Was Real Salt Lake's 2025 season a success?

Justen Glad's first goal in two years wasn't enough to spawn a comeback as RSL fell to Portland in the wild-card round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Whether you believe the MLS Cup Playoffs start with the wild-card round, or consider that to be a “play-in” match, Real Salt Lake’s season is officially over.

Justen Glad’s first goal in two years wasn’t enough as the Salt Lake side conceded two first-half goals en route to a 3-1 road loss at Portland in a Western Conference wild-card matchup Wednesday night in the Rose City.

With Alex Katranis returning to the back line and a first-choice lineup that included Diego Luna, Zavier Gozo, Diogo Gonçalves and Victor Olatunji, RSL was poised to take advantage of a Timbers side that was winless in nine of its last 10 matches of the regular season.

But Felipe Mora had a first-half brace, and Kamal Miller finished a cross from Ariel Lassiter in the 82nd minute to send Portland through to the best-of-three West quarterfinals — and send RSL home early after a 12-17-5 regular-season record.

“We put ourselves in positions to tie that game up, and I think it’s a microcosm of how our season’s been,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “We have 20-some-odd chances on goal, and can’t seem to make The Play that tips the scales — whether it’s the crossbar, Vic not sliding across the front of the goal, Rwan fouling on Vera’s free kick.

“These are moments … and that’s why I always lead with making plays. We can get into the final third, but someone’s got to put the biscuit in the basket. At 2-1, we had ample opportunities to tie this thing up — and if you tie it up with the momentum we have, I’d bet we have a good chance of winning the game. But when you don’t put the ball in the back of the net … you’re going to find it very difficult to win games.”

RSL out-shot the Timbers 23-11, but placed just seven shots on target. What’s more, curious managerial decisions left some scratching their heads down the stretch. That included Mastroeni inserting struggling Designated Player striker Rwan Cruz and William Agada for Gozo and Olatunji in the 65th minute.

Cruz, the on-loan DP from Botafogo in his native Brazil, had what MLS analyst Matt Doyle called “one of the worst sub appearances in MLS history.” Mastroeni himself admitted that the Cruz “didn’t work out.”

Those and a handful of other decisions likely opens a conversation about Mastroeni, who quietly signed a contract extension before the season, and his long-term potential with the club.

There’s no doubt the former Colorado midfielder and head coach of the Rapids for three years has raised the floor for the franchise, with five playoff appearances in his tenure. You can certainly do a lot worse in MLS, and plenty of managers have.

But is Mastroeni the guy to take Salt Lake a step forward? The club hasn’t won a playoff game since advancing to the semifinals in 2021, which ultimately lands on the coach.

Or does it? During the four seasons since, RSL has been thrown through the wringer of ownership. David Blitzer and Ryan Smith acquired the franchise in 2022, then turned around and sold Smith’s portion and the bulk of Blitzer’s controlling interest to Miller Sports + Entertainment this past April.

Led by former Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller, the company has said it wants to win with the franchise both on and off the field. CEO Steve Starks was even open in April about potential plans for a Sandy sports and entertainment district centered around the club’s home stadium and Jordan Commons next door, which includes one of the Miller’s Megaplex movie theaters.

But the investment has hardly come (at least, not yet) on the field. Olatunji had bright spots with four goals and an assist in eight matches since he was acquired on a TAM deal, but Cruz tallied just one assist in 10 appearances, including eight starts.

The club replaced the sell of Andrés Gómez to Ligue 1 and Chicho Arango’s suspension-facilitated transfer to San Joe with the duo, as well as Gonçalves, who had four goals and five assists in 29 games; Dominik Marczuk, the U22 winger who lost his starting spot to Gozo and finished the season on loan to with FC Cincinnati; Lachlan Brook, the Australian winger who parted ways with the club in the summer and returned home; and Ariath Piol, the center forward who made 24 appearances with the first team while bouncing back and forth with Real Monarchs (where he had a goal and two assists in three regular-season appearances).

RSL has plenty of young talent that may deserve a shot moving forward — including Jesus Barea, who a team-high 13 goals and two assists in the regular season while leading the Monarchs to a fourth-place finish in the West; and academy products Aiden Hezarkhani, Owen Anderson and Omar Marquez.

They also have an elite goalkeeper in Rafael Cabral, who has signed an extension through 2027, to marshal a back line that wasn’t always consistent but regularly better than not.

But the club lacks a veteran finisher in the final third, and obvious questions swirl around Luna and Gozo, who have both reportedly received interest from overseas — and will continue until either decide it’s the right time to make a move.

“Guys that score goals, you can find them; they’re out there,” Mastroeni said. “It’s the biggest difference between last year and this year: We had guys that were prolific in front of goal.

“What that does is, it also affects the way you defend. A lot of people don’t understand that; if there’s so much pressure your offense isn’t scoring goals, then you can’t get it wrong once in the back. The pressure on the back line increases when there aren’t guys up front who are going to be scoring regularly … It’s something that we’ve got to look at moving forward.”