America First Field, Sandy, UT – Real Salt Lake tops the Seattle Sounders in the home opener for the 2025 MLS Season. After a disappointing season premier last week in San Jose the Claret and Cobalt made a great impression today at America First Field with an impressive win over west conference rival Seattle. RSL looked sharp from the start and Seattle looked a little rusty and it showed right away with Nouhou Tolo credited with an own goal in just the 8th minute of play. Forster Ajago came off the bench in the second half of play to put the affair firmly in RSL hands with a goal late in the match.
The first half was greeted by a roaring crowd of RSL fans ready for their club and a host of new players. Things really heated up when Alex Katranis sent the ball into the box and with RSL out of position Nouhou headed the ball down possibly trying to put the ball in the hands of Stefan Frei but Frei was out of position and he put the ball in the back of his own goal to put RSL up 1-0 in the 8th minute of play. RSL had a number of great chances in the first half to add to their lead but Frei kept his club still in the mix as the clubs headed to the locker room at the break.
Seattle made a couple of changes in their lineup as the second half began but it wasn’t enough to turn things in their favor as RSL kept up the pressure the entire match. It was late in the match when Forster Ajago was subbed in the Ariath Piol in the 68th minute and minutes later doubled the lead in the 79th minute to wrap up the scoring for the night. The visitors just couldn’t come up with any answers tonight and will head back home empty handed.
Real Salt Lake stays at home for their next match Saturday, March 8th when San Diego FC visits America First Field
Today was the first clean sheet for Rafael Barbosa taking over goalkeeping duties for RSL. Forster Ajago is the only RSL player to score this year after he scored the loan goal for his club in the Concacaf Champions Cup last week.
Goals by Period 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 1 2
Seattle Sounders 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
RSL – Nouhou Tolo (OG) – 8′
RSL – Forster Ajago – 79′
Misconduct Summary
SEA – Nouhou Tolo – 25′ – foul
RSL – Javain Brown – 56′ – foul
RSL – Forster Ajago – 90’+4′ – foul
Officials
Referee: Ricardo Fierro
Assistant Referee: Jeremy Kieso
Assistant Referee: Kali Smith
4th Official: Jon Freemon
Video Assistant Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero
AVAR: TJ Zabloki
Lineups
Real Salt Lake: Rafael Barbosa; Justen Glad; Philip Quinton (Brayan Vera, 83′); Javain Brown (Kobi Henry, 80′); Alexadros Katranis (Sam Jungua, 68′); Braian Ojeda; Diego Luna; Diogo Goncalves; Dominik Marczuk (Bode Hidalgom, 68′); Emeka Eneli; Ariath Piol (Forster Ajago, 68′)
Substitutes Not Used: Mason Stajduhar; Pablo Ruiz; Tyler Wolff; Nelson Palacio
Head Coach: Pablo Mastroeni
Seattle Sounders: Stefan Frei; Nouhou Tolo (Jackson Ragen, 69′); Jonathan Bell; Yeimar Andrade; Kalani Koosa-Rienzi (Jesus Ferriera, 69′); Albert Rusnak; Paul Rothrock (Paul Arriola, 46′); Obed Vargas; Georgi Minoungou (Pedro de la Vega, 46′); Jordan Morris (Danny Leyva, 80′)
Substitutes Not Used: Danny Musovski; Andrew Thomas; Jackson Ragen; Joao Paulo; Cody Baker
Head Coach: Brian Schmetzer
Tags: 2025 MLS Season, Major League Soccer, MLS, Real Salt Lake, RSL, Seattle Sounds, Soccer