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SALT LAKE CITY — The game of soccer comes down to "moments," Real Salt Lake head coach Pablo Mastroeni preaches. His team now has a pair of crucial moments to seize this week.
The Claret and Cobalt welcome FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps to America First Field Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. The two teams sit on both sides of RSL in the Western Conference standings, with Dallas just a point below the playoff line and Vancouver a point above RSL's 40 points.
RSL has been firmly in the playoff race since going undefeated in MLS play during June and July, but the race is tightening.
Just 6 points separate Vancouver in fourth place and Dallas in 11th, with RSL sitting in sixth. The top eight teams make the playoffs after a play-in series between the eighth and ninth seeds, and only the top four teams are guaranteed a home playoff game.
RSL can earn 6 points this week with a pair of home wins, but therein lies the challenge. Most of RSL's success earlier this season came on the road when it set a franchise record with six wins away from home in its first 11 road matches.
Since resuming to MLS play after the Leagues Cup in August, however, RSL has lost all three of its road matches; the club's only win came at home against the Colorado Rapids. A continued string of strong play at home could cement RSL's spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs or even earn it a top-four spot.
Six games remain on the schedule for the Claret and Cobalt evenly split at home and on the road. The road games are tough, with two games in Los Angeles, and the season finale in Colorado. RSL hasn't won against the Galaxy in California since 2018, and has never won on the road at LAFC.
The other home game, after the two this week, is against Kansas City in between the trips to LA. Kansas City is currently tied with Dallas just below the playoff line.
All of this is to say RSL needs its home field to be a fortress and help the team pick up much-needed points with few opportunities remaining. Six points this week would put RSL at 46 on the season, good enough for second in the West if the four teams above it lose or draw.
Losses or draws this week would not eliminate RSL from the playoff race, but two wins could go a long way in all but securing a spot in the playoffs.
Too close to call in the West. 🤏 pic.twitter.com/GQ7WORpsK6
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 18, 2023
RSL played a pair of close games against Dallas and Vancouver earlier this season, losing 2-1 in Dallas and winning 2-1 in Vancouver in the season opener on a game-winner from Damir Kreilach. The team looks a little different now, with Kreilach making way for star striker Chicho Arango and the midfield losing its MVP Pablo Ruiz to a meniscus tear last month.
Another personnel wrinkle Mastroeni is currently dealing with is the absence of forward Danny Musovski, who has five goals and four assists on the season but is currently away from the team in a "contract holdout" as he seeks a long-term deal with RSL.
Mastroeni said after Saturday's loss in San Jose that he "hopes the situation gets resolved," but for now the team will try to get wins this week without one of its best playmakers in the attacking third this season.
Mastroeni called the San Jose match his team's "first playoff game" and expects a "dogfight" down the stretch as 13 teams battle for eight playoff spots in the West.
"There's just a couple points that separate the top from the bottom," Mastroeni said. "We've got to take advantage of home, and we've got to win these games."
Both matches kick off at 7:30 p.m. MDT in Sandy.
