If you just glance at the Real Salt Lake standings from the end of the 2025 season, it looks like a middle-of-the-road year. Ninth in the West. 41 points. A negative goal differential. On paper, it’s the definition of "just okay." But if you actually followed this team through the mud and the occasional mountain-top high, you know that the numbers barely tell half the story.
It was a chaotic, frustrating, yet somehow resilient campaign that ended exactly where RSL fans have become uncomfortably familiar: a first-round playoff exit.
The 2025 regular season by the numbers
RSL finished the 2025 regular season with a record of 12 wins, 17 losses, and 5 draws. Honestly, that’s a lot of losing for a team that made the postseason. They squeaked in as the 9th seed in the Western Conference, clinching that final spot on Decision Day with a 2-2 draw against St. Louis City SC.
They won the tiebreaker over San Jose and Colorado essentially because they had more total wins. It was a "falling through the door as it closes" kind of situation.
- Final Rank: 9th in Western Conference / 19th in Supporters' Shield
- Total Points: 41
- Goals Scored: 38 (This was a huge drop-off from 2024’s 65 goals)
- Goals Against: 49
The most jarring stat is that goal production. Losing 27 goals year-over-year is a recipe for disaster, and yet Pablo Mastroeni somehow kept the ship upright enough to keep the club’s playoff streak alive—now five years running.
Why the offense went cold
You can't talk about the Real Salt Lake standings without talking about the "Chicho" Arango-sized hole in the middle of the season. After a massive 2024, the offensive chemistry just felt... off. While Diego Luna stepped up in a big way (more on him in a second), the supporting cast struggled to find the back of the net.
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The team finished with the second-lowest goal count in the West. That’s tough to swallow when you're playing at altitude in Sandy, where you're supposed to be running teams ragged.
Diego Luna: The lone bright spot?
If there’s a reason to be optimistic about the 2026 outlook, it’s Diego Luna. The kid is a star. He took home the RSL Golden Boot and was named the 2025 Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award winner.
Luna finished with 9 goals and 7 assists in MLS play, effectively carrying the creative load for most of the summer. He’s been getting serious looks from Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT, and honestly, it’s well-deserved. He played with a broken nose in January, he played through the Gold Cup fatigue, and he still showed up.
But here is the catch: because he's so good, the European transfer rumors aren't going away. RSL fans are collectively holding their breath this January, hoping "Moon Boy" stays in Utah for at least one more run.
The Iron Man in goal
We also have to give flowers to Rafael Cabral. The veteran goalkeeper played every single minute of the 40-game campaign across all competitions. That’s 3,600 minutes. He was the undisputed MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for the club. Without him making those desperation saves, RSL wouldn't have been anywhere near the 9th seed.
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The Wild Card heartbreak in Portland
The postseason was short. Too short. On October 22, 2025, RSL traveled to Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers. It was a 3-1 loss that felt like a microcosm of the entire year.
RSL actually outshot Portland 18-7. They had the ball. They created chances. But they couldn't finish, and they gave up soft goals on rebounds. Justen Glad gave them hope with a header in the 39th minute to make it 2-1, but a late goal by Portland’s Kamal Miller buried them.
That loss marked the fourth consecutive first-round exit for Real Salt Lake. Consistency is great, but RSL is currently "consistently mediocre" when the lights get bright in October.
Looking ahead to 2026
So, what's changing? The front office hasn't been sitting on their hands. As we sit here in January 2026, the roster is already undergoing a "strategic reshuffle," as the club likes to call it.
New faces and youth movements
- Chance Cowell: RSL just sent $650k in GAM to San Jose to bring in this 17-year-old forward. He’s following the Diego Luna path from the Quakes academy to Utah.
- SuperDraft Haul: The club went heavy on defense in the 2026 draft, grabbing ACC standouts Lukas Magnason (Clemson) and Dylan Kropp (UNC). They clearly know the 49 goals conceded last year wasn't good enough.
- Homegrowns: Three more academy kids—Griffin Dillon, Diego Rocio, and Antonio Riquelme—just signed first-team deals. RSL now leads the league in all-time homegrown signings.
The Messi Factor
Mark your calendars for April 22, 2026. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are finally coming to America First Field. It’s expected to be the biggest gate in the history of the stadium. For a club trying to prove it belongs in the elite tier of MLS, that game is going to be a massive litmus test for Mastroeni’s squad.
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Real Salt Lake standings: The verdict
Basically, RSL is a team in transition. They have a world-class playmaker in Luna and a brick wall in Cabral, but the middle of the roster is being rebuilt on the fly with young talent.
If you're tracking the Real Salt Lake standings this year, don't just look at the wins and losses. Watch the goal-scoring efficiency. If Arango finds his 2024 form and the new defensive draftees like Magnason can shore up the back line, RSL could actually challenge for a top-four spot. If not, they’ll be fighting for that 9th-place wild card spot all over again.
Next Steps for RSL Fans:
- Watch the Preseason: RSL is heading to Portugal for the Atlantic Cup from January 17-31. This is where we see if the Cowell and Luna partnership actually has legs.
- Check the Roster: Keep an eye on any "Out" transfers for Diego Luna. If he moves to Europe this month, the 2026 expectations need to be adjusted downward immediately.
- Ticket Waitlist: If you want to see the Miami game in April, get on the waitlist now. Single-game tickets for that window are going to be impossible to find.
The 2026 season officially kicks off in late February. Whether RSL can finally break the first-round curse depends entirely on if they’ve learned to turn those 18-shot games into 3-goal games.