RSL is scoring more goals this season, so what's next?

SALT LAKE CITY — The major question for Real Salt Lake as it entered the 2023 season was whether it could score enough goals to maintain or improve upon its 2022 season. Five months in and it appears the answer is yes.

The Claret and Cobalt went from scoring the ninth-fewest goals in MLS in 2022 to currently sitting with the eighth-most with just 10 regular season games remaining. It's a jump of 13 spots, with most of the goals scored by players who were already with the team last season. So what changed?

Even before the arrival of Chicho Arango earlier this month, RSL played much better on the offensive end and finished more chances in front of the goal, but the $6 million striker has certainly helped with a goal and two assists so far.

RSL had four games with at least three goals scored before Arango's arrival, and the team scored at least three goals in two of three MLS matches since he joined the lineup on July 8 in a 4-0 win over Orlando.

Still, the goals are coming from a variety of expected and unexpected places. Star winger Jefferson Savarino leads the team with six goals, and coming in second with five is 2022 midseason roster addition Danny Musovski.

Musovski has excelled in an expanded role this season, filling in for Anderson Julio during his injury and Rubio Rubin through international duty with Guatemala. The 27-year-old striker from Henderson, Nevada, is not only second on the team in goals but also has four assists on the season, putting him in third on the team in combined goals and assists with nine.

After Musovski, there is a four-way tie for third at four goals apiece for Justen Glad, Julio, Damir Kreilach and Pablo Ruiz. Glad, a defender, said going into the season that he wanted to score five goals, which he should easily achieve with 10 more games to go.

Julio and Kreilach were mentioned by head coach Pablo Mastroeni as primary sources of goals before the start of the season, and, when given opportunities, have largely delivered, including a pair of game-winners.

Ruiz is the final, and possibly most important, part of RSL's improved offense. He leads the team in assists with six, bringing his combined goals and assists contribution to 10 on the season. Beyond the team stats, Ruiz is first in all of MLS in "accurate long balls per 90 minutes," defined by an accurate pass over 35 yards.

He connects on 7.3 long balls per match on average, with the next closest MLS player connecting on just 6.3. Ruiz is a major reason RSL leads the league in "big chances created" — a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score — with 47 on the season.

The biggest change from last season to this season as a squad comes in the finishing touch. RSL worked all offseason to improve on finishing its chances in front of the goal, ending each training session with a rapid-fire cross-and-finish drill to get as many balls into the back of the net as possible.

The drill appears to have paid off, with RSL leading MLS in shots on target per match with 5.8. The next two teams behind them are LAFC at 5.3 and St. Louis at 5.1. Those also happen to be the only two teams ahead of RSL in the Western Conference standings.

So what does RSL need to improve upon over the final 10 games of the season? According to Mastroeni, it's all defense from here on out. The team has scored just one more goal (35) than has been scored against them (34) this season, though the team has spent the vast majority of the season with a negative goal differential.

"In the current form that we're in, all I talk about is defending," Mastroeni said after a win in the Leagues Cup on July 22.

RSL was undefeated in 11 straight matches through all competitions from June 3 until a 3-0 loss to Monterrey in the Leagues Cup on Wednesday.

"There's always something to fix. There's always something to improve on. It's never perfect," Mastroeni said after the loss. "And I think this comes at a good time where we can take a couple of days off and get away and come back and have a purpose of our work moving forward to make sure that we tidy up these (defensive) areas."

RSL awaits the result of Sunday's Seattle-Monterrey matchup to know its future in the Leagues Cup. The next MLS match is against the LA Galaxy on Aug. 20.

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