Real Salt Lake

We're under two months away from the all-important Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras, which serves as qualifying for both the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. 

It's going to be a wild tournament with 20 teams competing — the U.S. is in Group E alongside Canada, Cuba and Saint Kitts and Nevis — but only the semifinalists qualify for the World Cup while the Olympic spots are reserved for the two finalists. 

The 2022 US Open Cup third round goes down Tuesday and Wednesday with things getting serious as 17 MLS sides join the competition (the remaining eight enter in the fourth round). You'll need an ESPN+ subscription to watch, but the good news is that all 24 matches will be broadcast with no local blackouts. 

Reigning MLS MVP Carles Gil didn't hide his feelings after the New England Revolution dropped a 3-2 decision to visiting Real Salt Lake in snowy conditions on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.

Heavy snow fell in the first half before windy conditions became more prevalent in the second. New England saw a 2-0 lead evaporate after the bottom fell out in the second half. Real Salt Lake halved the deficit in the 78th minute, forged a tie in the 88th minute and pulled ahead in stoppage time.

Gil, the Revolution's captain, wasn't at a loss for words after the match.

On Monday, Real Salt Lake set a club record by signing its youngest-ever first-team player, 15-year-old Jude Wellings. That record didn’t even last the week. RSL announced on Friday it had signed 14-year-old forward Axel Kei, who broke Freddy Adu’s record for youngest MLS player ever signed to a first-team contract.

Tuesday marks MLS SuperDraft day, and while it's always fun to see who your team adds and to pore over their college bio page, you ultimately want your club moving in the direction of producing and signing more Homegrown Players through its academy. Real Salt Lake did just that Monday with the addition of 15-year-old midfielder Jude Wellings — who becomes the club's youngest-ever first-team signing.

MLS Cup is returning to Portland as the Timbers played spoiler to Real Salt Lake’s incredible Cinderella story with a 2-0 victory in the Western Conference Final on Saturday night. Portland finished the regular season with more points (55) than NYCFC (51) and the Philadelphia Union (54) meaning the final will be hosted in Portland.

MLS needs more David Ochoas. It needs more players that “enjoy being the villain” and who aren’t — in a league that prides itself on providing the joyful unpredictably of parity — afraid of taking the spotlight and shining it firmly on themselves.

It makes the atmosphere in stadiums better. It makes matchups more intriguing. It creates headlines.

You can’t win without scoring. I heard that a few times from Fox announcers on Tuesday night, both in the early match in which Nashville remained unbeaten at home by topping Orlando City and in the later match in which one of the favorites to win the MLS Cup, the Seattle Sounders, hosted Real Salt Lake. 

The adage is certainly true in normal contexts, but this is playoff soccer now. Real Salt Lake showed you can survive and advance without even bothering to attempt a shot all game.