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SANDY — No raccoons this time around for Real Salt Lake, just a moose on the field.
Danny "Moose" Musovski scored a pair of goals in the 69th and 71st minutes to flip Friday's Leagues Cup Round of 32 match on its head after RSL trailed Club Leon 1-0 at halftime. Chicho Arango capped off the comeback with a goal in the 81st minute to send the Claret and Cobalt through to the Round of 16 against LAFC.
"Danny had a great game. Everyone had a great game," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "But I think in the first half there was a little bit of doubt, maybe coming off the last result. I just reminded them of the quality we have in this locker room and what we're capable of, and I think in the second half it showed."
Things looked bleak for the home team after a defensive error put them down 1-0 after just eight minutes. It went from bad to desperate when RSL's best chances early in the second half both hit the woodwork.
Musosvski looked particularly frustrated after his shot hit the far post. Then he was fouled by a Leon player, resulting in a yellow card for retaliation from the Las Vegas native in the 60th minute.
Sava shot off the far post, Ojeda shot just wide, Musovski shot off the OTHER far post 🥵🥵🥵#RSLpic.twitter.com/EKBxlP4rD9
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 5, 2023
RSL's midfield maestros Pablo Ruiz and Jefferson Savarino were able to put together some magic near the 70th minute, however, and Musovski was on the end of the final cross into the box for the opening RSL goal and equalizer.
"We're all human. We all get angry when things don't go our way," Musovski said of the frustration before his goal. "But the only thing you can do is just keep going, and I think that's what we were able to do and we were able to control the game."
Andrew Brody found the Moose sprinting into the box just seconds later on a long ball, and the forward slotted it past the keeper for the game-winner. Musovski takes on his former team next in LAFC.
"It'll be a special feeling seeing those fans again, being in that stadium," Musovski said. "But we're going there to win. That's the goal. That's the mentality."
The Round of 16 match will be Tuesday, Aug. 8 on the road in Los Angeles, while the quarterfinal match — should RSL advance — would be back at America First Field.
