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Ex-RSL star Cristian Arango leads Quakes in season opener

MLS: MLS Cup Playoffs-Round One-Minnesota United at Real Salt LakeOct 29, 2024; Sandy, Utah, USA; Real Salt Lake forward Cristian Arango (9) during a corner kick against Minnesota United FC during the second half at America First Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

A top-three team in the Western Conference last season, Real Salt Lake will hit the road to play its 2025 MLS season opener against the revamped San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

Real Salt Lake lost a pair of matchups in penalty kicks during Round One of the MLS playoffs last season and were eliminated by No. 6-seed Minnesota United.

RSL scored just one goal in the best-of-three series and it came from Emeka Eneli in the 75th minute of the second game. The offensive flameout came after the club finished tied for second in the Western Conference with 65 goals in the regular season.

Only four MLS clubs were better than RSL’s plus-17 goal differential.

Though RSL traded Chicho Arango to the Earthquakes in January, Foster Ajago was acquired in the MLS Re-Entry Draft from Nashville SC the same month and Elias Manoel arrived from the New York Red Bulls in a trade in December.

In a CONCACAF Champions Cup opener Wednesday, RSL played to a scoreless draw against Costa Rica champion CS Herediano. Defender Justen Glad did not start because of a nagging injury but came on as a late substitute.

“My ask of the guys was, ‘We have to compete like we’re in the middle of the season,'” RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni said of facing Herediano, who not only was the home team but already was 10 games into its regular season. “There were a lot of moments that were (sloppy) but what I was looking for was the mentality and to compete the right way.”

The Earthquakes have welcomed aboard Arango, who scored 17 goals with 12 assists with RSL last season and has 53 goals with 21 assists in four MLS seasons. However, he did not score over the final 10 games last season after he was suspended for violating the MLS anti-harassment policy.

Former MLS MVP Josef Martinez signed with San Jose in free agency and is seventh all-time in MLS with 116 goals in 184 games.

Making it all come together will be veteran head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena, a five-time MLS Cup champion who has been the head coach with DC United, the Red Bulls, Los Angeles Galaxy and New England Revolution.

“It’s going to take some time,” Arena said about his new club. “Our league doesn’t really start to get into action until really August. We have to survive the early going and be a team that is more competitive than it was last year.”

–Field Level Media

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Mateusz Bogusz brace carries Dynamo past Austin FC

Jul 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz (19) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first half against the Austin FC at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn ImagesJul 25, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Mateusz Bogusz (19) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first half against the Austin FC at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Mateusz Bogusz had two easy goals in the first 29 minutes and Guilherme Santos had a goal and two assists in a dominating first half as the host Houston Dynamo swamped Austin FC 3-0 on Saturday in a clash between Copa Tejas rivals.

The Dynamo (8-6-2, 26 points) extended their home unbeaten streak to five matches (4-0-1) and earned a split in the season series with Austin FC. Houston is 4-1-2 since a 2-0 loss in Austin to the Verde on April 25.

Jonathan Bond saved five shots to earn his fourth clean sheet of the MLS campaign for the Dynamo.

Austin (4-8-5, 17 points) remains the only MLS team without a road victory this season and has dropped four of its last five contests to the Dynamo away from home. The Verde have won just once in their past six matches (1-4-1) and followed up a stirring 3-1 home win over Seattle on Wednesday by laying an egg against their Lone Star State counterparts.

Houston swept to the front with a stunning trifecta of goals in the first 32 minutes. After Austin pressed the action in the early going, the Dynamo burned the visitors via the counterattack when Bogusz was the beneficiary of passes from Guilherme and Ezequiel Ponce and opened the ledger with a goal in the 12th minute.

Bogusz waited on the doorstep to the right of Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver for the pretty give-and-go sequence that found him wide open for the easy tally and a 1-0 Houston lead.

Bogusz then scored again in the 29th minute, outsprinting two Austin defenders for a long clearing pass from Guilherme before unleashing a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner that Stuver had no chance to save.

The Dynamo continued their onslaught in the 32nd minute as Guilherme scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season after assists from Agustin Bouzat and Felipe Andrade.

That tally was again produced on the counterattack as Bouzat drove his pass deep and high over the Austin defense for Houston’s dynamic star to run under before hitting a shot that Stuver could only watch bounce into the bottom right corner.

The Verde made a tepid attempt to respond over the final 15 minutes of the first half, with Przemyslaw Placheta testing Bond and then Brandon Vazquez producing a pair of low-percentage shots that the Houston keeper gobbled up.

