RSL held scoreless in back-to-back weeks following 2-0 loss in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. — If you surveyed 100 Real Salt Lake fans on what the team needs most right now, the vast majority, if not all, would say the same thing: a proven striker.

The flames of fans urging the club to replace Chicho Arango's 17 goals in 2024 gained even more fuel on Saturday with a 2-0 RSL road loss to Minnesota United FC, marking two weeks in a row the Claret and Cobalt have not found the back of the net.

It wasn't for a lack of chances Saturday, as RSL led with 15 total shots but just four on frame, as the familiar theme of not being able to finish in front of goal reared its ugly head, once again.

"I think we've got to build more chemistry, I think we've got to finish our chances, and I think guys just need to step up," Diego Luna said after the loss. "I think it's simple."

Luna added that the ability to be "more clinical" as Minnesota was on Saturday should come with more practice. And, just six games into a 34-game season, that seems like a reasonable concession.

Head coach Pablo Mastroeni pointed to a pair of missed headers by MLS debutant Jesus Barea and defender Sam Junqua in the second half of Saturday's match in particular that he called "game-defining opportunities" in a two-goal game.

"Those were as good as they're going to get, and we've just got to be ready for the moment," Mastroeni said. "It's really being at the right place at the right time, and then having the calm to be able to finish. And, again, that takes time."

Minnesota's two goals were both scored by 24-year-old Canadian forward Tani Oluwaseyi, who moved into a tie for third place in the MLS goalscorer rankings with four already in the young season. The first came on a skying header in the 30th minute, and the second came on a breakaway just after halftime in the 55th minute.

Oluwaseyi's teammate Kelvin Yeboah has four goals through six matches, as well, while no player on RSL has more than one goal in 2025.

Barea could certainly be a goalscoring option for RSL going forward, recording 15 goals in 18 matches as a college senior at Missouri State in 2024 before being drafted with RSL's first pick in the MLS SuperDraft in December.

"I don't care about my personal performance, I just care about the team; I just care about getting the 3 points," Barea said of his debut. "We can build from this and go again. This is football. This is how it works. You sometimes finalize those chances, and other times you don't."

He filled in for the suspended Ari Piol, who left last week's match with a red card, and subbed on for starting striker Forster Ajago, who has not scored since March 1.

Barea and RSL will look to end their scoring drought in a return to America First Field on Saturday, April 5, at 2:30 p.m. MDT against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

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