what we’re seeing? A 4-2-3-1? I don’t know. It does feel like it’s either by necessity or by choice, but it’s clear that the necessity isn’t center back availability — it’s the lack of a right back available. Or a right wing back. Or whatever Pablo Mastroeni wants to call it.\n\nFive minutes in. This crowd is empty. It doesn’t look like the reported 20,000-plus. Tickets sold, I guess? But maybe that’s worse, tickets sold and deemed not worth using. RSL’s competitive, though. Not threatening, particularly. A cross to switch play with nobody around; that’s about right. Guilavogui’s getting involved and forcing Vancouver to foul him. Sergi Solans is offisde once again.\n\n9 minutes. Here we go. It’s getting hairy. Brian White, of course. Philip Quinton’s getting the blame, which happens a lot. But have you seen a team so reliably disorganized as RSL without Justen Glad? These aren’t spring chickens. Once again, it’s somebody lurking outside the box, and there’s just no awareness from this team. There’s no defensive plan. This is not Philip Quinton’s fault, at least not entirely. He’s one man, and there are eight in the box. Why are two players at right back? Why are they three players standing in a line near Brian White? Why is Noel Caliskan standing at the penalty spot with nobody around him?\n\nNone of these questions are about individual mistakes. This is a team that can’t defend as a unit. A great defense defends as a unit. At this point, the match is paused. I’m just watching the ball fizz back to the top of the box, a moment in time, the crowd struggling to fill one-third of those seats. I’m going frame-by-frame, because I want to see when Brian White got free. He gets past Quinton, and there’s still another center back that could pay attention there. I wonder if Brian White might be offside, but then I see that the ball might have glanced off Colin Guske. I can’t remember if that matters. He’s making a play at the ball. That probably resets offside if he gets it, right?\n\nThere’s a funny thing about a goalkeeper coming forward to complain about an offside call not given, isn’t there? Of all the players on the field, the goalkeeper has the worst view of offside, unless, I suppose, they have superhuman depth perception.\n\nI’m still thinking about Philip Quinton. I’ve seen worse center backs get exposed less often, but I think that’s because they had Kyle Beckerman in front of them. That makes a difference, doesn’t it? Noel Caliskan is good, but is he that? I think he’s probably more of an eight — a connector. What is he connecting now? I don’t know. Maybe that’s Colin Guske, now. It isn’t Stijin Spierings, though, is it? It hasn’t been, at least.\n\nThree losses in a low for the second time this year. Six losses in seven. It’s a dark time for Real Salt Lake followers. The only fun thing we’ve really had is Sergi Solans running around wildly. He’s a fun player, isn’t he? In the last five games, RSL has as many losses as they did in the first 14 games of the season.\n\nIt’s 21 minutes in now. RSL hasn’t created a single thing. I’m thinking about Philip Quinton again. I guess my position is this: If you’ve had a faulty tool in your toolbox for three years, can you complain when it doesn’t work as well as you’d hoped?\n\nBrian Dunseth just said something I’m going to transcribe for you. It’s worth paying attention. “I just don’t understand. In 11 matches without a win, how in the world is Thomas Muller untouched at the back post for an uncontested header? It makes zero sense to me in a time of urgency and margins that seemingly everything has gone against Real Salt Lake. Controlling controllables and staying touch-tight on your mark is one of the easiest things you can control.”\n\nAnyway. This match is a great reminder that I really, really don’t think altitude is a significant advantage for Real Salt Lake. It’s certainly not an advantage if you don’t make your opposition run or really break a defensive sweat.\n\nThomas Muller. Inevitable, I guess. What is RSL doing? This is a team that doesn’t know. I don’t know. I’m glad the dozen Vancouver fans up in the corner had a good time, I guess. This team is a disaster. The midfielders aren’t defending. They’re jogging along until things get difficult, then they’re sprinting away. It just takes three players making runs, and somehow — somehow! — there are still four players defending three, and Thomas Muller is running all alone. There are four players in entirely non-defensive positions. Muller is free. I know he’s one of the greats, but he doesn’t have to show it right now, does he? It’s funny. They’ve made this look like a breakaway. It wasn’t. Vancouver had possesion for a bit.