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HOUSTON — A dream start with a goal from Diogo Goncalves 43 seconds into Real Salt Lake's visit to Houston on Saturday quickly turned after the Dynamo went up 2-1 in the 20th minute.
Things seemed to be heading in a familiar direction for an RSL team that hadn't won in Houston since 2018 until the video assistant referee stepped in and waved off the second Dynamo goal due to an offside call.
A possible 2-1 deficit flipped to a 2-1 lead just before halftime as Dominik Marczuk's shot found the head of Diego Luna to break the 1-1 draw and send RSL into the locker room up on the road once again.
Captain Emeka Eneli helped his team lock in and decide, "We're not going to concede a goal no matter what happens," over the final 45 minutes as RSL escaped east Texas with 3 points for the first time since "Crazy Rich Asians" was the No. 1 movie at the U.S. box office.
"It might not be the prettiest, but as long as we can see out the game and then get the win, that's all that matters at the end of the day," Eneli said of the team's effort. "So I'm really happy with how the team did that."
DIEGO LUNA! @realsaltlake take the lead right before the half. pic.twitter.com/1qDk455YvS
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 16, 2025
It's the second win for RSL over the first four games of the season and the first road result after falling 4-0 to San Jose in the season opener. The 3 points move RSL above the playoff line and into the top eight in the Western Conference for the first time in the young season.
Head coach Pablo Mastroeni said his team "dug deep" for the result and called it a "great psychological win" for an RSL squad that has not only struggled in Houston in recent years but had also conceded seven goals over the first three games of the season.
"Obviously, never going to be perfect, but we're going to strive to improve," Mastroeni said. "I think from last week to this week we saw some really good improvements on both sides of the ball."
He also highlighted Luna and Goncalves getting their first goals of the season after missing several opportunities in losses to San Jose and San Diego. Marczuk is now the only starting offensive player without a goal in 2025.
RSL returns to America First Field on Saturday, March 22 to take on another Texas opponent in FC Dallas.
