Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. Time for a trip to the Wasatch Basin as it’s time to have a go at our close friends, with delusions of royalty, Real Salt Lake. P.S. Utah has no King. And with that indisputable fact stated, let’s move on to football analysis.
What: MLS league match, Real Salt Lake v. Seattle Sounders FC.
Where: State Street, Sandy, Utah.
When: 4:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Saturday 28 February 2026 CE.
At Stake: It might be nice to add to the one and only league win we’ve ever managed at Salt Lake. That last victory was 28 May 2011, over 15 years ago. Aside from that, a victory would keep us at the top of the league table and be a foundation to build upon in terms of possibly winning an MLS league title. Sounders only won the league once, in 2014 - over 12 years ago. Also important to set the tone as the Salt Lake match is our first fixture of a five-match road trip, whilst groundskeepers at Royal Brougham Park install a natural grass pitch for the World Cup Finals so FIFA, and known fascist sycophant Gianni Infantino, don’t get their pants in a bunch.
Where to Watch: Apple TV.
Where to Listen: iHeart Media Seattle, which I can only assume will be the KJR feed, and El Rey 1360 AM.
With Brian Schmetzer as Manager, Sounders FC are 0-for-Salt Lake. This is a problem. Whether it’s not taking into account the effect of high altitude on pro athletes, some kind of a mental thing, unlucky scheduling that’s caught us with too many injured or fatigued, or occult intervention: For some reason we have little to no success at the State Street football ground in league play. This is, of course, unacceptable.
The thing about obstacles that seem insurmountable is that once you crack the code and find that first way through, over, or under that obstacle, the obstacle no longer seems insurmountable. After the gritty and determined display at Royal Brougham Park on Sunday that earned us victory over Colorado, I believe that Sounders are capable of winning this match. It’s going to require careful preparation, which we’re plenty good at, and also a realistic and unbiased assessment of our squad’s physical strengths and weaknesses - particularly when playing football at altitude. It should be done, it can be done, and through skill, grace, and effort, hopefully, it will be done.
Those of our number that are going to the away ground must look after each other. Tie your scarves proper. And stay away from that weak, weak beer that’s sold in Utah. Those of us who remain in The Evergreen, and who are with sub-groups of ECS all through the nation, we attempt to will the lads to victory through the power of hope and belief as we watch the arbitrament of the sword through the objectively dispassionate window of the telly screen.
It’s Sounders football under the setting sun, and then the Saturday night lights of State Street. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!
Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”
State Street, Sandy, Utah. Suddenly I feel light-headed. Must just be my imagination.
The Good News
We won our first opener in three years. Perhaps not as stylishly as we would have liked, but the effectiveness cannot be argued. To be fair this largely describes the aesthetics of our football. End of the day, we won the match. I loved that we won, and a hearty well done to the players, coaching staff, and support staff.
Well done, Rothrock and Rusnak, who both scored goals on Sunday. Rusnak’s header was made possible by Rothrock who turned provider and dropped a sweet cross right on Albert’s melon. De Rosario and Alex had moves as well, with a least one dribble each that left the opposition scrambling to contain them. These are good signs. Good signs indeed.
We are scoring plenty of goals. Including pre-season matches, Sounders FC are scoring goals at a clip of 2.29 per match. Conversely, the Salt Lake are struggling to score goals, averaging less than a goal per match (0.83, including pre-season fixtures), and were shut-out at BC place last Sat, by Vancouver in their league opener.
We are defending quite well, having shut-out Colorado on Sunday, and have conceded an average of 1.00 goals/match so far (includes pre-season).
Sounders are unbeaten in their last three matches (3-0-0, including pre-season), whilst Salt Lake have not won since defeating Brondby in pre-season in Portugal on 26 January.
With both former Sounders and United States defender, DeAndre Yedlin, and Salt Lake and United States starlet, Diego Luna unavailable, it will be that much less skill we have to face on Sat.
The Bad News
In 18 previous league fixtures at Salt Lake, Sounders FC have only won once (1-4-13).
The Salt Lake outspent us in the offseason by a factor of €10.3M to €0. They added a defender, Engel from Middlesbrough for €830,000, a striker in Guilavogui from Lens for €5M, and a midfielder, Sanabria from Atletico San Luis for €2.1M. Our response: Adding a couple of talented Reserve team players the Gaffer will play sparingly if at all (Gomez and Tsukanome), signing a talented and experienced local lad who used to play for Minnesota United (Dotson) on a free transfer, a Serbian midfielder (Petkovic) we had to borrow from another club who will also not be likely to earn his way into the Gaffer’s “circle of trust”, and a depth goalkeeper (Anchor) put on waivers by Vancouver who will likely only feature for the Reserve team. To be fair, the Dotson signing was the smartest we made in the off-season, I’ll give Craig Waibel credit for that. Is Dotson a true replacement for Obed Vargas? That remains to be seen.
