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- RSL drew 1-1 with Austin after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer.
- William Agada scored for RSL, but late defensive lapses continue to haunt the team.
- RSL remains winless in six games and faces the LA Galaxy next.
AUSTIN, Texas — Real Salt Lake has given up a game-winner or equalizer in the final 20 minutes of its last three games, with two coming in the 90th minute or later.
Wednesday's road tilt in Austin was the latest example. Newcomer William Agada scored his first goal in Claret and Cobalt in the 67th minute to give RSL a 1-0 lead only to have it negated in stoppage time for a 1-1 final score.
"We play good for 99% of the game, and that 1% just kills us from getting 3 points," Diego Luna said after the game. "I think that's what the game is all about, and, you know, the gaps are so small."
The goal even came in a familiar fashion to other ones conceded in recent games, with RSL giving up a free kick in its own defending third and allowing an opponent to get his head to the ball and into the back of the net.
Head coach Pablo Mastroeni has preached about defending in the box on set pieces in recent weeks, only for his team to lose that focus in the final minutes again.
"I think when you're dealing with so many corners, it becomes very difficult," Mastroeni said of the late goal. "It just starts bringing on pressure. At the end there, they were sending seven guys in the box, and we just didn't execute on one of them the right way."
The draw gives RSL a point on the road in the standings but continues a six-game winless streak since the calendar turned to May. The team has one final chance in May at victory against the winless LA Galaxy on Saturday.
One silver lining from the result is that it makes this season the first since 2019 that RSL has gone undefeated in the state of Texas in the regular season, with a win in Houston and draws in Dallas and Austin.
Opening thoughts from Pablo Mastroeni on RSL getting road points in Texas, Agada's goal and Eneli's absence. pic.twitter.com/QvONz2cI6s
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) May 29, 2025
Wednesday marked the club's first match since losing its captain, Emeka Eneli, to a foot injury that could keep the All-Star hopeful out anywhere from four to 12 weeks.
Goalkeeper Rafael Cabral donned the captain's armband in his stead and put in a stalwart shift in front of goal, once again, with three crucial saves in the tightly-contested match.
"His mentality, his desire to continue to improve as a player, is contagious with our group," Mastroeni said of his keeper, who, at 35, is the only RSL player to play every minute of the season so far. "Tonight, he made a number of big saves that kept us in this game."
Luna got the assist on Agada's goal off a free kick to give the 21-year-old All-Star lock a team-high three assists to go with his club-best eight goals in 2025.
Voting for the 2025 MLS All-Star game — to be held in Austin on July 23 — opened Wednesday, with Luna starring as one of four players featured on the official MLS poster, alongside Miami's Lionel Messi, Vancouver's Brian White and Austin's Brandon Vazquez.
It would be Luna's second appearance in the All-Star game after going as a suspension replacement for Chicho Arango last year.
"It's always a dream for something like that to happen, to be shown as a face of MLS," Luna said. "I think it's just because my performances have been top and you earn those rights to be able to be put in those positions. I'll continue to play and continue to score goals and do well and hopefully I can make that All-Star game."
RSL reaches the halfway point of its season on Saturday in Los Angeles against the Galaxy at 8:30 p.m. MDT.
