The Great Salt Lake: a national landmark. It’s nearly nine times saltier than the ocean, produces no edible salt, and could very well be completely evaporated by 2028, according to scientists from Brigham Young University. This weekend, a contingent of Utahans named after this famous lake are traveling across the nation to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to play some soccer, and after seeing their 2024 season end at the hands of the Black and Blue, they’ll be motivated to turn 2025 around with a little bit of revenge.
Minnesota United (2-1-2)
Run of Form: D-D-W-W-L
Finally, we have five results to put in the run of form! Now it won’t bother me for the rest of the season. It’s been an impressive start for Minnesota United in 2025, with the Loons dropping a close one to LAFC in match one before going on a four-match unbeaten run. Defensive solidity and dangerous counters have been the hallmark of the Loons’ success thus far, and with one of the league’s most clearly defined styles of play, they’ll feel like they can extend that streak to five against a struggling RSL side.
Real Salt Lake (2-3-0)
Run of Form: L-W-L-W-L
There have been some changes in Salt Lake City. Matt Crooks and Chicho Arango are both gone, leaving this team without two key pieces of what made them so dangerous in 2024. A huge 4-0 loss to San Jose on opening day set the stage for what could be a season of growing pains, as Pablo Mastroeni looks to shift the team’s focus and tactics to different feet. Subsequent losses to Dallas and San Diego were separated with a surprising win over Seattle and a 2-1 victory over a Houston side facing similar struggles, giving RSL six points after five games. There’s talent in this squad, as shown by the highs of this season’s start, but the lows help paint an inconsistent picture that needs clearing up.
Keys to the Match:
The Athlete, Not the Actor
This is Diego Luna’s team; there’s no question about it. He’s the kind of player that this league was created to produce, and he’s finally been given the reins to shape an entire team’s playstyle in his image. Sure, Mastroeni is the man giving the instructions and defining the structure, but Luna sees the game in a profoundly unique way; to limit him to anyone else’s vision would be to hamstring your most talented asset on the field. His quality and creativity combine to give him a skill set tailor-made for a 10, and if RSL can find the right mix of players to put around him, they’re always going to be dangerous. They’ve failed to do so thus far, losing three of their opening five matches, but between international absences and a consistently rotating cast around him, Luna hasn’t really had a chance to get going. Despite not finding his best rhythm, the American playmaker has already gotten himself a goal and two assists in league play, and after an impressive contribution to the USMNT’s goal against Canada in the Nations League Third-Place match, his quality is liable to cause problems for a Loons side that hasn’t been at its defensive best the last two weeks.
International Boost
Whenever the Loons lose players to international duty, it shakes up the personnel and tests the squad’s depth. This window, the depth pieces filled in well, building up a bit of form in a match against a quality Galaxy side. While last weekend’s point was important, it was the performance that really mattered for MNUFC. Quality minutes from depth players can only increase the competition for spots in the squad and prove that the talent floor was raised with this offseason’s signings. Meanwhile, the players on international duty all had performances that should give them a head of steam as they come back to the Twin Cities, with Michael Boxall and Tani Oluwaseyi both scoring their first international goals. Carlos Harvey helped Panama earn a famous win against the USMNT, Robin Lod and Finland got out to an unbeaten start in their World Cup Qualifying campaign, and Dayne St. Clair got two starts in high-pressure situations. Everyone is coming into the RSL match sharper than they were before, and that should make for even higher intensity than we’ve seen in the opening five weeks.
Go On, Do Something With It
In each of their matches in 2025, the Loons have kept an average of just over 36% possession. That’s by design, as Coach Ramsay values possession with purpose rather than possession for possession’s sake. This has led MNUFC to the fourth-highest expected goals tally in the entire league (9.5), proving that, when done correctly, quality can outdo quantity. Meanwhile, RSL has ended each of their matches relatively close to 50% possession, putting up a mere 6.7 expected goals in the same amount of games. Both teams have underperformed their expected metrics, but the underlying numbers tell the same story: the Loons are more effective in chance creation, likely due to their defined style. This RSL side is still adjusting to changes, leaving them at Luna’s mercy in the creativity department. Without space in behind to play into, RSL likely won’t present much of a scoring threat, and the Loons will be happy to cede possession once again.
