America First Field, Sandy, UT – There were fireworks during and after the match tonight at America First Field. RSL took control early with a 6th minute goal from Noel Caliskan and a 43rd minute goal from Diogo Goncalves. St. Louis came back from the locker room with more energy and pulled one back in the 51st minute off a header from Joao Klauss and then an own goal came when Zavier Gozo got a deflection from Josh Yaro in the 64th minute. St. Louis answered in the 81st minute with a shot from Jazel Orozco to end the scoring before stoppage time. It was a tense 7 minutes of stoppage with a couple of major RSL mistakes that almost gave St. Louis the equalizer but the Claret and Cobalt held on for a home win.
We didn’t have to wait until after the match for the fireworks tonight. RSL pressed hard from the start of the match and it was Noel Caliskan that drew first blood in the just the 6th minute with a bullet from just outside the box to beat Roman Burki. Johnny Russell made his presence known and with the combination of Russell and Zavier Gozo the Claret and Cobalt kept St. Louis in their own end much of the half. There were chances for St. Louis but the defense frustrated them every time in spite of a couple of defensive mistakes that gave the visitors a chance. Johnny Russell had a couple of great chances with the best effort resulting in a 40th minute save by Burki that showed his athleticism. The home club added to their tally late in the half with a left footed shot from Diogo Goncalves in the 43rd minute to finish up the scoring before they headed to locker room.
With no changes made as they returned to the pitch it was St. Louis’ turn to find the back of the net with a header from Joao Klauss right in front of Rafael Cabral in the 51st minute. With the goal St. Louis picked up their energy and where RSL had most of the possession and corners in the first half, St. Louis was much more competetive. The Claret and Cobalt answered the charge from St. Louis and in the 64th minute Zavier Gozo almost put his name in the books but the goal bounced of Josh Yaro and was counted as an own goal. Things got a little scary in the 75th minute when Joao Klauss took a point blank shot at the goal and Rafael Cabral made a dazzling save and after the ball was cleared he laid down on the turf, luckily he was able to shrug it off and get back to business. With St. Louis finding their form late in the match they pulled one more back in the 81st minute with a goal from Jaziel Orozco. There were a couple of glaring defensive errors by Real in waning moments of the match but St. Louis was unable to capitalize and went home with no points for their effort.
RSL honored Johnny Russell tonight before the match as he plays his 200th MLS match. Tonights win means that RSL has not lost 3 matches in a row, the last time this happened was October of 2024. Real Salt Lake is still far out of the playoff race but with 7 points the last three matches they seem to be on the right track. Diego Luna will rejoin the club next match after his phenomenal performance for the US Mens National team. Next up for our boys is next Saturday, July 12 with a visit from the Houston Dynamo.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 2 1 3
St. Louis SC 0 2 2
Scoring Summary
RSL – Noel Caliskan – 6′
RSL – Diogo Goncalves – 43′
STL – Joao Klauss – 51′
RSL – Josh Yaro – 64′ own goal
STL – Jaziel Orozco– 81′
Misconduct Summary
STL – Conrad Wallem – 17′ – foul
RSL – Johnny Russell – 32′ – foul
Officials
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referee: Corey Rockwell
Assistant Referee: Kali Smith
4th Official: Brad Jensen
Video Assistant Referee: Younes Marrakchi
AVAR: Claudiu Badae
Attendence: 20,036
Lineups
Real Salt Lake: Rafael Cabral; Alex Katranis (Brayan Vera, 82′); Sam Junqua; Justen Glad; Noel Caliskan; Pablo Ruiz (Braiain Ojeda, 90’+5′); Nelson Palacio; Diogo Goncalves; Zavier Gozo; Johnny Russell (Dominik Marczuk, 60′); William Agada (Ariath Piol, 90’+5′)
Substitutes Not Used: Mason Stajduhar; Bode Hidalgo; Philip Quinton; Lachlan Brook; Jesus Barea
Head Coach: Pablo Mastreoni
St. Louis FC: Roman Burki; Jaziel Oroco; Josh Yaro; Jake Girdwood-Reich (Xande Silvam 80′); Tomas Totland (Joey Zalinsky, 72′); Tomas Ostrak (Tyson Pearce, 63′); Marcel Hartel; Conrad Wallem; Simon Becher (Mykhi Joyner, 80′); Joao Klauss; Cedric Teuchert (Celio Pompeu, 71′)
Substitutes Not Used: Akil Watts; Kyle Heibert; Ben Lundt; Jayden Reid
Head Coach: David Critchley
Tags: Football, Major League Soccer, MLS, Real Salt Lake, RSL, Soccer, St. Louis City SC, St. Louis FC, St. Louis SC