De la Vega, Morris, Sailor, and Hawkins are unavailable due to injury. Kim and Minoungou are match-day decisions. That’s a lot of attrition for so early in the season. Fortunately, for now, our fixtures have plenty of time between them. Hopefully our lads will mend soon, and return to full fitness.
Although the Salt Lake struggle to score goals, they have been quite stingy on the defensive end of things, allowing only 1.33 goals/match (includes pre-season).
Brondby shut us out in pre-season 2:0. The Salt Lake beat them 1:2. Make of that what you will.
From a youth development perspective, Salt Lake are producing a steady stream of prospects. You might not have heard of any of them, hardly unusual for footballers of that age, but they’ve got a good sight more quality than you might imagine. You look through the squad list and nothing really jumps out at you. Sure Yedlin was a mainstay for the Yanks for years, and Luna is an up and coming star with Salt Lake and the Yanks, but they’re both injured right now. Cade Cowell’s little brother Chance is in the squad. Justen Glad played youth football for the Yanks, but never got a senior cap. It seems like it should be a walkover when we play them. Don’t be fooled. They have scads of youngers who are hungry, skilful, well-trained, and prepared.
The Side I Would Select
Sounders last played on Sunday, giving them five days without a match before Salt Lake. With that much time between matches, I’d have the team that won, minus Morris, who is out with a quadriceps issue. Rothrock is the sensible replacement on the left side. Generally, I’d advocate for a younger selection, due to the effects of altitude. For this fixture though, I’d recommend early substitutes if our older veteran players are struggling with the thin air. For example: Lopez (assuming he’s still available) for Gomez Andrade, Brunell for Cristian, Ferreira switches to CAM with Minoungou (provided he is healthy, perhaps Tsukanome if he isn’t with Rothrock moving to the right) lining up on the right for Rusnak.
GK Thomas
LB Nouhou
LCH Ragen
RCH Gomez Andrade
RB Alex
LDM Dotson
RDM Cristian
LF Rothrock
CAM Rusnak
RF Ferreira
CF De Rosario
The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select
Can’t imagine the lineup changing much from the winning side on Sunday.
GK Thomas
LB Nouhou
LCH Ragen
RCH Gomez Andrade
RB Alex
LDM Dotson
RDM Cristian
LF Rothrock
CAM Rusnak
RF Ferreira
CF De Rosario
Intangibles
The Referee for Saturday afternoon’s match will be Tori Penso.
RSL record with Tori Penso as Ref: 3-2-1
SEA record with Tori Penso as Ref: 0-0-0
RSL offseason transfer fees paid: €10.34M
SEA offseason transfer fees paid: €0
As always, the effect of altitude on the athletes at Sandy, Utah and Schmetzer’s refusal to believe that it significantly affects our performance.
General notes on personnel
Salt Lake transfers IN:
Henry (Reims) free
Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes) free
Booth (Excelsior Rotterdam) loan
Dillon - reserves
Rocio - reserves
Riquelme - reserves
Solans - draft
Engel (Middlesbrough) €830,000
Spierings (Brondby) free
Parker - reserves
Guilavogui (Lens) €5M
Arias (Atletico Nacional) loan
Sanabria (Atletico San Luis) €2.1M
Salt Lake transfers OUT:
Agada (Real Zaragoza) free
Ajago (Sacramento Republic) free
Bell - released
Brown - released
Farnsworth (Monterey Bay) free
Lambert (Louisville City) free
MacMath - retired
Russell - released
Silva (Detroit City) free
Wellings - released
Vera (CF Montreal) €1.03M
Ojeda (Orlando City SC) €1M
Cruz (Botafogo) end of loan
Concalves - released
Rocio (Club America) loan
Comparison against common opponents
(pre-season)
RSL 2:1 Brondby
SEA 0:2 Brondby
Know Thine Enemy
Salt Lake as they lined up in their 1:0 defeat to Vancouver at BC Place on 21 February.
GOALKEEPER
Rafael Cabral, 35
Brazil (3/0)
Notable Clubs: Santos (151/0), Napoli (32/0), Sampdoria (2/0), Reading (95/0), Cruzeiro (95/0), Real Salt Lake (35/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €200,000
Notes: Full name: Rafael Cabral Barbosa. Won a Copa do Brasil, a Copa Libertadores, and a Recopa Sudamericana with Santos. Won a Coppa Italia and a Supercoppa Italia with Napoli. Won a Brazilian Serie B title with Cruzeiro.
