SANDY, Utah (ABC4) — After a humbling early exit in the CONCACAF Champions Cup at the hands of Herediano, Real Salt Lake looks to hit the reset button ahead of their 2025 MLS regular season opener against the Seattle Sounders.
The match kicks off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at America First Field.
Seattle Sounders brings in familiar faces
Seattle opened their season last weekend with a 2-2 draw against Charlotte FC, surrendering a stoppage-time own goal after a Jordan Morris brace had seemingly secured all three points. Now, they head to Utah with plenty of familiar faces in tow.
Former RSL captain Albert Rusnák—who assisted on Seattle’s second goal last week—played 140 matches for Real Salt Lake from 2017 to 2021, tallying 42 goals and 30 primary assists. Meanwhile, forward Danny Musovski, who scored five goals for RSL across a season and a half, joined Seattle as a free agent before the 2024 season.
On the sidelines, Craig Waibel, once an RSL assistant coach and later the club’s General Manager, is now Seattle’s GM and Chief Soccer Officer. Freddy Juarez, a key figure in RSL’s coaching ranks for over a decade—including as head coach— suddenly departed midseason in 2021 and remains an assistant coach for the Sounders.
Real Salt Lake looks to bounce back from losses
Real Salt Lake opened their season with a 4-0 road loss to San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday and now looks to rebound in front of a fired-up home crowd.
However, roster challenges loom large for head coach Pablo Mastroeni, with key departures in the offseason and only one healthy striker available. One new signing Ari Piol remains sidelined due to injury and another- Elias Manoel- has already been moved along per his own request.
“In the short term, there's a bit of pain roster-wise and injury-wise,” Mastroeni admitted. “But going through these challenges early in the season will strengthen the group. We’ve got to find a different way, a different mechanism, and for me, that’s really about mentality. It’s tough at the moment, but we’ll get through it.
“We’ve created more opportunities on goal than our opponents. Now, we just need to execute.”
Fans can purchase tickets here, and the match will be broadcast on Apple TV+ / MLS Season Pass, with RSL legend Brian “Dunny” Dunseth and “Tio Max” Bretos on the call.