March 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Real Salt Lake forward Sergi Solans (22) and forward Aiden Hezarkhani (39) celebrate their first-half goal against Atlanta United at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Real Salt Lake will look to secure its third straight win in MLS play for the first time since taking on a struggling Austin FC team on Saturday in Utah last July.
Salt Lake (2-1-0, 6 points) is off to a strong start thanks to a young attack that includes all four of its goal scorers so far being 23 years old or younger, two of them teenagers Xavier Gozo and Aiden Hezarkhanyin.
This allowed the Claret-and-Cobalt to withstand the early-season absence of US World Cup hopeful Diego Luna, who led RSL with nine goals in 2025 but has been hampered by a knee injury.
And after falling 1-0 against Western Conference champion Vancouver in the season opener, RSL posted a 2-1 win at home against Seattle and a 3-2 win in Atlanta.
As encouraging as the early results have been, coach Pablo Mastroeni is even more encouraged by the interpersonal dynamics he sees within the team.
“What I think is, when you see these guys interacting off the field, it’s like a brotherhood,” he said after the win in Atlanta. “These are people we enjoy spending time with. No one is bigger than the team.”
Meanwhile, Austin (1-1-1, 4 points) heads to Utah looking for its second win in the RSL in its sixth trip since joining the league in 2021.
The Verde suffered multiple-goal losses in both 2024 and 2025, and have lost four consecutive MLS regular season away games against all opponents since a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on September 7 of last year.
“I know it’s difficult to play there in general,” Austin center back Brandon Hines-Ike said this week. “Where we’re going is not a very good place for us, so I think we know that.”
Austin were down to 10 men after 25 minutes in their previous away game, a 3-1 loss to Charlotte FC last Saturday. Defender Guilherme Biro will serve a one-game suspension against RSL after receiving a red card in Charlotte.
Up front, Christian Ramirez will look to score his second goal in three games after being cleared on waivers to add forward depth to Brandon Vazquez, who is still rehabbing from ACL surgery last July.
–Field level media