Austin did little to cut into the deficit after halftime.

–Field Level Media

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Tyrese Spicer comes off bench to propel Orlando City past Nashville SC

Jul 25, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City SC forward Justin Ellis (22) battles for the ball against Nashville SC defense Jack Maher (5) during the first half at Inter.Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn ImagesJul 25, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City SC forward Justin Ellis (22) battles for the ball against Nashville SC defense Jack Maher (5) during the first half at Inter.Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Second-half substitute Tyrese Spicer scored in the 72nd minute to lift Orlando City to a 1-0 home victory over Eastern Conference-leading Nashville SC on Saturday.

Justin Ellis notched the assist with a clever reverse pass to Spicer, who slipped behind the defense for a clear look at the goal. Orlando goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau turned in his second straight clean sheet with two saves.

The Lions (6-9-2, 20 points) had four shots on goal while Nashville (12-2-3, 39 points) had two. Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake had three saves.

In the 14th minute, Antoine Griezmann carried the ball wide into the attacking third and curled a cross to Ellis, whose header was on target but saved by Schwake.

Orlando kept up the pressure in the 28th minute when Ellis found Griezmann, whose left-footed shot bounced into Schwake’s hands.

Ellis threatened again moments later, shaking free of a defender before testing Schwake with a shot from the center of the box that lacked enough power to beat the goalkeeper.

As the first half wound down, Shakur Mohammed carried the ball out of midfield before slipping a pass to Andy Najar. Najar then played a through ball to a sliding Alex Muyl, whose attempt was saved by Crepeau at close range before the two collided.

Nashville had its best scoring threat in the 63rd minute when Najar settled a direct pass from midfield with a back-heel flick to Mohammed. The forward from Ghana blasted a shot in stride that Crepeau snared and quickly smothered.

Orlando withstood sustained pressure in the closing minutes. Crepeau came off his line to claim a corner kick in the 87th minute, denying Nashville a second opportunity.

Later, Daniel Lovitz’s cross in the 89th minute was headed away by Wilder Cartagena. Nashville finished with a 7-2 edge in corner kicks and a 52-48 advantage in possession, but couldn’t find the equalizer as Orlando dug in defensively.

Nashville had its five-match winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in 11 MLS matches (8-1-2).

–Field Level Media

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St. Louis City's Tomas Ostrak delivers only goal needed to beat Rapids

May 9, 2026; Commerce City, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rapids midfielder Paxten Aaronson (10) fields the ball ahead of St. Louis City defender Fallou Fall (27) in the second half at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn ImagesMay 9, 2026; Commerce City, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rapids midfielder Paxten Aaronson (10) fields the ball ahead of St. Louis City defender Fallou Fall (27) in the second half at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Tomas Ostrak scored in the 83rd minute to give St. Louis City a 1-0 home win over the 10-man Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

The victory extended St. Louis City’s winning streak to four regular-season matches and their points streak to seven matches (6-0-1).

After playing 71 minutes with an 11-on-10 advantage, St. Louis (7-6-4, 25 points) finally broke through on Ostrak’s tally. A nice passing play from Tomas Totland set up Ostrak for a superbly-placed shot from the edge of the box that sailed into the right side of the net.

Ostrak’s first goal of the season came seven minutes after the midfielder entered the match as a substitute. It was just Ostrak’s second regular-season match, as leg injuries sidelined him for most of St. Louis’ 2026 campaign.

Rapids defender Rob Holding was issued a straight red card in the 12th minute, and Colorado (6-10-1, 19 points) then went into a defensive shell. St. Louis outshot Colorado 18-2, with no Rapids shots on target.

It made for a quiet night for Roman Burki, as the St. Louis goalkeeper didn’t need to make a single save to earn his second shutout of the season. Nico Hansen made two saves for Colorado.

St. Louis also didn’t deliver much direct pressure, as only three of the home team’s 18 shots were on target. While the Rapids defended well, St. Louis City committed some self-sabotage with a season-high 22 fouls, continually interrupting their own attacks.

Jeong Sang-bin’s shot off the crossbar in the 37th minute was St. Louis’ best chance of the first half. Rapids defender Lucas Herrington made a pair of close-range blocks on Totland and Daniel Edelman during a St. Louis flurry in the 54th minute.

Holding was shown the early red card after he brought down Jeong in open play in the 12th minute, likely preventing Jeong from a breakaway chance. It was Holding’s second ejection in as many matches against St. Louis, as he also received a red card in the 50th minute of St. Louis City’s 1-0 win over the Rapids on May 9.

–Field Level Media

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