Real Salt Lake’s decision day was more decisive than it needed to be.
After last week’s 2-1 loss to San Jose, the club needed a win (or a tie, officially) and a lot of help to book a berth in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs.
So with simultaneous kickoffs across the Western Conference, RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni was obviously watching those clubs around his own to see if they could get in, right?
“Not a chance,” he said with a smile.
You know Mastroeni by now: put your work together in silence, take care of everything you can control, and let the universe take care of the rest.
It worked, too.
Sergi Solans scored his 15th goal of the season, and Zach Booth added another as Real Salt Lake clinched the final spot from the Western Conference in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Decision Day in Sandy, Utah.
Of course, they needed a little help, too. RSL needed a win and a tie or loss by at least one of Portland, Seattle and Colorado — which sat 1 point above them in the Western Conference.
Portland and Seattle both won, 2-0 over Austin FC and 2-1 over LAFC, respectively. But FC Dallas rallied late for a 3-1 win over Colorado that promoted Salt Lake and simultaneously dropped their Rocky Mountain Cup rivals — and the Galaxy — below the playoff line.
“The way we approached this game,” Booth said, “was the first playoff game of the season.”
The Galaxy, too, missed the playoffs by a single point — the second straight season of missing the playoffs after winning MLS Cup in 2024.
Instead, RSL extended its West-leading playoff streak to six consecutive seasons, eight times in the past nine full seasons, and 16 times in the last 19 campaigns.
That’s not the end objective for Mastroeni and Salt Lake. But it doesn’t help, either.
Not after a club-record 13-match winless skid that included nine losses until a 3-0 win over New England on Sept. 26. After the midseason slump fizzled — which coincided with Booth’s return from a hamstring injury — Salt Lake went 4-1-1 over its last six games to grab the ninth and final playoff spot from the Western Conference.
“If you lose 13 games in a row, I think 90% of teams in the world would’ve quit,” Mastroeni said. “The credit really goes to the experienced guys in the locker room.”
Solans opened the scoring in the 10th minute, running to the pace of a long through ball out of midfield from Noel Caliskan to open his account for the day.
Less than two minutes later, Booth doubled the advantage with a right-footed ball in the penalty area that found the right corner of the far post to push Salt Lake up, 2-0.
“We felt like that was our chance to push,” said Booth, who clinched his first playoff appearance after beginning his professional career with England’s Leicester City and in the Netherlands. “Luckily, we got that goal.”
It’s the first goal in MLS play for the Eden, Utah, native since May 23 against Minnesota — before the FIFA men’s World Cup break, a Leagues Cup that saw him breakout at right wing back with a goal Aug. 8 against Atlante, and a hamstring injury from which he’s only returned in the past month.
Salt Lake out-shot the visitors 13-3 in the first half, putting seven shots on target and a couple more into the side netting.
But the Galaxy pulled one back in the 40th minute when Chucky Lozano’s cross deflected off a sliding Luc de Fougerolles to pull the deficit to 2-1 at the break.
RSL could have had more, too.
Solans ripped a right-footed blast over the center of the crossbar in the 69th minute, and the hosts out-shot the Angelenos of Carson, 20-13 with nine shots on target.
Instead, RSL held on with defense, clinching a spot in the West’s wild-card round Nov. 19 at eighth-seeded Seattle. Kickoff at Lumen Field is scheduled for 8 p.m MT.
“I think we made the game a lot more difficult than it needed to be,” Mastroeni said.
“But the game asked for us to defend in a block, and taking the lessons from throughout the season, they did a great job.”
Photographer Derick Fox was at the match for Salt City Soccer. Check out his photos below, and follow him on Instagram for more.