DEFENCE
Alexandros Katranis, 27
Greece
Notable Clubs: Atromitos (49/0), Mouscron (8/0), Hatayspor (22/1), Piast Gliwice (64/0), Real Salt Lake (59/4)
Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M
Notes: Developed by Atromitos.
DeAndre Yedlin, 32
United States (81/0)
Notable Clubs: Seattle Sounders FC (56/1), Tottenham (1/0), Sunderland (23/0), Newcastle (112/3), Galatasaray (27/1), Inter Miami CF (65/0), FC Cincinnati (55/0), Real Salt Lake (8/1)
Estimated Transfer Value: €1M
Notes: Developed by Crossfire Premier, Northwest Nationals, an unnamed youth football club in New York, and Seattle Sounders FC. Played his university football at Akron (45/1). Won a MLS league Championship and US Open Cup double with Seattle Sounders FC. Won an English Football League Championship title with Newcastle. Won an MLS league Championship and Leagues Cup double with Inter Miami CF. Won a CONCACAF Nations League with United States. Named Young Athlete of the Year 2014 by the United States FA.
Justen Glad, 28
United States
Notable Clubs: Real Salt Lake (273/13)
Estimated Transfer Value: €3M
Notes: Developed by Real Salt Lake.
Samuel Junqua, 29
United States
Notable Clubs: Houston Dynamo (46/1), FC Dallas (54/3), Real Salt Lake (33/1)
Estimated Transfer Value: €650,000
Notes: Developed by De Anza Force. Played his university football for California (68/0).
Zavier Gozo, 18
United States
Notable Clubs: Real Salt Lake (28/4)
Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M
Notes: Developed by Comba FC, La Roca FC, and Real Salt Lake. Has played for United States (27/5) at youth levels.
MIDFIELD
Noel Caliskan, 25
Germany
Notable Clubs: Portland Timbers (4/0), Real Salt Lake (31/1)
Estimated Transfer Value: €800,000
Notes: Developed by Koln and Fortuna Dusseldorf. Played his university football at Loyola Marymount (65/9).
Luca Moisa, 17
United States
Notable Clubs: Real Salt Lake (1/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €300,000
Notes: Developed by Real Salt Lake. Played for United States (7/0) at youth levels.
FORWARD
Aiden Hezarkhani, 18
United States
Notable Clubs: Real Salt Lake (3/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €50,000
Notes: Developed by Real Salt Lake. Played for United States (2/1) at youth levels.
Ariath Piol, 21
Australia
Notable Clubs: Macarthur FC (11/4), Real Salt Lake (25/1)
Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000
Notes: Developed by Campbelltown City, FFSA NTC, and North Eastern MetroStars. Won an Australia Cup with Macarthur FC.
Zach Booth, 22
United States
Notable Clubs: Volendam (27/2), Excelsior Rotterdam (22/0), Real Salt Lake (1/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €350,000
Notes: Developed by Real Salt Lake and Leicester City. Has played for United States (5/0) at youth levels.
Familiar Faces
Salt Lake defender, DeAndre Yedlin is a Seattle native and played for the Sounders FC (56/1) from 2013-2014.
Squads
Salt Lake from:
Cabral, Stajduhar, Kerkvliet, Engel, Glad, Quinton, Junqua, Rivera, Villa, Sanabria, Katranis, Mesalles, Ruiz, Marczuk, Booth, Dillon, Anderson, Moisa, Riquelme, Gozo, Caliskan, Marquez, Barea, Spierings, Cowell, Guilavogui, Hezarkhani, Parker, Piol, Solans, Wolff, Zambrano.
Sounders FC from:
Frei, Thomas, Anchor, Baker, Gomez Andrade, Kim, Kossa-Rienzi, Lopez, Nouhou, Ragen, Alex, Brunell, Cristian, Dotson, Petkovic, Rusnak, Arriola, De Rosario, Ferreira, Minoungou, Musovski, Rothrock, Tsukanome.
Note: To the best of my knowledge, Lopez may still be on a short-term loan from the Reserves and may or may not be in the match-day squad or in the team.
Injury List
(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)
Salt Lake -
OUT: Arias (groin), Eneli (knee), Henry (hamstring), Luna (knee), Olatunji (eye), Yedlin (hamstring).
MATCHDAY DECISION: none.
Sounders FC -
OUT: de la Vega (knee), Hawkins (quadriceps), Sailor (knee), Morris (quadriceps).
MATCHDAY DECISION: Kim (calf), Minoungou (foot).
Discipline
(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)
No players suspended from either team.
Fun Fact
Sounders FC and El Salvador defender, Alex Roldan made his 250th appearance for the club on Sunday (in all competitions). Congratulations, Alex!
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