Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake: Olsen admits still work to do to regain scoring touch

Ben Olsen was pleased with Houston Dynamo’s defensive show last weekend but admits they still need a big improvement in the final third when they host Real Salt Lake.

The Dynamo lost their first two matches of the season but earned a first point in a 0-0 draw with Columbus Crew last time out.

However, they sit third from bottom in the Western Conference’s early standings and have only scored two goals in MLS this season.

Olsen is hoping that being back at the Shell Energy Stadium will be the boost they need to find their attacking edge once more.

“We still have to work on some of the offensive stuff,” Olsen said. “We’re still understanding how to take a little pressure off ourselves.

“From a defensive standpoint, as far as winning duels and putting in effort, all those things can add up and [last week’s draw] was a good moment for us to make sure we didn’t have three losses in a row.

“We’ve got to go home and put that type of defensive performance, where we were disciplined and hard-working, resilient, but add something to the offense.”

Getting better every day pic.twitter.com/MsI33PmgVp

— Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) March 12, 2025

Real Salt Lake, meanwhile, have also struggled to find their groove this term, winning just one of their three games so far.

They are two points better off than their opponents but suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat to San Diego FC last time out.

Like Houston, they have struggled for goals, and head coach Pablo Mastroeni is looking to strike the right balance between attack and defense.

“We’ve had great opportunities but haven’t been able to execute them, leaving a bit to be desired,” he said. “The overall effort has been fantastic.

“We left ourselves open by committing more in attack. The most important thing is that we don’t give away early goals to stay in control.

“We’ll go back and look at both sides of the ball, but we’ll take a lot from the [San Diego] game. It just takes some real reflection.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Nicolas Lodeiro

The Dynamo have one point through three matches of a season for just the second time in club history (2009).

They failed to hit the back of the net against Columbus Crew last time out, with Nicolas Lodeiro scoring their last goal in a defeat at Inter Miami. They have managed just four shots since then.

Real Salt Lake – Ariath Piol

Real Salt Lake’s lone goal against San Diego FC on Saturday, a 17th-minute Ariath Piol strike, came on the end of a 27-pass move, the longest passing sequence leading to a goal for RSL since Opta began detailed data collection of MLS in 2010.

a lot of history with this foe #HOUvRSL | @EnglandLogistic

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) March 14, 2025

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

Houston have lost only one of their last nine meetings with Real Salt Lake in all competitions, including winning the last two (W5 D3). The Dynamo are unbeaten in nine straight home matches against RSL (W4 D5) in all competitions dating back to 2019.

However, the Dynamo have lost their first two home matches of a regular season for the first time in club history. Houston have not lost three straight home matches in league play since July-August 2019.

Real Salt Lake have won only two of their last 16 away matches in all competitions (D8 L6) dating back to last May. RSL’s only two away wins in that time came against the teams that finished in the bottom two of the Western Conference standings last season (Sporting Kansas City, San Jose Earthquakes).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 48.2%

Draw – 25.9%

Real Salt Lake – 25.9%