\n\nI don’t really want to watch the rest of this match. I will, I think. I see Morgan Guilavogui step on a player. Why? I don’t know.\n\nIt feels like this team isn’t coached, really. This feels like a team that trains, sure. They understand each other, generally. They don’t understand what they’re doing on the field. Sometimes, the human spirit is enough. For 12 games, it hasn’t been. Saba is being asked to play deep, now. It’s the 35th minute. He half-raises his arms toward Pablo Mastroeni. It feels like he’s’ having to be told repeatedly. I don’t know who’s responsible for tactics. Is it a coach? I think probably so.\n\nA couple corner kicks, now. Nothing comes of it. This match is getting tiring. It’s getting late. It’s thankfully halftime, and the crowd does seem a bit fuller on the edge of it here. They’re doing the lights-off thing that stadiums love to do now that most have LEDs instead of (what I’ve just looked up) metal halide bulbs.\n\nSergi Solans just hit the post. I’m glad I saw that moment. There’s life in this old thing yet. Not a lot of it, though. Not enough to make watching this match interesting. Dominik Marczuk enters the field at right wing back. There’s a reminder that RSL tried to send him on loan. That attempted was unsuccessful. \n\n62:45. The ball is just leaving the feet of Rafa Cabral. His pass to Sam Junqua puts the defender under pressure, and he sends an errant pass to the eventual goalscorer. I don’t know. I’m annoyed by that goal because it’s entirely preventable. I don’t know how nobody gets in front of him, because there was certainly opportunity.\n\nEmeka Eneli enters. 65th minute. Taylor Booth, too. Cool. I’m genuinely happy for Eneli, whose return has been long-awaited. I’m starting to drift, though.\n\nThis team. I just don’t get this team. 12 games without a win, no win since the World Cup break. I’m just not seeing anything from this team that makes me think they’ve got another win in them this season. I’m sure it’ll happen, but I think it’ll be a surprise. They don’t look better than any team, and certainly, they don’t look better than their own flaws. Taylor Booth looks fun coming on, though. Maybe he’s a miracle worker.\n\nMorgan Guilavogui increasingly looks frustrated. He’s getting into scuffs and making bad decisions off the ball. Juanma Sanabria looks a little worse for wear. RSL’s defending seems to be getting worse. Thomas Muller keeps working hard, 87 minutes in. After the whistle, Pablo Mastroeni is arguing with the referee. I don’t know what any complaint he might have would have to do with the utter failure of a performance from Salt Lake.\n\nNext time out, it seems we’ll be missing a few more players. We’re facing Seattle Sounders, who have drawn five consecutive matches after losing eight consecutive before that. I would really love RSL to not be the team that gives them their first win after 13 without one.\n\nI guess the question I’m left with: Where does the buck stop? Right now, it doesn’t look anybody in any position at the club bears any responsibility for what’s going on. If the goal of this club is to make money for its owners, I guess lucking into Zavier Gozo’s meteoric rise is good enough for them. As a fan of this club, as insufficient as the term may be, that’s not good enough for me.31:[\"$\",\"$L26\",\"7330\",{\"id\":7330,\"headline\":\"RSL loses again at home, and it's looking bleak\",\"slug\":\"rsl-loses-again-at-home-and-its-looking-bleak\",\"body\":\"$38\",\"summary\":\"I go stream-of-consciousness while watching a shameful 3-0 loss\",\"published\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"publishedAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:50.763Z\",\"commentsEnabled\":true,\"displayStyle\":null,\"effectiveDisplayStyle\":null,\"authors\":[{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"Matt Montgomery\",\"slug\":\"matt-montgomery\",\"createdAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\",\"updatedAt\":\"2026-09-20T06:52:37.331Z\"}],\"tags\":[{\"id\":2,\"name\":\"Columns\",\"slug\":\"columns\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":true},{\"id\":1,\"name\":\"The Salt\",\"slug\":\"the-salt\",\"description\":null,\"isPrimary\":false}],\"groups\":[],\"streams\":[],\"relatedPosts\":[],\"postModules\":[],\"photoGallery\":[],\"gallery\":null,\"hero\":false,\"slot\":3}]\n"])</script></body></html>