Salt Lake City, Utah: Real Salt Lake Beat Galaxy 2-1 to Take Final Playoff Spot

Real Salt Lake are in the playoffs. Sergi Solans scored in the 10th minute and Zach Booth added a second goal three minutes later, and Salt Lake held off the LA Galaxy for a 2-1 win on Decision Day at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, on Saturday, November 7, 2026. The win gave Salt Lake the ninth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference. The Galaxy, who needed a win of their own to stay alive, were eliminated.

Two goals in 13 minutes

A crowd of 20,738 watched Salt Lake start fast. Noel Caliskan played a through ball from midfield into the run of Solans, who took a touch around Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski and finished into an open net at 10 minutes. It was the 15th league goal of a strong rookie season for the Spanish striker, and his 19th across all competitions.

Booth made it 2-0 at 13 minutes. After a corner, a failed clearance dropped to the Utah native inside the box, and he fired an outside of the boot shot into the bottom right corner. Booth was making his first start since August 15 after returning from injury, and the goal was his second in league play this season.

Salt Lake nearly added a third. John Nelson cleared a Solans effort off the line in the 21st minute, and Morgan Guilavogui hit the right post ten minutes later. The Galaxy pulled one back at 40 minutes when Hirving Lozano drove down the right side and his low ball across was turned into his own net by Salt Lake defender Luc de Fougerolles.

Salt Lake hold the line

The second half brought fewer clear chances. Solans put an effort just over the bar in the 68th minute, and at the other end Marco Reus missed an open net after Joao Klauss played a pass past Salt Lake captain Rafael Cabral. The home side finished with 20 shots to 14 for the Galaxy, and nine shots on goal to one, according to the club match report.

Salt Lake closed the regular season in ninth place in the West with 45 points and a 13-15-6 record. The Galaxy finished 11th with 44 points at 11-12-11, one point below the playoff line, and their season is over. Salt Lake ended the year with a 5-2-1 run over the final stretch after a 13 game winless streak from July to September, and head coach Pablo Mastroeni is now 5-0-1 in Decision Day matches with the club. The result also sends Salt Lake into the 2027 Leagues Cup.

Seattle next

Salt Lake now travel to face the eighth seeded Seattle Sounders in the West Wild Card match on Thursday, November 19, at Lumen Field in Seattle, with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. MT on Apple TV. The winner of that single match moves on to face the top seeded Vancouver Whitecaps in the best of three first round. Salt Lake will play the Wild Card game without US midfielder Diego Luna, who was limited by injuries this year and had season ending knee surgery in mid September.