RSL has received the first victory in Houston with a 2-1 result since 2018

Houston-a dream begins with a goal by Diogo Goncalves 43 seconds after the visit of Real Salt Lake in Houston on Saturday quickly turned after the dynamo rose 2-1 in the 20th minute.

Things seemed to go in a familiar direction for an RSL team that had not won in Houston since 2018 until the referee of the video assistant waved the second dynamo goal due to an offside call.

A possible 2: 1 deficit found a 2-1 lead shortly before half-time when Dominik Marczuk's shot found Diego Luna's head to break the 1-1 draw and send RSL back into the changing room on the street.

Captain Emeka Eneli helped his team to join in and decide: “We won't admit a goal, no matter what happens”, in the last 45 minutes when RSL escaped for the first time since “Crazy Rich Asian” from Ostexas in Ostexas.

“It may not be the most beautiful, but as long as we can see the game and then win the victory, that's all that counts at the end of the day,” said Eneli about the team's efforts. “So I'm really happy with how the team did.”

It is the second victory for RSL in the first four games of the season and the first street result after San Jose fell 4-0 at the start of the season. The 3 points move RSL for the first time in the young season via the playoff line and the top eight of the Western Conference.

Head coach Pablo Mastroeni said that his team “dug” for the result and described it as a “great psychological victory” for an RSL squad that had not only struggled in Houston in recent years, but also admitted seven goals in the first three games of the season.

“Obviously it will never be perfect, but we will try to improve,” said Mastroeni. “I think from the last week to this week we saw some really good improvements on both sides of the ball.”

He also emphasized that Luna and Goncalves achieved their first destination of the season after missing several options for losses towards San Jose and San Diego. Marczuk is now the only starting fiber player without a goal in 2025.

RSL returns to America First Field on Saturday, March 22nd to take over another Texas opponent in FC Dallas.