Anderson Julio breaks through in stoppage time for 4th-straight RSL road win

There's been two stoppage-time goals in two weeks for Real Salt Lake.

Anderson Julio followed up Justen Glad's late stunner last week in Sandy with a game-winner in a 1-0 victory in Toronto, extending RSL's road win streak to four games.

Julio entered the game in the 74th minute with the match tied at 0-0 and RSL searching for a goal after leading the entire match in shots and possession.

Head coach Pablo Mastroeni subbed off his attacking starters in the final 10 minutes, but the youngsters who came on had no intention of settling for a draw.

Rookie Bertin Jacquesson got the ball at the top of the box midway through a four-minute stoppage time and fired a shot toward goal. The initial shot was deflected, but fellow rookie Emeka Eneli was the first to the ball and sent a ground cross in front of goal to another first-year player: Ilijah Paul. Paul's shot was also saved, but the ball fell to Julio, and the Ecuadorian sent RSL's 20th shot of the night into an open goal to win it.

"(The plan was) to put these guys on their heels at the end of the game, instead of playing between the lines, and looking to exploit space behind," Mastroeni said. "And I thought everyone that came into the game did a fantastic job."

Mastroeni preached and praised a "steely mentality and dogged determination" from his team in recent weeks — now unbeaten in seven-straight MLS road matches.

RSL continued its pattern this season of rotating at least seven players from game to game, with Mastroeni deciding Saturday to go with a similar group to the one that got road results in D.C. and St. Louis during a month of June that saw RSL go undefeated.

"You get these games when there's pressure on the line," Mastroeni said. "And where I feel really good about this group is that everyone understands their roles on both sides of the ball, and I think that allows us to now rotate players."

The player rotation won't be stopping any time soon, with prized striker Chicho Arango set to make his debut in RSL's next match on July 8 at America First Field against Orlando.

Related topics