​Real Salt Lake v Vancouver Whitecaps: Mastroeni targets place in club history

Pablo Mastroeni is not shying away from Real Salt Lake’s desire to make club history when they conclude their regular-season campaign against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.

RSL have been among the Western Conference pacesetters all season and enter the final MLS matchday fourth with 56 points from 33 matches.

One more victory will set a new single-season franchise record, a fact Mastroeni reminded his players of before they beat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 before the international break.

“I normally focus on just the one game, but the only way to get to 59 was to make sure we won in San Jose,” Mastroeni told KSL Sports.

“It’s about just putting a little bit of carrot on the end of the stick. It’s not easy to make history at a club.

“I just told the guys this is an opportunity to etch your name in stone as far as the regular season is concerned. It’s a 34-game season, it’s long and to be able to achieve that would be great.

“When you can see a commitment to the cause, it’s really about those real things that make the team successful.”

Vancouver, meanwhile, sit eighth in the standings and are guaranteed a play-in spot, though they must better Minnesota United’s result to clinch automatic qualification.

Head coach Vanni Sartini believed his team deserved better after they lost 2-1 to Los Angeles FC in midweek, a result that took their fate out of their own hands.

“We have to work. At this moment I’m very disappointed, I’ve got to be honest,” Sartini said.

“I just wanted to say congratulations to the guys, congratulations to the fans, they were amazing. We played a fantastic game and we deserved to win.”

Ready to face off against this foe #RSLvVAN | @EnglandLogistic pic.twitter.com/I4xJjkVVlp

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) October 18, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango

Arango enters the final match of the season with 17 goals, tied with Alvaro Saborio (2012) for the most in a single season in Real Salt Lake’s history.

His 12 assists this season, meanwhile, are tied for second-most in club history behind Albert Rusnak’s 14 in 2017.

Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White

White has scored a goal on each of his last five regular-season road appearances, the longest streak in Vancouver’s MLS history and the longest streak in MLS since Josef Martinez netted in seven straight on the road from May to September in 2019.

MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN

Real Salt Lake have won three straight matches against Vancouver for the first time in club history. The only longer winning streak in the 32-match history of the series was a four-match run by the Whitecaps from 2014 to 2015.

The hosts enter the final match of the season on 56 points, one away from equalling the club’s single-season record of 57 set in 2012.

The Whitecaps, meanwhile, have lost three straight regular-season matches for the first time since the start of last season. They are winless in six straight league matches, equalling their worst run of the year.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Real Salt Lake – 45.1%

Vancouver Whitecaps – 28%

Draw – 26.9%