RSL Dominant in 2-0 Home Victory Over New England

August 31, 2024 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Real Monarchs News Release

SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake (13-6-8, 47 Pts, 3rd West) defeated New England Revolution 2-0 in front of an eighth consecutive sold-out crowd (20,475) at America First Field to snap a two-game MLS losing streak. The three-pointer marks the first league victory for RSL since July 6 and the first clean sheet since June 15, with Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s squad featuring the debut of recent signing Dominik Marczuk and the first starts for new acquisitions Lachlan Brook and Javain Brown.

Coming out for the first 45 on Kick Childhood Cancer Night, RSL was absolutely dominant in every phase of the game, Mastroeni’s XI highlighted by a bevy of faces fresh to the Beehive State. The Claret-and-Cobalt, creating chances left and right in the early stages, nearly got on the board in the 30′ with a Braian Ojeda score that would be called back for offside. Then, with the halftime whistle looming, Anderson Julio manufactured an individual goal out of thin air at the 45+3′ mark to put his squad ahead. Heading into the locker room up 1-0, RSL held the clear advantage in shots (12-3), shots on target (7-1) and expected goals (1.8-0.2)

Coming out for the second 45, RSL was clearly on the hunt to extend its advantage, breaking through at the 56′ mark when Philip Quinton scored his first career RSL goal with a one-time half volley, the 6’6” providing RSL’s second centerback goal of the season (Brayan Vera, July 17). From there it would be smooth sailing for Real, finishing out the affair with a 20-8 shots advantage and 2.7-0.7 expected goals disparity.

Captain Justen Glad was a bright spot in the defense, finishing his night with 36 passes at a 94.7% accuracy rate and making a handful of crucial interventions as the last man back. Also making an impact was summer DP signing Diogo Gonçalves in the attacking midfield, the Portuguese maestro collecting a match-high four key passes and a shot on target in his 90 minutes. 19-year-old Gavin Beavers was solid in net, making two saves en route to his third clean sheet in eight MLS matches this year. The goose egg marks the first RSL clean sheet since June 15 and the first at home since May 27.

RSL next continues the hunt for hardware in two weeks, on Saturday, September 14 in Houston for a matchup with familiar foes Houston Dynamo, returning for back-to-back games at America First Field on Wed., Sept. 18 (DAL) and Sat., Sept. 21 (POR).

GOAL SCORING SUMMARY:

RSL -…