HALFWAY: A RSL Review | OneFootball

The 2025 MLS season has reached its midway point. From here it’s all downhill through the summer heat, the Leagues Cup competition, then on to the final push for playoff position. Maybe not a playoff push for the team I root for, Real Salt Lake, but your team’s outlook might be different.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

At this same point last year, RSL was sitting in first place in the Western Conference. They were three points in front of LAFC and two points off the Supporter Shield race behind Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. Chicho Arango, one of their Designated Players, was scoring goals like clock work. Young budding stars like Diego Luna and Andres Gomez were coming into their own. Veteran player Anderson Julio was having his best season at the club. They had a stand out new player in Matt Crooks, who brought great skill, leadership, and tons of intangibles with him from Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship. Things were going great. Better than great, actually.

The offense was humming along to the tune of 36 goals by the end of May, and their record was nine wins, six ties, and only two loses. They were playing some of the best soccer that the fans and the club have seen in over a decade.

THE CURRENT NIGHTMARE

The adage “fortune favors the bold” seems to have forgotten, or at least turned on RSL. They find themselves in 13th place in the Western Conference. They’re on pace to score less goals through the entire season (32) than they did by this time last year (36) — half of the record-setting 65 from 2024. As RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni pointed out after their 10th loss of the season, on May 31st when they kindly “gifted” the Los Angeles Galaxy their first win of the season: “The hardest part might be changing expectations.”

LOWERED EXPECTATIONS

After a third place finish in the West last season, expectations were high. Very high. The team’s hope was to use the offseason to bring in players to complement Arango and the host of 2024 summer transfers: Designated Player Diogo Gonçalves, Dominik Marczuk and Lachlan Brook. The sky was the limit.

As it turned out, RSL actually lost players during the winter. Chicho Arango was suddenly traded to San Jose for a lot less than the $6,000,000 plus that they paid for him (a suspension for poor off-pitch behavior was a contributing factor). Anderson Julio was traded to FC Dallas for defender Sam Junqua. Matt Crooks decided that he wanted to head back to Hull City in the EFL. Andres Gómez left in the summer to Ligue 1 side Rennes. Those four players accounted for 42 of the 65 goals scored by RSL in 2025. They have not been replaced; though not for the lack of effort.

OFFSEASON TRADE MISSES

On MLS Draft Day in December, RSL traded for NYRB Forward Elias Manoel, who balked at the idea. Real Salt Lake transferred his rights to Brazilian side Botafogo in February. RSL thought they had the deal done for Designated Player, Robert Bozenik, who was already in Utah preparing for the move, only to have his club, Boavista, try to modify the terms at the last minute. The deal eventually fell through.

They were able to trade for Sporting Kansas City striker Willy Agada, as well as former-SKC attacker Johnny Russell, who was a free agent. Sadly, Agada has only produced one goal and Russell has been sidelined with injury and only played three games.

The most important signing of the offseason for RSL turned out not to be on the offensive side. In January they signed Brazilian goalkeeper Rafael Cabral. The 34 year-old won the Copa Libertadores in 2011 with Santos and has caps with the Brazilian National teams. His play has been good enough to keep this season from becoming an actual nightmare, but RSL need goals more than goal-stoppers.

DP SIGNING BUST

One place they aren’t finding goals is from their only Designated Player, Diogo Gonçalves. Since his August 2024 arrival, Diogo (24) has a total of 3 goals and 3 assists. He also was left off the roster and didn’t travel with RSL for the last two road games for disciplinary reasons, as reported by RSL’s Director of Special Projects. In all honesty there is really only one way to describe his tenure at the club: a complete bust and disappointment.

YOUTH NOT STEPPING UP

RSL has plenty of new young attacking players such as striker Ariath Piol (signed in the offseason), forward Jesus Barea (a 2025 super draft signee), striker Forster Ajago (signed from Nashville SC in the re-entry draft), forward Tyler Wolff (acquired from Atlanta in December), and Aussie midfielder Lachlan Brook. All of them have been given opportunities to make a case for a starting position. But none have been able to help move RSL out of the shadow of last season, or claim valuable minutes. In fact, Forster Ajago was sent out on a season-long loan to the USL’s Lexington SC in late April.

BRIGHT SPOTS

There are bright spots that have emerged through the first half of the season, however, all in the midfield.

Diego Luna has already matched his goals from last season with eight and has emerged as a true leader on the pitch. He also continues to get calls from the USMNT and should find himself on the Gold Cup roster this year.

Dominik Marczuk has continued to impress both at home with RSL and with his country. He was called up for International play and will roster for Poland in the UEFA Under-21 Championship in June.

The midfield trifecta is completed by Zavier Gozo. He received a National team call-up and will play in the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team camp in Cairo, Egypt, in June. When Dominik Marczuk was injured, he stepped into his position. His play was so electric he continues to get starts after Marczuk’s return.

EXPECTATIONS REVISITED

When your biggest offensive bright spots are 21 year-olds (Luna & Marczuk) and an 18 year-old (Gozo), expectations for the future are incredibly high. But if you’re looking to find a way to turn this current season around and back in the direction of the playoffs? Well, perhaps those expectations do need to be adjusted.