Real Salt Lake Aims for Fourth Straight Win in San Diego Showdown

Real Salt Lake aims for their first four-match winning streak since June 2013 when they take on San Diego FC this Sunday night.

Real Salt Lake (3-1-0, 9 points) lost their season opener against the Vancouver Whitecaps but bounced back with seven goals in their three consecutive wins.

Last weekend, RSL secured a 2-1 home win against Austin FC, featuring midfielder Stijn Spierings, who made his MLS debut in the 81st minute and scored the winning goal shortly after.

The 30-year-old Dutch player was eager to contribute. He expressed, “During the second half, I was like, ‘C’mon, bring me on. I want to play and I want to have fun on the pitch with my teammates.’

RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni shared the same enthusiasm, wanting to integrate Spierings into the match. “It’s always tough bringing a player into a group that’s on a good run,” he said. “We brought Stijn here for his amazing qualities that can benefit our team. We definitely want to give him minutes.”

Star midfielder Diego Luna also scored for RSL, returning after missing the first three games due to a knee injury.

San Diego FC (3-0-1, 10 points) has outscored their first four MLS opponents 11-3.

However, they faced a setback against Toluca FC, losing 4-0 in the Concacaf Champions Cup, resulting in a 6-3 aggregate defeat.

Forward Marcus Ingvartsen is optimistic about returning to form at home against RSL. “We need to believe in ourselves. We have such a good feeling when we step on the field here at home,” he stated.

In their last MLS match, San Diego drew 3-3 with FC Dallas after giving up a 2-0 lead, with FC Dallas equalizing in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Ingvartsen converted a penalty kick in that match, while midfielder Onni Valakari scored the other two goals for San Diego.

Now, they face an RSL team that’s performing well. “I think we’re going to play a team that wants to keep possession, so we’ll be ready for that,” Ingvartsen added.

The teams split their two encounters last season, with each winning away by a score of 3-1. Luna scored two goals in RSL’s victory in San Diego, while Ingvartsen netted a goal during San Diego’s win in Sandy, Utah.