{"id":795325,"date":"2026-05-14T07:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/795325\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T07:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:33:14","slug":"real-salt-lake-dominates-with-3-0-second-half-vs-houston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/795325\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Salt Lake Dominates with 3-0 Second Half vs Houston"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real Salt Lake Dominates with 3-0 Second Half vs Houston<\/strong><\/p>\n

SANDY, Utah (Wed., May 13, 2026) \u2013<\/strong> Real Salt Lake (7-4-1, 22 points, 4th West) rode a dominant second half against Houston Dynamo FC (6-6-0, 18 points, 8th West) on Wednesday night at America First Field, with Utah native Zavier Gozo<\/a>\u2019s first-ever MLS brace, propelling the Claret-and-Cobalt to a commanding 3-0 home victory and the Club’s second clean sheet of the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

RSL Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni<\/strong> made three changes from the starting XI in Saturday\u2019s loss at Dallas, bringing homegrown Academy product Griffin Dillon<\/a> to the lineup in place of the last remaining field-playing “Iron Man\u201d Noel Caliskan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. World Cup hopeful Diego Luna<\/a> made way in the midfield for Polish MF Dominik Marczuk<\/a>, making his first start of 2026 on the wing, pushing Zavier Gozo inside to a playmaking 10 position. Nigerian FW Victor Olatunji<\/a> also joined the starting XI in place of Spanish attacker Sergi Solans<\/a>, with three games in seven days ahead of Saturday\u2019s home match against Colorado.<\/p>\n

The match began with various opportunities on both sides of the pitch. RSL GK Rafael Cabral<\/a> made a crucial save in the thirteenth minute after Houston forced a turnover, diving for the ball at the top of the 18-yard-box and preventing Houston from drawing first blood. Cabral has played the full 90 minutes across all competitions for the last two seasons, with Wednesday marking his 52nd consecutive match logging every minute since signing with RSL. In the 39th minute, the \u201cWall-of-Cabral\u201d struck again when he made back-to-back diving saves, blocking one heading for the left of the net and tipping another over the top post.<\/p>\n

Just four minutes into a much more energetic second half, the Claret-and-Cobalt took the lead with an own goal from Houston DF Duane Holmes as he attempted to clear the ball from a final third throw-in taken by RSL DF DeAndre Yedlin<\/a>. After the ball left Yedlin\u2019s hands, it was headed by DF Franco Negri, spinning behind him, where Holmes attempted to defend the Houston goal with a clear, with the ball landing in the back of the net.<\/p>\n

Eight minutes later, Yedlin received the ball at midfield off a goal kick from Cabral, and made a deep breakaway into the center of Houston\u2019s box. Yedlin\u2019s pass off to Gozo on his left – through the legs of a Houston defender – set up a clinical right-footed shot that landed in the bottom left corner, doubling RSL\u2019s advantage, 2-0.<\/p>\n

Gozo wasted no time finding the back of the net again for his first-ever MLS \/ RSL multi-goal performance. In the 64th minute – seven minutes after his previous goal – the homegrown midfielder received a carefully-planted pass from RSL MF Stijn Spierings<\/a>, setting him up perfectly for an attack. Gozo blasted the ball into the bottom right corner with his right foot, bringing the advantage to 3-0. The goal marked Gozo\u2019s first brace of his RSL career, and crowned him as the youngest-ever player in RSL history to score multiple goals in a regular-season game at 19 years and 52 days old.<\/p>\n

The Claret-and-Cobalt remain home at America First Field this Saturday, May 16, when Rocky Mountain Cup rival Colorado Rapids arrive in Utah, with RSL hoping to extend its 6-1-0 (W-L-T) home record. Kickoff is slated for 7:30pm MT, with limited tickets available for purchase here<\/a> for RSL\u2019s 13th consecutive sellout crowd.<\/p>\n

GOAL SCORING SUMMARY: RSL 3 : 0 HOU<\/strong><\/p>\n

RSL: Duane Holmes (OWN GOAL) 49\u2019:<\/strong> After a long throw in by Yedlin, the ball skimmed the head of Houston DF Franco Negri before Holmes unsuccessfully knocked the ball into the back of his own net.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RSL: Zavier Gozo (DeAndre Yedlin, Rafael Cabral) 57\u2019:<\/strong> Cabral sent a goal kick up the right side of the field to Yedlin, who dribbled up the field with space before shoveling the ball to Gozo just outside the box. Gozo ran onto the ball, sending a perfectly-placed shot into the bottom left corner with his right foot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RSL: Zavier Gozo (Stijn Spierings, Sam Junqua) 64\u2019:<\/strong> After receiving the ball in defensive end, Junqua sent it upfield to Spierings, who took a touch before sending a perfectly-weighted pass through the middle to Gozo. Now tied for RSL\u2019s Golden Boot lead with five goals, the 19-year-old scored a right-footed goal from the top of the box.\u00a0<\/p>\n