Real Salt Lake fell 2-1 against the surging Eastern Conference Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania on Saturday night. While RSL was unable to secure a victory, the late goal by the visitors emphasized the grit and “never give up” attitude of the Utah side.
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A trio of returns and debuts for the Claret-and-Cobalt
Real Salt Lake entered its first road match since the October FIFA International break looking to earn its first road victory of the 2026 season against a Philadelphia side unbeaten in its last 12 matches. After conceding in the 31st minute, RSL was unable to equalize, forcing the visitors to head into halftime down by one.
As the second half began, Canadian defender Luc de Fougerolles entered the match, making his MLS and RSL debut as club player No. 245 in RSL’s 22-year history. In the blank minute, Utah native Zach Booth entered the match, making his first appearance back from injury since Aug. 15 against Minnesota.
Rounding out the night of appearances and returns was Australian forward Ari Piol who made an impressive return to play on Saturday after tearing his Achilles in RSL’s home opener on Feb. 28 where he netted the game winning goal in the 47th minute against Seattle.
While the two goals were two much to surmount, Georgian midfielder Saba Lobjanidze snapped the home side’s chances of a clean sheet, netting his third goal of the season and third in six matches in the sixth minute of stoppage time with de Fougerolles earning an assist, becoming the 9th player in club history to do so in his debut.
Quotable
“Obviously the changes of JuanMa and Luc completely changed the game, there was nothing changed tactically, it was just two international players playing at a really, really high level and a lot of confidence,” said Mastroeni. “And with them you saw the group change its mindset with the introduction of those two guys in particular, so I thought it was a fantastic second half and I thought the guys played extremely well and created a lot of really good opportunities.” — RSL Head coach Pablo Mastroeni
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Game summary
The cross-conference matchup was one of immediate pressure and energy as both sides traded offensive opportunities in the beginning minutes of play. RSL Captain Goalkeeper Rafael Cabral made his presence known in the 20th minute, stretching to get a fingertip on a dangerous goal-line cross to thwart a promising opportunity for the home side. In the 31st minute the constant pressure by the Union paid off as the home side found the back of the net first, putting RSL down 1-0.
With fresh legs and high-intensity defending, de Fougerolles made an immediate impact to dispossess his opponent before pushing the ball up the pitch to set up a promising scoring opportunity just six minutes into the second half. While RSL continued with high energy finding multiple scoring chances as the second half continued, it was Cabral who came up big once again in the 76th minute making a big save one on one against 17-year-old Philadelphia star Cavan Sullivan.
After a lengthy and controversial VAR review, the home side’s goal in the 81st minute stood, putting Real Salt Lake down by two. While the result was not in favor of the visitors, RSL displayed grit, and the late goal by Lobjanidze showcased the famed “Xdawg” mentality to the fullest, giving the visitors some positive bright spots as it looks to right the ship once again as it returns home next week.
Up next
The Claret-and-Cobalt return to the Wasatch Front next Wednesday, Oct. 14, welcoming the San Jose Earthquakes to America First Field for a Western Conference clash. Kickoff for the midweek matchup is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MDT. Tickets are available for purchase on the RSL.com and the match will be streamed on Apple TV.
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