Real Salt Lake gets another chance to prove hot start is no fluke

Real Salt Lake looks to win three straight games in MLS play for the first time since last July on Saturday when it hosts an Austin FC side that has struggled in its previous trips to Utah.

Salt Lake (2-1-0, 6 points) has made a strong start on the shoulders of a youthful attack, with all four of its goal scorers so far age 23 or younger -- and two of them teenagers Zavier Gozo and Aiden Hezarkhani.

That has allowed the Claret-and-Cobalt to weather the early season absence of American World Cup hopeful Diego Luna, who led RSL with nine goals in 2025 but has been hampered by a knee injury.

And after a 1-0 loss at defending Western Conference champions Vancouver in the season opener, RSL answered with a 2-1 home win against Seattle and then a 3-2 victory at Atlanta.

As encouraging as those early results have been, manager Pablo Mastroeni is even more heartened by the interpersonal dynamic he sees within his squad.

"My thing is that, when you see these guys interact away from the field, It's like a brotherhood," he said following the win at Atlanta. "It's a bunch of guys that enjoy spending time together. There's no guy that's bigger than the team."

Meanwhile, Austin (1-1-1, 4 points) heads to Utah looking for a second win at RSL in its sixth trip since joining the league in 2021.

The Verde suffered multi-goal defeats there in both 2024 and '25, and against all opponents have lost four straight MLS regular-season away matches since a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on Sept. 7 of last year.

"We know that in general it's hard to go play there," Austin center back Brandon Hines-Ike said this week. "It's not a notoriously good place for us where we go. And so I think we're very aware of that."

Austin went down to 10 men after 25 minutes in its previous away trip, a 3-1 defeat at Charlotte FC last Saturday. Defender Guilherme Biro will serve a one-match suspension against RSL following his red card in Charlotte.

Up front, Christian Ramirez will look for his second goal in three games after he was signed off waivers for striker depth behind Brandon Vazquez, who is still rehabbing from ACL surgery performed last July.

--Field Level Media