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LAS VEGAS — It took 105 minutes, but Real Salt Lake and USL side Las Vegas Lights finally found their scoring touch in extra time, with the visiting Claret and Cobalt scoring three goals in 15 minutes to seal a 3-1 win in U.S. Open Cup play.
"I remember playing in this tournament and every game is a surprise," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "You never know what you're gonna get."
It was RSL's first road match in the Open Cup since 2017, visiting Cashman Field in Las Vegas to become the first MLS team to play the Lights in their six-year history. The win gave RSL its first win on the road in the Open Cup since 2010.
Damir Kreilach thought he had the opening goal in the 12th minute, but it was called offside and he was forced to wait 93 more minutes to score the first goal of the game. In those 93 minutes, the teams traded blow after blow, with two RSL players forced to leave the game due to injury.
Seventeen-year-old goalkeeper Gavin Beavers did his part to keep the clean sheet, putting up six saves in his hometown just three days before his 18th birthday.
Regulation ended 0-0, but Kreilach finally broke through in the 105th minute with a header off a corner kick to breathe life into an otherwise lackluster match. Lucas Stauffer responded for the Lights in the 112th minute, and the game seemed destined for penalties until the captain struck again.
THE CAP IS BACK!!! pic.twitter.com/6PivNLWG4K
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) April 27, 2023
A goal in the 116th minute gave Kreilach the game-winner, and Las Vegas native Danny Musovski sealed the win with a goal in the final minute of extra time to send RSL home happy.
"We had plenty of chances to put the game down," Kreilach said of going to extra time. "But overall I think we've done a great job. We went through, and that is the most important."
The win advances RSL in the Open Cup tournament for the first time since 2016.
The Claret and Cobalt return to Utah to take on the Seattle Sounders Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MDT at America First Field as MLS play resumes.
