Facing Portland at home on Decision Day, Real Salt Lake needed a win to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Taking on the team they lost to in last season’s Western Conference final, RSL knew only one result would get them to the playoffs on the final day of the season for the second straight year.

Having not won a match since August 31, it seemed as though Real faced quite the uphill battle to clinch a postseason appearance.

With Portland needing either a win or a draw to secure its playoff spot, there was everything to play for. While Portland looked ill-prepared, RSL was ready to go.

After dominating the opening portion of the match, Jefferson Savarino gave the home side the lead in the 19th minute.

Real continued its push for three points instead of sitting back to defend the lead, which led to a second goal just under three minutes into the second half. Bryan Oviedo delivered the ball into the path of Rubio Rubin, who made the score 2-0.

With RSL in complete control, Portland looked completely lost and overwhelmed against the home side.

Bode Hidalgo added a third for Real in the 84th minute, his first career MLS goal. Portland scored a consolation goal in the 87th minute before Salt Lake saw out the final moments to secure the 3-1 victory and the playoff spot.

Regular season complete

Finishing the regular season with a 12-11-11 record while tallying 47 points, RSL clinched the seventh and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

It will be the second straight postseason appearance for Real, and the 12th in 15 seasons since the first playoff berth in team history back in 2008.

RSL again conjured up some last-match magic in this one, very similar to last season’s team that clinched a playoff spot on the final day.

Up next: Austin FC

Real Salt Lake will now travel to face second-place Austin FC for the first round of the playoffs.

The match will take place on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. MT and can be seen on ABC.

Sports Franchise Rankings: Utah Edition

 

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Spencer Rodak
Spencer has always been passionate about sports, growing up playing and following various sports. He ran cross country in high school and began his journey in sports media in 2017 as a journalism intern at The Spectrum & Daily News. Since then, his work has been published in numerous outlets including Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, St. George News, Southern Utah Now, SUU's Thunderground, SB Nation's RSL Soapbox, FanSided's Venom Strikes, fan-insider.com, The Spurs Web, and Iron County Today. Spencer is the founder of Stadium Sportzz and both the Sportzz with Spencer and Mountain States Sports Report podcasts. His experience extends to public address announcing, having first served as the PA announcer for Southern Utah University soccer in 2017 and as a high school sports PA announcer. He is now entering his fourth year as a PA announcer at Utah Tech University, where he also occasionally takes on the role of in-game emcee. Spencer's versatility also extends to radio, where at The Fan Sports Network he produced high school and Utah Tech athletics broadcasts, hosted the weekly Region 9 Football Tailgate Show, and appeared daily on The Drive. Now working towards completing his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, Spencer was recently named the Sports Director at Utah Tech University's 91.3 The Blaze for the 2024-25 year. He will host a weekly show and serve as a play-by-play broadcaster, continuing his dedication to sports journalism and broadcasting. When he isn’t talking, writing about, or watching sports, Spencer enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife.

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