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SANDY — Luck. Karma. Divine intervention.
Whatever you call it, there's no doubt Real Salt Lake had a little extra help in the second half of Saturday's regular-season finale against Vancouver at America First Field.
The opposite was true in the first half, with the home team putting five shots on goal with nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. The curse continued with a penalty awarded to Vancouver 30 seconds into the second half, but the cosmic scales began to balance when Fafa Picault stepped up to take the penalty kick and skied it 10 rows into the north stands.
Vancouver did end up scoring first in the 58th minute, but Diego Luna equalized for RSL in the 73rd, and then a cross from Alex Katranis got a favorable touch and bounce for an own-goal game-winner in the 83rd minute for the 2-1 result for RSL.
.@realsaltlake takes the lead and jump into the No. 3 seed.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 20, 2024
Final minutes of the Western Conference slate is heating up. 👀 pic.twitter.com/BGpYSHyjVE
The win secures the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs for RSL, and the Claret and Cobalt will have home-field advantage (Games 1 and 3) in the first round against Minnesota United FC. RSL also finishes with 59 points in the standings, the highest point total in club history after reaching 57 in 2012.
"I couldn't be more blessed to have such great people around me and create an environment where we're constantly trying to be the best that we can be," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "And I think the players are the same way, and I think that's why we've been able to have this season, because we're a group of learners.
"We don't have all the answers, but together, I think we can come up with some great ideas and be a great team."
The MLS Cup Playoffs begin on Oct. 23 with the Wild Card, followed by the best-of-three first round on Oct. 25.
