Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

San Diego is good — they're one of four teams to still go without a loss in 2026, at least in MLS play. While they may have been suffering a bit of a classic continental hangover after a 4-0 loss to Toluca, it's clear they're very much a good side, and RSL will feel good about earning a point. Let's talk about how RSL got there and what it means.

Was Gozo fouled? Should it have been a penalty?

In the 5th minute, Zavier Gozo went down under pressure after a really nice long pass from Justen Glad. While we never get a great angle at the initial build-up to know if Gozo or Sergi Solans, who was alongside Gozo making the run, is offside. The check never seemed to center on that, so I'm assuming they were onside.

The question then is if Gozo was brought down — and I'm inclined to agree with the referee's call: Gozo stalls his run to initiate contact, and he goes down a bit too easily with a hand on his back. You'll see this one called differently in different leagues, but if I use the classic measure (would I be upset if this were called against my team?), it's a pretty clear non-foul.

The unfortunate thing about all this is that Gozo would have been in on goal if he'd stayed up. It's something from which he can learn, and I don't think it's worth dwelling too much on that one.

Solans' rapid rise

Sergi Solans is giving Pablo Mastroeni a little bit of a selection headache, scoring his second goal in the last three matches. He did really nicely to get on the end of Juanma Sanabria's cross, but let's be clear about one thing: He capitalized on some lax defending and ball-watching. He's able to move into a position to win that header far too easily. I don't mind that — and credit certainly goes to Solans for his execution — but, again, going back to that old adage, I'd be unhappy if my team let in that goal.

The question now: How do you drop this kid? His instincts are good, and he has plenty of room to grow. He was so, so close to scoring a second at the death of the first half, too.

Defensive mishaps

The 25th minute was nightmarish, but RSL was waken up by a great point-blank save from Rafa Cabral. Lukas Engel found himself too deep, giving San Diego a clear opportunity just outside the box to pull and stretch RSL. Something to watch: How much space are we leaving between the midfield and the back line? In the next minute, Engel was too tight to his attacker, and Griffin Dillon gave up a foul just feet from the box.

That foul led to San Diego's opening goal. The circumstances of the goal were a bit odd — the ball bounces off the typically steady Cabral and RSL's defenders just can't clear. There's an argument for offside to consider, but it's not clear that Cabral was actually impeded by the offside player — especially given it came off his own player — and the ball does come off Quinton, who could maybe have done a little better, but it all happened very quickly. (At any rate, Morgan Guilavogui actually blocked the initial shot, but it rebounded back into Ingvartsen, so that's another wrinkle.)

Chalk this one up as a goalkeeper error, but there were plenty of miscues otherwise. I'm more concerned about how easily San Diego won the header in the box, and with how the defense was easily turned inside out at the edge of their own box.

There's a 42nd minute incident, too, when RSL is too loose in possession in their own box, with Justen Glad and Philip Quinton exchanging passes with Rafa Cabral. RSL was lucky to not concede when Cabral lifted the ball on to the head of Anders Dreyer, and then again when Engel's ensuing throw-in found San Diego.

The 55th minute. This is a big one. Sergi Solans commits a foul in the attacking third — that's fine, no concern there — and somehow Lukas Engel ends in a two-on-one situation, and RSL concedes quite quickly. The highlights from a Guilavogui miss were playing during the build-up, but it's a really, really naive look for RSL, who are static at best when the free kick was taken. There are no excuses for that goal, and to see players jogging back into position when the free kick was taken just gets me a bit irritated — especially when Cabral gets chipped. We could have avoided that.

All told, RSL repeatedly tried to play out of the back, often to near-disastrous effect. It's a bit funny, because Justen Glad launched a great attack with a long ball in the opening minutes, and that led to a great opportunity. From that point forward, though, it was typically a game in which RSL tried to play out of the back. Odd stuff.

Stray thoughts

• Do you remember when making the video review sign was an automatic yellow card? I kind of miss that.
• With some improved finishing, Zavier Gozo could have been on a hat trick — he had some great opportunities. And to hear him booed by the crowd and immediately beat two defenders as he cut into the box? Incredible vibes.
• The same could be said about Morgan Guilavogui, who still has yet to score for Real Salt Lake. He remains an inefficient goalscorer, which tracks with his career statistics. He's playing deeper and clearly brings some value, so that's not coming cfrom a place of real concern — just something we can and should recognize. With the game-winning assist, Guilavogui deserves plenty of credit on the day.
• What a nice goal for the bespectacled Victor Olatunji, who got on the end of Guilavogui's cross to tie things up. It's not a beautiful goal, but it was a beautiful moment all the same.