(ksl.com 10-23-25)
Major League Soccer and its playoff structure have changed a lot over the last four years, but one thing has remained the same: Real Salt Lake can't make it beyond its first matchup.
The Claret and Cobalt fell 3-1 in Wednesday's single-elimination wild card game in Portland to make it four straight opening matchup exits since the team advanced all the way to the Western Conference final in 2021.
RSL qualified for the postseason by the skin of its teeth in the first place, squeaking into the final wild card spot on a tiebreaker with San Jose and Colorado. The Timbers, on the other hand, fell from being in the top four for most of the season to eighth place and had home-field advantage in the wild card game.
The home team was the aggressor in the first half, opening up a 2-0 lead through 36 minutes on a brace from veteran Chilean striker Felipe Mora.
Justen Glad got one back for RSL with his first goal of the season just three minutes later, but a series of close chances fell short over the remaining 50 minutes and Portland sealed the win with a third goal in the 82nd minute.
The closest chance for the road team was a free-kick goal by Brayan Vera in the 76th minute that was called off due to a foul on Rwan Cruz, who was subbed on for Zavier Gozo in the 65th minute. William Agada also came on at that time for Victor Olatunji, who scored both goals in the Decision Day draw that got RSL into the playoffs.
"I think it's a microcosm of how our season's been," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "We have 20-some odd chances on goal and can't seem to make the play that tips the scales. Whether it's a crossbar, Victor not sliding across the front of the goal on a ball that's rolling in front or Rwan fouling on Vera's free kick."
The missed opportunities and "moments," as Mastroeni puts it, started to add up for RSL and resulted in yet another disappointing end to a season for the team with the longest active playoff streak in the league.
While the result and disappointment are still "fresh," in Mastroeni's words, the manager who has made the postseason every year at the helm of RSL acknowledged there will be "some tough decisions to make" in the coming weeks.
"We'll get together in the next couple of days with Kurt (Schmid) and Jason (Kreis) and figure out how to best move forward," Mastroeni said of meeting with the team's top brass.
Players with expiring contracts at the end of 2025 include: Vera, Agada, Braian Ojeda, DeAndre Yedlin, Alex Katranis, Sam Junqua, Philip Quinton, Noel Caliskan and Johnny Russell; though Ojeda, Vera, Yedlin, Katranis and Quinton all have club options, should the team decide to bring them back in 2026.
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