Real Salt Lake clinches playoff berth with 2-1 win over LA Galaxy

SANDY — Counted out by pundits across the league before the season began and left for dead after a 13-match winless stretch following the World Cup break, RSL nonetheless punched its ticket to the postseason Saturday evening with a 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy at America First Field.

Then came the waiting.

With Portland and Seattle winning their respective matches, RSL needed Colorado to drop points against FC Dallas. The Rapids led for much of the second half, but Dallas scored three times in the final 15 minutes, including twice after the 87th minute, to snatch a 3-1 victory.

The result sent RSL into the postseason for the sixth consecutive year, the longest active streak in the Western Conference.

"I think what I am is relieved, but the benchmark was always higher than this," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "This is not a celebration moment for me. But it is a testament to the willpower and the belief in man when you're down in the dumps, everyone's written you off, and you find a way to squeak in."

A flying start

RSL wasted little time asserting itself against the Galaxy.

In the 10th minute, Kobi Henry won possession near midfield. After RSL cycled the ball, Philip Quinton found Noel Caliskan, who threaded a perfectly weighted pass through three lines of defenders to Sergi Solans.

Solans rounded goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and rolled the ball into the empty net for his 15th goal of the season.

Three minutes later, Zach Booth doubled the advantage.

A Juan Manuel Sanabria corner eventually found its way to former RSL midfielder Pablo Ruiz, whose attempted clearance fell to Booth near the left edge of the penalty area. The wingback took a touch, drove toward goal and fired through the legs of Galaxy captain Marco Reus and into the far corner.

"I'm so happy with the goal," Booth said. "I took a little bit of too big of a touch, but ... when you're in the box in this position, like, you need to shoot, and I just toe poked it in."

Booth credited his father for teaching him the technique, laughing that his dad had instructed him to mention it during the post match interview.

Booth, who had battled a hamstring injury earlier this summer before dislocating his shoulder in last week's match, was thrust into the starting lineup when Dominic Marczuk fell ill Saturday morning.

He responded by earning RSL's Player of the Match honors.

"I grew up being the kid in the stands begging for a signature and a jersey after the game," Booth said. "To impact the game tonight and to make the playoffs is for me such a special thing."

Chances squandered, nerves tested

RSL had numerous opportunities to put the match beyond reach.

Solans nearly scored inside two minutes, then saw another effort cleared near the goal line in the 21st. Morgan Guilavogui rounded Marcinkowski in the 30th minute, only to strike the post from a tight angle.

In the 40th minute, the Galaxy finally found the net when RSL defender Luc de Fougerolles inadvertently redirected Chucky Lozano's cross into his own goal.

Suddenly, a comfortable two-goal advantage had become a precarious 2-1 lead.

RSL continued creating opportunities after halftime. Guilavogui forced a save in the 58th minute, with Solans lifting the rebound over the crossbar. The striker missed another promising chance following a counterattack in the 69th.

A minute later, the Galaxy nearly equalized when Joao Klauss danced around Philip Quinton and goalkeeper Rafael Cabral before finding Marco Reus, who missed the largely unguarded net.

"I think we made the game a lot more difficult than it needed to be," Mastroeni said. "I think in the first half it could've been four."

Still, he praised his team's defensive discipline.

"The game asked for us to defend in a block," Mastroeni said. "Just taking the lessons that we've learned throughout the season, they did a great job."

The longest wait

Colorado took a 1-0 lead over Dallas shortly after halftime, pushing RSL below the playoff line.

For approximately half an hour, RSL was heading into the offseason.

Dallas equalized in the 75th minute, restoring RSL's postseason position, then took the lead in the 88th. A third goal in second-half stoppage time provided breathing room, although 11 minutes of added time meant the celebrations in Sandy had to wait.

Mastroeni insisted he had deliberately avoided following the other scores.

"I don't waste my life or time on anything I can't control," he said. "We can only do what we could, which is win the game. And then the universe has to do its thing. It's gotta cook."

For the players, reaching the postseason vindicated the belief in each other that had held the dressing room together through months of adversity.

"We spoke about this after the game, that having a stretch like this in your season and still make the playoffs is, I think, a huge credit to how much belief is in the group and how much spirit is in the group," Booth said.

For Cabral, the defining characteristic of this RSL team was its refusal to turn on itself when results weren't going its way.

"We are a special group because if you were in another changing room, maybe after 12 games with no wins, a bad run, maybe the changing room could break a little bit, like three players there, five there complaining, and we never had this. That's our strength, the quality of the players we have here and at the same time, the quality of people we have here."

What's next?

Ninth-place RSL travels to Seattle for the Western Conference Wild Card match, with the winner facing top-seeded Vancouver in a best-of-three series.

Mastroeni believes his team's improved defense and confidence give it a chance against Seattle.

"I think we're prepared mentally, tactically, technically to encounter whatever comes our way," he said.

But for Mastroeni, reaching the playoffs was never the ultimate objective.

"Our objective is to win a cup," he said. "That's why we've gotta prepare this week to confront our first opponent en route to what we really wanna achieve."