- RSL secured a crucial 3-1 win over Austin to maintain playoff hopes.
- Braian Ojeda, DeAndre Yedlin and Victor Olatunji scored for RSL on Saturday.
- RSL faces Colorado on Oct. 4 needing a win to tie with the rival Rapids in points.
SANDY — RSL's outside chance at making the playoffs became even more distant following back-to-back 4-1 losses to LAFC last week that gave the Claret and Cobalt just one win and five losses over its last six games.
"We need to see each game as a final," Real Salt Lake left-back Alex Katranis told the media after a must-win home game against Austin FC on Saturday at America First Field.
The tailspin put the team's loss total up to 16 entering this week's home match against Austin FC: the most losses in a single season for RSL since the 22-loss inaugural season in 2005. The team lost 15 games in 2007, 2015 and 2017, and missed the playoffs in each of those three seasons.
"We don't have time, we need to react," Katranis said. "This was the first of the four opportunities that we have in front of us to finish the season."
RSL got the job done in the first of its four remaining games with a 3-1 win over Austin, extending the team's narrow hopes of postseason play at least one more week.
Braian Ojeda opened the scoring at the end of the first half and the home team didn't look back, getting another goal four minutes into the second half from DeAndre Yedlin — his first in an RSL jersey — and the third in the 82nd minute from Victor Olatunji to seal the full 3 points on the night.
That run and finish from DeAndre Yedlin for his first Salt Lake goal. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/XOh3ffBvWo
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 28, 2025
The lone goal from the visiting team came during stoppage time, extending RSL's streak without a clean sheet to nine games, dating back to mid-July.
"For a team that hasn't gotten 3 points in the last two games, I wouldn't change a thing," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "I'll keep it 3-1, and we'll keep running."
Running, if not sprinting, is exactly what RSL will have to do to keep up with the playoff line. Even with the win, RSL still sits two spots out of the ninth-and-final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but a major matchup coming up next week could go a long way to change that.
RSL welcomes Rocky Mountain rival Colorado Rapids to Sandy on Saturday, Oct. 4. A win would tie the Claret and Cobalt with 8th-place Colorado at 40 points.
